Philly Fringe 2025: Nick Gillette presents Pennsylvania Semiconscious Liberation Army

On Saturday, September 13, these and other questions drew dozens of diverse audience members across the stage of the black-box Louis Bluver Theatre at the Drake, while others who preferred the sidelines watched from seats on all sides. Just as I was thinking about the use of the word “could” in this context, versus “would you” or “can you” or “should you,” someone in the audience spoke up.

She politely but loudly objected to the word. “Could already slants the argument toward action,” she said, calling this framing “insulting.”

She was one of many audience members who spoke up during the one-hour runtime, in which an ensemble of 15, led by Gillette, deftly moderated an immersive theater experience described in the show materials as “part leftist struggle session, part trolley problem, part sacralized communal dance.”

An “incendiary” conversation

I was intrigued. I didn’t initially intend to write about this show—Gillette is a former coworker, and ensemble member An Nichols writes for BSR. But having noted those connections, I want to urge folks to get their tickets. There are three more chances: September 19, 25, and 28.

With deft physical and verbal moderation in the crowded space, the ensemble—dressed in red and black clothes that seem personally styled, topped off by red berets—moves the audience through a series of debates in which anyone is welcome to speak. An introductory email from Gillette received a few hours before the performance warns about “incendiary” discussion topics, “which means we all need to bring our coolest heads and warmest hearts.”

Since I want you to head to the performance, I won’t share the questions themselves, because I think you’ll get more out of the show if you encounter them in real time. On September 13, people came ready to participate, and an instantly involving public dialogue ensued. At least one person who had initially taken a seat at the side charged to join the people on the floor after the show began.

Referencing the Cold War, one person said it feels like America is in a “cold culture war” that feels like it’s about to get hot. He added that he had shared this reflection with a friend, who pointed out that certain people are already being beaten, arrested, and detained in unmarked vans, so our culture war “already is hot, but only on one side.”

Other participants (including me) spoke spontaneously and passionately on questions of gun violence, voter suppression, due process, and coexisting with others who don’t share your values.

Are we really so polarized?

To me, the most striking thing about the show is how varied participants’ opinions were. It was fascinating to see this represented physically in real time by the show’s participatory concept. You might think an audience of Philadelphia residents attending a Fringe show would be a pretty homogenous group in terms of their social and political beliefs, but that wasn’t the case. As one participant ruefully noted, “If there’s one classic thing that leftists struggle with, it’s all getting on the same page.”

My own experience with family members on the right has shown me an increasing sense of nuance there, too, as they see the realities of Trump’s second term.

If you don’t take anything else from Pennsylvania Semiconscious Liberation Army, marinate in the fact that it’s not about taking one side over the other. Even in a room of left-leaning theatergoers, nuance of opinion abounded, and people of different identities on opposite sides of an issue often gave quiet snaps to each other’s points. We should be wondering if we’re really as polarized as we think we are, but more than that, we all need to ask who benefits from perpetuating the narrative that we’re all hopelessly at odds.

“This is not the only time we can have a respectful conversation,” Gillette told us, since many did not have a chance to speak as the runtime drew to a close. In brief comments after the bows, he emphasized that the real work of a better society happens not online but in rooms like this one, where we look each other in the eye, speak our piece, and listen in turn.

Know before you go: This show contains frank discussion of gun violence and a simulated gunshot.