Work

The Ministry of Mundane Mysteries Chicago

Maker Bramble Theatre Co.  ·  Work date 2021-03-01  ·  Medium telephone  ·  Role work

Description

Bring your case to The Ministry and our team of highly expert experts will solve it with you! No case is too mundane.... ....at least as far as we know. Have you lost the bananas that were in the fruit bowl yesterday? Does your bathroom faucet make scary noises at night? Why does your dog bark at the television anytime a horse comes on the screen? Never fear! The Ministry of Mundane Mysteries is here! We want to help you solve your most mundane queries this spring over the course of six days, complete with whimsical fun and adventure—all over your phone! Every case is personalized to each individual client, no experience required. All we ask is that you bring your sense of humor! You’ll laugh and you’ll cry (from all the laughing). So don’t be shy. Submit your case today.

Source. No published description found.

Anatomy

Thirteen criteria after Lauren R. Beck. Each carries a source grade: M maker-confirmed, P published, F first-hand, I inferred by the compiler, ? not yet established. Definitions are on the anatomy page.

• Participants listen through headphonesnoI

  Delivered 'all over your phone' with no headphone requirement stated.

• Participants move through space as part of the worknoI

  Six days of phone calls with no instruction to change location.

• Audio technology is necessaryyesP

  The listing states the whole six-day case runs over the phone.

• Site-, situation- or language-specificnoI

  Despite 'Chicago' in the title the work happens on the phone and names no required site, circumstance, or language.

• Engages with the history of a sitenoI

  Cases come from the client's own trivia (missing bananas, a noisy faucet), not documented past events of a real place.

• Created for an urban environmentnoI

  A phone-delivered case presupposes a phone, not city density.

• Created as an artwork other than theaternoI

  Framed as a comic detective service by a company naming itself a Theater Co.; no non-theatrical discipline invoked.

• Intended to be understood as theateryesI

  Listing text is service copy ('client', 'case'), but the maker identifies as Bramble Theatre Co.

• Accidental real-world sights and sounds are importantunknown?

  The case is drawn from the client's real life, but the listing does not say uncontrolled surroundings during calls carry meaning.
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• Spectator must participateyesP

  The client must submit a case and the experts 'solve it with you' across six personalized days.

• Has live performers other than the participantsyesI

  Cases personalized to each individual client over six days imply performers responding in real time, though liveness is not stated outright.

• Involves game playunknown?

  There is a case to solve, but no rules or defined resolution state are described.
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• Uses props other than the listening deviceunknown?

  No physical materials are mentioned either way.
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