InterPlay & Performance

InterPlay is, among other things, performance. To be more specific, it is improvisational performance. We create songs, dances, stories and sometimes various combinations of all of these things on the spot and in the moment. InterPlay is a technique that makes this sort of creating easy. It doesn’t presume previous training or skill but can incorporate your particular training or special abilities.

InterPlay expands the performance continuum. We might be creating in solitude with the blinds pulled, or we might rent a grand hall and charge real admission. Or we might do anything and everything in between: performing for our partner in class, performing for a small group of people, performing for an audience of family and friends. All of these various levels of performing are valid.

Because InterPlay is improvisational, it can happen at any time or in any place. It can draw on the specifics of the situation. You don’t rehearse a specific show but you can practice skills that make creating in the moment easy, effective and fun.

InterPlay uses the stuff of our lives as its content. It tends toward real people and real stories, often highlighting what might sometimes seem mundane. It can be funny or poignant, pointed or broad, verbal or non-verbal, analytical or emotional.

The first and longest-running InterPlay-based performance company is called WING IT! formed in 1989. It was formed by InterPlay co-founders Cynthia Winton-Henry and Phil Porter. It recently celebrated its twentieth year. The company has performed regularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, has traveled to other parts of the US, and performed in Australia. It began with four members and currently has over twenty. It includes musicians who create live improvised accompaniments for the concerts on a variety of instruments.

As InterPlay spread, other InterPlay companies formed, some of which have also been in existence for a number of years.