More About Rosemary Senjem

Minnesota InterPlay Community is born

Aligning the Process to the Goal
& Discovering InterPlay as a Tool

Desire:

We were a small group of 18 InterPlayers*, who had been taking classes for years from a beloved teacher. She eventually quit teaching full time and moved out of the area. At first people continued to gather at the class time and practice anyway. Eventually less people were attending. It appeared that there was not enough interest to keep it going. Then, one day after practice, two members approached me and said, "Aren't you going to do something?" I was surprised at this and took another look at the situation.

Focus:

This eclectic group enjoyed "playing" together and needed to organize themselves if they were to continue. Ideally, they would form a community that served themselves and could grow to ensure its longevity.

Opportunities:

I knew that an ordinary approach to this group would not go well. Class was sometimes unwieldy due to the high level of creativity and energy in the room. Any plan to move forward and build a community needed to honor their experience and way of interacting. I designed a series of exercises that allowed them to feel they were being creative and even "at play" throughout the meeting, while I gleaned information from them about what they wanted.

Process:

We found a day to gather in our studio for a two-hour session that involved calling out ideas while dancing. I was the scribe and facilitator:

  • igniting their collective imagination with well-formed questions,
  • capturing and organizing their ideas,
  • facilitating group consensus, suggesting structures to uphold their decisions, and
  • gathering volunteers to fill the structures.

Results:
By the end of the session, we created a membership organization with:

  • structures for dues,
  • leadership,
  • online communications and
  • regular practice sessions.

This group is growing with over 75 people subscribing to its online list, several thriving morning "play groups", several active teachers, and a leadership program.

* InterPlay is an improvisational dance and storytelling form based on natural movement, developed by Cynthia Winton-Henry and Phil Porter.