What is InterPlay™?

InterPlay is a discipline where people practice ways of expressing themselves, using familiar forms of physical expression like walking, running and stopping, as well as dance, storytelling and song. There are no pre-requisites to becoming an InterPlayer. People with all levels of physical ability can participate at their own pace and comfort.

InterPlay is about remembering our innocence and playfulness that we all lived so easily as children. As adults and youths approaching adulthood take on every day responsibilities, InterPlay helps us to remember how to carry those responsibilities with more ease. While some find it therapeutic, InterPlay is not therapy. It is a way to express your self, or as InterPlayers call it, “your BodySpirit.”

While InterPlay is simply a form of expression for many, for others it is a grand form for improvisational performance. InterPlay in performance is often mistaken for choreographed or scripted works, when it is in fact entirely improvised. So how does it look so organized and together? InterPlayers talk about “finding the Group Body,” which is when they move together with ease and very little, if any, thought of coordination. It seems to come out of the way that they pay attention to their own BodySpirit and each other while performing.

InterPlay Leaders have been through specific training for sharing this discipline in a variety of contexts. Some choose to teach classes to the public on both the basics and advanced forms, such as performance. Some InterPlay Leaders apply the methods in various settings to enhance the work they are already doing. These applications of InterPlay can occur in cancer survivor support groups, corporate trainings, high schools, churches and more. Anywhere that the leader is trying to support people in finding more ease and expression in what they are doing.

InterPlay was developed by Cynthia Winton-Henry and Phil Porter who have been collaborating for over 25 years. Many others have contributed to the wisdom of this system and it is constantly growing and changing as the movement spreads throughout the world.