Photo by JAQUES-JEAN TIZIOU
Pay Up
Pig Iron Theatre Company with the University of the Arts
Step into a labyrinthine, choose-your-own adventure about buying and selling everything under the sun. Philadelphia’s premier physical theater company re-imagines its 2005 show, post financial crisis style. Part circus, part laboratory experiment, part shopping experience, Pay Up is a pay-as-you-go race against the clock to pick what plays you want to see. You are given plastic booties, five one-dollar bills, and led into all-white warehouse space that has been converted into eight experimental labs/performance rooms, along with hallways, a gathering space, and backrooms. With a loudspeaker announcing the rules, and at times breaking its own rules, you get six chances to choose one of eight shows, each costing $1. Enter a room, sit in a chair, put headphones on, and watch the show. Repeat. But, choose wisely and make sure you get there before the big buzzer goes off. Or else. MORE
Sept. 5-22, various times, $25, Asian Arts Initiative, 1219 Vine St. For tickets, call 215-413-1318 or visit fringearts.ticketleap.com.