Tuesday Oct 21, 2025
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
POWERHOUSE Arena
28 Adams Street (Corner of Adams & Water Street across from the Archway)
Brooklyn , NY
11201
About the Book.
For two decades, Cas Holman has been designing objects and spaces for play and exploring the role of play in design, work, and our culture. As a design professor, consultant, and play expert, she has worked with companies like Nike, Google, Disney Imagineering, and LEGO to help them utilize the power of play to bring about phenomenal workplace shifts. She has worked to design and bring play spaces to communities at the border of Mexico and Texas, has created a custom play feature (Rigamajig) for the High Line Park in New York City, designed groundbreaking toys, and so much more. She knows the power of play and sees its benefits in the lives around her every day.
As a play expert and designer, Holman was constantly asked about adults. Why don’t we play anymore? Where does that playful spirit go? She believes that adults need play in our lives, but not as we view play for children. We need to re-learn how to free play. Since free play for adults has less to do with the activities we engage in than with our mindset, we need to find ways to shift perspective. Many of the ideas and techniques Holman uses in her work can help hone a playful approach to everyday life. They remind us to see the world with curiosity, to not worry so much about being taken seriously, and to remember that success comes in many shapes and sizes.
In Playful: How Play Shifts Our Thinking, Inspires Connection, and Sparks Creativity, Holman delivers a call to action for adults to tap into their Play Voice, and allow play back into our lives in a way that will change them for the better. Play can look different for each of us: it might be a conversation with a stranger, a meandering walk in nature, a dance party in your kitchen, or even rearranging your living room. Each of these activities is “free play,” that is, play driven by our internal desires rather than by external reward. In Part One, readers will learn why free play is so important – not just for children, but for adults as well. Then, Holman provides the step
About the Author.
Cas Holman is the founder and chief designer of the toy company Heroes Will Rise and a former professor of Industrial Design at RISD. Cas travels the globe speaking about playful learning, the design process, and the value of play in all aspects of life. She has shared her perspective in workshops and seminars with teams at Google, Nike, LEGO Foundation, Disney Imagineering, and art museums around the world. Some of her designs include toys like Rigamajig and Geemo, as well as play experiences at the High Line and the Liberty Science Center. Cas lives in Brooklyn and designs from her studio in the Catskills, New York.