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If you’re up for an unusual experience, remotely interested in science or theater, or just looking for something out of the ordinary to do with your evening, boy have I got the show for you. SURVIVE! is an original immersive work of environmental theatre unlike anything you’ve seen before.

Swim Pony Performing Arts, a new Philly-based performing arts collective, has taken over the entire basement of the Wolf Building – that’s 20,000 square feet – to create their own universe with a network of branching paths and rooms. The premise of the show is that super intelligent other-worldly beings have made contact with humanity and are trying to help us discover ourselves. The theoretical science that they expound upon is certainly confusing, but making sense of it all is not the point. Rather, the thrill of the show lies in simply moving through and experiencing the vortex-like space that they’ve created.

The first sign that this is not a regular play is the waiver that you have to sign at the box office. Then you proceed to “the terrarium,” a wonderful misty greenhouse space filled with strange “creatures” in tanks and a jumpsuited scientist with a spray bottle puttering around. Clearly we’re in for something weird…

Then, instead of simply sitting and watching a performance unfold, the audience is asked to split up and choose their own paths, each path ending in a small room where a scenario unfolds. In one space I met a gentle scientist in front of an endless star-studded void explaining the intricacies of inter-connectedness in the universe. In another two actors sat sideways on the floor arguing incomprehensively. This happens four times, with a different scenario unfolding in each room each time. So no matter what, you’ve only seen about a third of what’s gone on by the end of the show – a perfect reason to come back for a second performance!

SURVIVE!
June 4th – 20th
www.swimpony.org

Underground Arts at the Wolf Building
340 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107