About

Your ‘fictional’ arts economy has been disrupted in the wake of a global crisis and you are called upon to work together with others in your region to adapt. FARCE is a tabletop role-playing game and idea incubator for reimagining an arts ecosystem. Played over four days, participants take up residence in an imaginary region and commit to building community as unique characters—Producers, Artists, Presenters. With each draw of a card, players tackle challenges, design creative responses, liaise with and assist others, and address urgent needs.

FARCE is grounded in the belief that the dramaturgy of cultural design is a responsibility that is shared by all members of the creative communityrather than something to be relegated to boardrooms, panel discussions, and the offices of those who hold institutional power. FARCE is designed to embolden all players to become active change agents in the arts sector. Participants reflect upon their positional power to effect change more rapidly and in conversation with others, the game offers a platform to rehearse ideas—including everything from drafting policy, launching initiatives, toppling institutions, and implementing far-fetched innovations. FARCE unlocks new ways of designing possible futures and rehearsing transformation experientially. Its blend of strategic foresight, long-form storytelling, and role-play methodologies faciliates a unique ideation process.

FARCE participants are primed to collaboratively envision, rigorously play out, and boldly share surprising and unheard-of strategies that address our sector’s most pressing systemic challenges. Drawing inspiration from popular games like Dungeons & Dragons and The Quiet Year, this participatory team event that balances quirky think-tank problem solving with a commitment to multi-session collaborative storytelling. Concluding with a public event, the FARCE Awesome Town Hall is convened as a context to share out stories, ideas, and wild solutions from the week’s adventures.

FARCE was commissioned and originally presented by Canadian Association for the Performing Arts / Association Canadienne des Organismes Artistiques (CAPACOA) as part of the 2021 Reboot Conference where 30 participants (artists, producers, and presenters from around the world) committed to 8 hours of wild role playing over 4 days. A French-language version was produced by Zones Théâtrales at the National Arts Centre in 2023, bringing together a cohort of 20 Francophone arts leaders from across Canada to play the game in-person over four days.

Games

September 9 - 15, 2023 — FARCE Zones Théâtrales @ The National Arts Centre, Ottawa, Canada

November 17 - 24, 2021 — Canadian Association for the Performing Arts REBOOT Conference (online)

Creative Team

CAPACOA Game Masters: Patrick Blenkarn, Laurel Green, Marcos Krivocapich (Spanish), Gilles Poulin-Denis (French), Nikki Shaffeeullah

Zones Théâtrales Game Masters: Barbara-Audrey Bergeron, Joel Lebois, Sébastien Leclerc, Marie-Eve Fortier

Indigenous Consultant: Kahentawaks Tiewishaw

Graphic Design and Maps: Lee Cookson