Our Monday night InterPlay/improv dance class does a movement meditation on the theme of “easy focus” to a loop I created in the moment before becoming the videographer. Enjoy.
…And here, we do a favorite InterPlay improv form called postcards on Easy Focus. The round cards we’re holding up are from The InterPlay Inspiration Deck (created by Anita Bondi who also teaches the Monday night class).
From a journal entry dated 3rd September, 2009, April Point, Quadra Island, British Colombia, Canada
Here’s my crackpot theory: people who in some way have “not been heard” are made most vulnerable by playing with creativity or performance techniques centered in the voice. Even if I’m wrong about generalizing, my own personal experience bears this out. And I’m inspired to reflect on this now because I’ve just completed my first workshop with Rhiannon at Hollyhock Retreat.
Making way for the trail at Hollyhock Resort
She’s an awesome teacher and performer (live and on CD). I’m finding renewed passion in myself as I enter into these playful techniques that she has been formulating for years.
It only took me a few hours of the workshop to be feeling deeply. My inner turmoil came to the surface when I was drafted into the role of beat-box in a quintet. Beat-box vocal percussion has been an elusive form for me. I’ve taken workshops in it, but have never been successful at making the techniques come to life in my mouth and vocal cords.
So, when it was my turn to be the “drummer”, I accepted the challenge. When it was over, I judged that I’d done poorly and felt ashamed. My impulse was to hide out and minimize the experience.
So I chose another direction. I outed my shame to the group in the sharing time.
Sunrise at Hollyhock
Bringing shame out into the open (in a safe group of people anyway) is almost always a cleansing and cathartic experience for me — and this time was true to form.
In subsequent improvisations where I needed to be the drummer, I used variations on TaKeDiMi: a vocal form in which I am more capable and practiced. (Thanks to Rhiannon and everyone else in that workshop community for creating the space for this to happen. There were many more examples of this sort of cracking open at Rhiannon’s workshop. They were experienced by other memebers of our community of 16, so they are not mine to share. It’s enough to say that my experience was not an isolated happening.)
The fact that the singing involved is spontaneous (improvised) is important as you can imagine. This is the song of the heart. That call of longing from the core. Vocal improvising cracks me open to my own yearning to be heard. Singing greases the wheel of desire that’s been waiting to roll out.
The 20-some must be 23. The last trio shares a single card.
We’ve been improvising (pure InterPlay) for hours. Stories. Movement. Intuition. As the card slides into my finger tips, I accept that now-familiar picture and story. It’s the Practice card. Again.
Each person in the circle, in turn, shares what the card brings out from their life or experiences of the day. Many quote from the card. I repeat the phrase (again): “She knows that to change your life, you just need to change your practice.” I enjoy that the message is an inspiration, a blessing. Not the heavy way that I’ve held this sentiment other times.
InterPlay Inspiration Deck display
The sharing is beautiful. People cry. There’s a tear in my eye. Anita is across the circle from me. She’s in the trio sharing the Incrementality card with two other women. She is telling us her experience of seeing the cards used in this circle in this way.
Anita and I will be heading to Oakland, California tomorrow, to join with other InterPlay leaders in a day of play, reunion, and celebration on Saturday. I enjoy playing with other people who like to play. I’m really looking forward to some (Inter)Play.
I consider improvisation to be a highest form of art. Having heard the mantra “just improv” from other artists too many times, I’ve been continually more and more committed to improvised music and dance and storytelling over the past decade.
Back in 1999, I became “certified” (if not certifiable) in InterPlay, an active, creative way to unlock the wisdom of the body. Under the mentorship of Phil Porter and Cynthia Winton-Henry, I moved from a clunky techno-geek to being a slightly less clunky techno-geek — which was a huge change. Above all, I learned that I really do have a body and that it really does inform me about almost everything about me. This was — and still is — a miracle. No matter how “spiritual” I may be (or believe myself to be), I will always be a body in this life. The other thing that I learned is that improvised art (dance, storytelling, singing, instrumental music) is an incredibly cathartic and artful experience. Both of these learning have stayed with me 100% over the years.
What I imagined I’d be telling you about in this post is my passion for improv. Now that I’m here typing this, I find that words are insufficient for what I want to get across. So let me try this scattershot approach:
The Exformation round card from the InterPlay Inspiration Deck
improv art informs my whole self (InterPlay is also about integration of body/mind/spirit)
when I practice my improv artforms I am more grounded and vulnerable
improvisation is an exformation (this is what InterPlay calls moving information out of the body) — I (and I would say all humans) need exformation to stay healthy and conscious
improvising connects with now — how Zen can ya get?
So sing a little song, tell a little story, dance a little dance in the name of now. It’ll be good for your body, mind and soul.
There is so much in my “art world” to be excited about right now. Mandala Design Works has three shows coming up. Two in Pennsylvania and one in Seattle! Wellspring East annual holiday show and Lelavision shows take place the weekend of December 4-5. Mudworks Dutot show starts the weekend before that and continues for three weekends. I’ll be playing live, improvised music at various times at the Dutot on the two December weekends. Hope you’ll drop by to have a look and a listen.
At all three of those shows you can see and buy our inspirational jewelry, mandalas, photos, music CDs and other handmade artwork. Each artist has new material since our last show and some of these are not up on the web site. Given the custom nature of handstamped jewelry and personal mandalas, this may be your only chance to see these pieces of art.
Meanwhile, Anita has released The InterPlay Inspiration Deck. These 21 round cards are a testament to her incredible creative talent. Each one has a word or phrase (an InterPlay principle) to inspire your moment. Of course, that’s not all. The word on the card is illustrated with an ingenious colorful picture on one side and imaginative story on the other. You will be inspired by this deck. I’m not just saying that. I keep a deck at work and it’s been an inspirational life-saver. Stories coming here soon.
For today, I drew the card for Practice with the great story about the goddess who “knows what is best for you … She knows that to change your life, you just need to change your practice.” I don’t know about you, but I need to be reminded about the stuff I already know. Thanks for the reminder, Anita. It’s great to get these reminders with a picture, a color, a story and the tangible, tactile sensations of the card in my hand.
InterPlay Inspiration Deck on FaceBook
The InterPlay Inspiration Deck has lots of fans on FaceBook. Hope you’ll join us and share your experiences of using the deck!
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