KNOW THYSELF: Bringing Some Philly To Philosophy!

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." - Plato

Philosophy is both familiar and mystifying. "I think therefore I am," "Tyranny of the Majority," "Know Thyself." Who's words do we live by? Why? How? If philosophy was something we played rather than read, would we be better equipped to engage with our own minds? In this immersive, interactive Philosophy salon the rules we live by- and their consequences- are always in play.

KNOW THYSELF transforms abstract philosophy into a series of delightful and challenging analog games. Participants explore agency and personal choice-making through the lenses of Stoicism, Anarchism, Existentialism and other influential credos. Exploring the rules and systems of both famous and overlooked philosophies, KNOW THYSELF asks audience members to contend with the good, the bad, and the confounding of each. Combining the rigor of philosophical thought experiments with the playfulness of social games, this interactive experience explores the role of philosophy in our daily lives and whether or not we are living up to our own philosophical standards.

KNOW THYSELF is written and devised by game designer and immersive theater maker Jessica Creane and has been developed with the support of the Barn Arts Residency Program. Jessica is a Professor of Game Design at Drexel University and UARTS and a graduate of The Pig Iron School of Advanced Performance Training. Her game-theater show CHAOS THEORY is currently running at Caveat Theater, NYC to great acclaim, after premiering at the Philadelphia Fringe festival last year. She recently gave a TEDx talk about gamifying chaos and the role of games and immersive theater in our age of global uncertainty. Her work has been presented at The Franklin Institute, HERE Arts, Caveat NYC, FringeNYC, BostonFIG, Bandwi/d/th International, and in collaboration with The National Parks Service. Jessica is the founder and CEO of IKantKoan, an immersive theater and game design company creating playful experiences that explore serious subject matter.