Vancouver: Thoughts from CATR (Canadian Association for Theatre Research)

ML: There’s no vegan food here.

PB: You didn’t even register for the conference.

ML: Shhhh.

PB: I think this was actually a very productive experience. I don’t think we’ve had an audience that learned the game as fast as our participants here did.

ML: That’s because they all have PhDs.

PB: What are the chances that some of them will want to help us do data collecting in the future?

ML: I’m going to say 16.6%.

PB: …

ML: We had 12 people. And I think about 2 of them will want to join the fun.

PB: It’s better than no one. Did you realize this was the second time we’ve had participants express a desire for a happy ending?

ML: Yes. I’m not sure where that comes from. It’s like when people said it was bleak at the Rumble night in April.

PB: I think that’s an experience worth noting for us, especially how it has come up amongst theatre artists. Maybe they are longing for a kind of collective action.

ML: No one ever plays Catan and says, “Well I wish that after I blocked your road and stole your Sheep that we could find a way to become friends and work together.”

PB: And we’ve been very clear that you could always build a new game with the cards we’ve created. We’re not going to be offended.

ML: People are looking for art to provide an answer to their problems rather than create the condition for asking complicated questions.

PB: Right? Because we were making arguments about how the system could be changed—

ML: Which we do have suggestions for—

PB: Of course—but if we were doing that, I don’t think people would read or listen to the game as closely as they do now.

ML: I’m curious if dancers would feel differently about what they want from a game. When is the Canadian Association for Dance Research conference happening?

PB: Who knows.