The Joy-full Art of Recovery

InterPlay Love. photos by Christine Gautreaux and Ruth Schowalter

by Ade Anifowose

InterPlay Leader-in-Training

Joy is underrated. Perhaps this is because we do not fully understand its power. Joy is a resistant force against limited thinking, everyday challenges, and it empowers us to redefine what we are looking at and how we are looking at it.

However, in a world where working hard, struggle and adversity are given more credence over play, being joyful and moving through the world with ease is often an afterthought. I get it. Humans are hardwired to focus on problems, who to blame and to pay more attention to struggles. With all of this being said, there are moments when people give themselves permission to be different, to try something new and maybe even allow themselves to be vulnerable. When they do, everyone in the vicinity is uplifted.

A few months ago, Jennifer, Carolyn Renee, I and other guests had the pleasure of watching the men at Trinity House give themselves permission to reveal what is possible using the tools of InterPlay. This performance was preceded by 8 weeks of rehearsal. 

The most amazing thing about this performance for me was, during the 8 weeks of rehearsal, there were times some of the men who committed to participating in the performance could not attend due to work schedules and other appointments to support them on their recovery journey. With all the angst that comes with creating such a performance, we had to trust the wisdom of play. We had to trust that the performance would be what it needed to be and everyone who attended would experience exactly what they needed. 

The day of the performance, the men were excited. We even had two men who were not part of the rehearsal ask to be a part of the performance. Again, trusting the wisdom of play, Jennifer said, yes. 

The men sang, danced, moved, chanted, told stories and left us feeling lifted up. They had us laughing out loud and literally brought us to tears. The theme of the performance was “The Art of Recovery.” They did just that, they opened the way for us- the observers, to recover our humanity individually and together.

The men’s testimonials (posted below) capture the essence of the beautiful and life affirming experience we all had.

I really enjoyed performing in InterPlay.  It opened me up to explore creative activity, and seeing other people of different parts of life to come together and do a performance.  That was very moving.  I look forward to performing again.  Thank you Jennifer, Carolyn Renee, and Ade for taking the time, for helping me in my recovery and coming out.  –Jacob

I had never heard of InterPlay until Saturday and I really enjoyed all the performances.  Even though I did not perform myself because I’m the shy type, but all in all it was a great experience.  It gave me a peace of mind to know that I can enjoy life and have fun without using drugs. –Frederick

It was like I was doing something I’ve done before.  Maybe in a past life.  -Mark

InterPlay was a very good session.  We do a lot of fun things.  We dance, laugh and play fun games.  We also have group activity such as, “I Can Talk About,” where we talk about things we experience.  We also do breathing exercise we let go with a sigh in which it allows us to express our in sound. We do different exercises, listen to the drum.  We also get to play the drum in group.–Alajuan Wilson 

To Whom It May Concern:

InterPlay has been a blessing to the men here at Trinity House-Big Bethel.  The performance on Saturday, April 14^thwas magnificent. The performance that was displayed with the men put a new twist on the men’s recovery that showed talent, motivation, and expressions for themselves and others. What the men displayed will help them to express more openly to their family members and loved ones. I really enjoyed the performance and to see men interact with the guidelines through InterPlay.

Felecia Jones, Receptionist/ T.E.A.M Coordinator

Ade Anifowose

The Importance of Play for Men

The Men of Trinity House pose for this photo after an InterPlay Session with InterPlay Leaders-in-Training Ade Anifowose and Carolyn Renee.

Written by Ade Anifowose, InterPlay Leader-in-Training

“I stand for a society that creates space for men to play, a society that allows men to recreate themselves from moment to moment.” -Ade

There is a universal myth that men do not express emotions. I say "myth" because it is not true. Have you been around men watching sports, playing with their children or having an argument? Men express emotions, but not always in the same ways as women do.

The irony of this myth is when men do express emotions of gentleness, compassion, or kindness, their masculinity is questioned. Men are generally placed (by society) in a damned-if-you-do or damned-if-you-don’t situation.

Collectively, we all need to shift our mindset about what it means to be a man and develop a better understanding of men’s emotions. Let’s support men and boys in being with their emotions without a rush to judging those emotions being good or bad. Without support, emotions of rage, frustration, and anger intensify. We humans are emotional beings. Our emotions play a major role in how we show up in the world both in our communities and relationships.

Ade Anifowose, InterPlay Leader-in-Training
Atlanta, Georgia

I have found that InterPlay tools empower individuals to “have” their experience. I remember attending an “InterPlay Retreat for Men” last February, in Germantown, Maryland. It was mind-blowing. Watching men, play, create, share their stories, dance, and be in stillness, softened the edges of restrictions that I had placed on myself, based on what I was taught by society.

As an InterPlay Leader-in-Training, on a weekly basis I co-lead InterPlay at Trinity House in Atlanta. There, I get the opportunity to watch and experience men in recovery connect with innocence and their stories of belonging. I watch them share their gratitude for being able to connect with their inner child in a safe environment.  Through their stories, I am reminded that everyone wants to be acknowledged and heard.

There is an invisible thread that connects us all. When we play, we strengthen the connection and we are all the better for it. I stand for a society that creates space for men to play, a society that allows men to re-create themselves from moment to moment.

InterPlay is a rebellious act of self-care in a world where we are taught to not care about our own needs. It allows men to embrace their humanity, emotions, and expressions. This is a gift to humanity.

InterPlaying with Chronos and Kairos Time

ALCHEMY OF THE SOUL, InterPlay at Congregation Bet Haverim

Written by Ruth Schowalter, M.S. Applied Linguistics & ESL, Certified InterPlay Leader

How can we play around TIME? Thank goodness for InterPlay, for it offers a way to embody both time and timelessness. “Dancing can dramatically shift our experience of time and space,” Cynthia Winton-Henry writes in her book, Dance-the Sacred Art. In her chapter, “Dancing into Wholeness,” she offers ways of playing around with  “chronos” and “kairos” time so that we can experience it in our bodies.

STORIES ABOUT TIME. We find that our story teller has a lot to say about time, time restraints, running out of time, lack of leisure time and more!

So it was on a Thursday night in February, that I offered a micro-play session on “fixed time” and “flying time” to my Atlanta community at the Congregation Bet Haverim in a monthly InterPlay session, “Alchemy of the Soul.” Our gathering was small and intimate and we rejoiced in the opportunity to move, tell our stories, use our voices, and find some stillness in the middle of a Georgia winter.

SPEAKING ABOUT TIME IN A MADE UP LANGUAGE. In InterPlay we say that we can have a feeling without articulating it. Speaking in a made up language about time in the form of a big body story allowed everyone a chance to express the verbally inexpressible!

In order to understand “time,” it helps to have body wisdom or to be a “body intellectual.” Body intellectual is an InterPlay term that means “one who pays attention to all forms of physical experience, seeks to be articulate about that information, and uses it as an important basis for understanding the world. (Move: What theBody Wants)”

By moving in a conscious way, it is possible for us to acknowledge how are bodies feel differently when experiencing chronos time—limited by clocks and calendars, and kairos time—expanded by boundless time. Even more powerfully, it is possible that by moving our bodies (dancing) we can alter or transform our physical experience of time from being ordinary (time restraints) to being extraordinary (all the time in the world)!

ROTATING GESTURE CHOIR. At the end of our evening "Alchemy for the Soul," we played around with our sense of "flying time," or experiencing an expansiveness of time, by telling our stories in a gesture choir with witnesses. Each of us had a chance to move and speak with support of other "bodies" repeating or imitating our gestures.

What would happen in your life, your family’s life, and the life our communities, if we all started playing around with transforming time? Cynthia Winton-Henry says that most of us spend our time in the middle zone between ordinary (chronos) and extraordinary (kairos) time. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could choose which state of reality to experience and use play and body wisdom to be and live that reality?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Many thanks to Congregation Bet Haverim that offers such a warm an inviting space for us to InterPlay in! Thanks to Joyce Kinnard and Audrey Gaylex, both CBH members and who support my InterPlay leadership offerings to the Atlanta community. I acknowledge my husband for his continued support and playfulness while attending the InterPlay sessions I conduct, even when he is busy planning to leave town for a student field trip on the Georgia Coast. I am grateful to Callahan Pope McDonough for her photography and commitment to living an artful life. As always, I am so appreciative of the work that InterPlay co-founders Phil Port and Cynthia Winton-Henry do for the entire wide world! They are amazing!

Join me for my online class, Move and Create, which uses InterPlay as a way to develop a daily creative practice (from now until April 14). First time participants are welcome for free! Here is a link to the course information.

Luminescence of a Buttercup, by Ruth Schowalter

Georgia Tech College of Sciences Presents “At Ease: Using Improvisation to Speak to Anyone about your Research"

Written by Ruth Schowalter, M.S. Applied Linguistics & ESL, 

Certified InterPlay Leader

What does a 90-minute InterPlay science communication “sample” workshop with professors look like? Journey with me to Georgia Tech, an urban campus located in Midtown Atlanta to find out!

First of all, the February afternoon right before the 3:00 PM start of the workshop was overcast, with the gray skies releasing tiny shards of cold rain. Fortunately for me, I escaped the unfriendly weather by taking a bright yellow trolley to the Marcus Nanotechnology Building, where the Director of Science Communications, Maureen Rouhi, was administering the final touches to name badges, refreshments, and room arrangements. Tables were removed and chairs lined up around the room’s edges, leaving space for improvisational movement.

One-by-one professors arrived as if in a Harry Potter movie, being teleported from their busy labs and offices through the inclement weather. Hailing from different disciplines such as biomedical engineering, biochemistry, physics, mathematics, and atmospheric sciences, these professors had responded to the following invitation written by Maureen Rouhi:

 

The College of Sciences is hosting a workshop aimed at honing the communication skills of scientists when addressing general audiences. The short interactive workshop will be designed and facilitated by Ruth Schowalter. 

An master English teacher and long-time English instructor at Georgia Tech, Ruth applies movement and improvisational techniques to public speaking, similar to the approach of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, at Stony Brook University. She has been conducting workshops to help students and professionals improve their effectiveness in addressing various audiences. 

Last October, Ruth conducted a highly successful program—“Using Improvisation To Increase Your Skills in Academic and Professional Speaking”—for graduate students in the Schools of Materials Science and Engineering and of Mechanical Engineering.

Ruth has designed “At Ease: Using Improvisation To Speak About Your Research To Anyone” for the College of Sciences. The workshop is ideal for academic faculty who are keen to explore new ways to communicate by expanding physicality and vocal range, especially when speaking to non-scientists.  

Once the eight curious participants had all arrived, we warmed up with breathing exercises, sharing our names, and movement. The energy was high as they willingly experimented with ways of expressing themselves. What a joy it was to see the earnestness of these researchers as they stretched past their comfort zones to learn new skills!

In the short time we had together, my primary goal was to offer them playful ways to expand physicality and vocal range when explaining their research to people, especially non-scientists. Therefore, after the warm up, I engaged pairs in taking turns to do “short tellings” while experimenting with modulating their voices, i.e., paying attention to volume, speed, and pitch.

In small incremental steps, I asked the participants to increase the use of their “nonverbal” communications or body language. Through a series of “following and leading” exercises, everyone had ample opportunity to play around with exaggerated facial expressions, shoulder movements, hand gestures, and moving while explaining or describing something. The desired outcome of these activities was to broaden participants’ overall awareness of how they could increase their physical presence, enhancing meaning and connection with listeners while decreasing words.

During our short time together, I introduced the InterPlay concepts easy focus (a willingness to relax and trust yourself) and noticing (reflecting on what you are experiencing in body, mind, and emotions). We also did the physical InterPlay activity, “Walk, Stop, Run” as a way to increase physical presence or energy. It also served as a transition between “short telling” exercises, in which participants reduced 250-written-word descriptions of their research to oral summaries, then three sentences, and finally three words.

Before the participants left, they were kind enough to fill out a feedback form. Here is what they reported as beneficial:

• Great activities that opened my body and mind.
• Learned to control my voice.
• Distilling research from 250 words to 3 sentences to 3 words.
• Speech modulations (volume, speed, pitch).
• Repeated efforts at explaining the same work.

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS WITH RUTH SCHOWALTER. Relaxed, motivated, excited, and energized were some of the one-word responses that the science researchers reported at the conclusion of the 90-minute science communication workshop. -Photo by Maureen Rouhi

When asked, “What one word best describes an experience you are having right now?”, these are some of the responses: relaxed, motivation, excitement, fun, and energy.

Just as they had appeared miraculously, these scientists vanished, leaving me with a sense of wonder at what a little bit of improvisation can do!

Acknowledgments: Thanks to Maureen Rouhi for collaborating with me in crafting this workshop. I appreciate her experience with improvisation as a communication tool, sense of fun, and readiness to participate. As always, I am grateful to Phil Porter and Cynthia Winton-Henry co-founders of InterPlay for this deeply rewarding improvisational system. And thanks to my husband, Tony Martin, the scientist in my life, who has supported my integration of InterPlay with science communication by inviting me into his Emory classroom and co-creating workshops together.

Other blogposts on how I use InterPlay for Science Communication and Outreach:

November 2016

InterPlay & Science Communication at the College Level: Becoming the Animal through Use of Creative Forms

 

October 2016

InterPlay—A Way to Embody and Express Engineering Research Effectively and Easefully

March 2016

Improvising Trilobite Eyes: InterPlaying with Evolutionary Concepts at the Atlanta Science Festival

 

April 11, 2016

Shyness Evaporates: College Science Students Use InterPlay Storytelling Methods to Convey Their Nature Observations

 March 2016

Using InterPlay for Science Communication: Improv-ing Evolution

November 6, 2014

Expressing Scientific Observation Passionately: InterPlay Provides the Methodology