Janet Hartmann, Author at InterPlay

Posted on August 25, 2026October 13, 2026 by Janet Hartmann

Registrations Open for SummerPlay January 2027 – Five Locations!

Come and enjoy the lightness and depth of what it is to be human. Expect frivolous, fearless play in the anchor of loving community. Time for movement, song, story, poetry and stillness. Whether you’re dipping your toe in or diving in, all are welcome. Start your year creatively!

InterPlay is incremental and uses a set of tools and ideas that can help us to find wonder, laughter, joy, community, recognition, affirmation, and support.

Join InterPlay Co-founder Phil Porter (from the US) and InterPlay Australia co-founder Trish Watts, and long-time InterPlay Australia leader Greer Hudson, for “untensive” play that is full of connections and possibilities. Come if you are brand new to InterPlay or have played for a long time. Bring a friend, make new friends, and learn new ways to explore your own gifts, experience and creativity in community.

Some noticings from the previous SummerPlay...

What a wonderful sense of community! There is so much awfulness in the world right now, so I was more conscious than ever this year of how much I need the nurturing and inspiration that I get from SummerPlay...

I noticed how fun it was, how welcoming everyone was, how great I felt afterwards...

I loved connecting with others beyond boxes and meeting in the in-between spaces, which I found delightful...

Early bird prices are available to midnight, two weeks before the event.

A 50% discount (off the cheapest ticket) is available if you attend a second event at another location. Contact enquiries@interplayaus.com.au for more details on costs and how to make a payment.

If finances are a barrier, please don't let this hold you back. Inclusivity is a priority in InterPlay, and we're committed to finding ways to make participation possible. If you would like to attend and need financial assistance, please email enquiries@interplayaus.com.au for details on how to apply.

Please book early as numbers are limited.

Canberra (lunch included):

Early Bird Pricing
Three Days
Full $480 Concession $430
Two Days
Full $330 Concession $290
One Day
Full $170 Concession $150

Standard Pricing
Three Days
Full $510 Concession $460
Two Days
Full $360 Concession $320
One Day
Full $190 Concession $170

Adelaide, Melbourne and Newcastle (Byo lunch):

Early Bird Pricing
Three Days
Full $430 Concession $380
Two Days
Full $290 Concession $260
One Day
Full $160 Concession $140

Standard Pricing
Three Days
Full $460 Concession $410
Two Days
Full $320 Concession $290
One Day
Full $180 Concession $160

Sunshine Coast (byo lunch)

Early Bird Pricing
Two Days
Full $290 Concession $260
One Day
Full $160 Concession $140

Standard Pricing
Two Days
Full $320 Concession $290
One Day
Full $180 Concession $160

Bookings close:
Sunshine Coast - 1 January
Newcastle - 6 January
Canberra - 8 January
Melbourne - 21 January
Adelaide - 28 January

Sunshine Coast: Alee 0410 457 208

Newcastle: Greer 0438 608 776

Canberra: Alison 0416 065 687

Melbourne: Pemra 0403 809 496

Adelaide: Mandy 0415 253 169

Cancellation Policy (after full payment):

More than 3 weeks before the event - full refund.

Up to 3 weeks before the event - 90% refund, 10% will be retained as an administration fee.

Up to 1 week before the event - 50% refund.

Less than 48 hours before the event payment is non-refundable.

In the case of illness or family emergency you will be refunded 90% of the cost, 10% will be retained for administration. All requests for refunds from cancellations must be made in writing to InterPlay Australia at enquiries@interplayaus.com.au.

Posted on July 1, 2026July 14, 2026 by Janet Hartmann

Leaders Gathering 16 – 18 October 2026

This year's Leaders Gathering is being held at the charming Adelaide Inn hotel in the heart of North Adelaide. The event is a non-residential event however there are ample accommodation options nearby and also at the venue. Leaders Gathering participants have been offered a special rate of $165 per double room and you can book directly with the hotel. Billeting options are also available. Please refer to the accommodation section below for more details.

All InterPlay Leaders and Life Practice graduates are invited to come and play, bringing your creativity, curiosity and sense of fun.

Theme: Playing to our Strengths - An InterPlay Adventure with the Body Wisdom Tools

Play is a magical way to foster learning and well-being. So let's delve deeper into InterPlay.

Join us for a playful exploration of the Body Wisdom Tools and how they help us discover, trust, and lead from our strengths. Through movement, storytelling, reflection, and connection, we'll revisit these foundational practices of InterPlay and uncover the gifts, capacities, and wisdom already present within us.

This is an invitation to reflect on how the Body Wisdom Tools support your practice, and to share the wisdom we have accumulated. We'll revisit, Easy Focus, Body Wisdom, Internal Authority, Physicality of Grace, Exformation, Body Wisdom Practices, Incrementality, and Affirmation through the lens of strengths.

The gathering will be an opportunity for experiencing and learning more about:

Creative ways to lead InterPlay
Delving into self, connecting with others and a sense of community
Letting go and having fun.

Come curious, come playful, and come ready to discover what becomes possible when you play to your strengths. Expect a weekend packed with play, reflection and sneaky deep experiences, in person with fantastic Australian InterPlay leaders.

Early bird closes 6 September.

Bookings close Sunday 4 October.

The Leaders Gathering runs from Friday 5pm - Sunday 4pm

Early bird ticket prices per person (including lunches + morning and afternoon teas)

Full: $300
Conc: $250

Post early bird ticket prices per person
Full: $330
Conc: $280

A single day ticket for Saturday 17 October (9am - 4.30pm including the AGM) is also available (including lunch + morning and afternoon tea)

Early bird ticket price
Full: $180
Conc: $150

Post early bird ticket price
Full: $200
Conc: $170

InterPlay Australia is committed to supporting participation at all of our events. If cost is an obstacle please contact us at enquiries@interplayaus.com.au to discuss options for how we might assist you to attend.

Contacts:

Cathi Tucker regarding accommodation and billeting questions
email: cptucker@internode.on.net
mob: 0448 884 142

Jay Hartmann regarding booking questions, errors or changes
email: enquiries@interplayaus.com.au
mob: 0413 993 449

Adelaide Inn Hotel, 160 O'Connell Street, North Adelaide

Contact the hotel directly to book and advise that you are attending the Leaders Gathering on 16 - 18 October 2026. Rooms are available for booking at this rate until 4 October 2026.

Standard Twin or Queen room $165 per night

Standard Queen + single room $175 per night.

To make a booking, call 08 8267 5066.

http://adelaideinn.com.au

Aspen Holidays, Adelaide Caravan Park - 46 Richmond Street, Hackney SA 5069

Offers a range of accommodation options including cabins plus caravan and camping sites.

To make a booking, call 08 8363 1566.

https://aspenholidayparks.com.au/adelaide-caravan-park/

Billeting

There are a small number of billeting options available. Please contact Cathi Tucker to make arrangements.

Cathi Tucker regarding accommodation and billeting questions
email: cptucker@internode.on.net
mob: 0448 884 142

There are many other accommodation options nearby including hotels and Airbnbs.

Posted on March 12, 2026August 25, 2026 by Janet Hartmann

Leader Training Program 2026

Step into a transformative training that deepens your connection with InterPlay and supports you to grow into a confident, grounded leader. The program unfolds through rich components: Secrets of Leading InterPlay, Knowing the Forms and the Teaching Practicum - designed to expand your skills, intuition and creative capacity.

Please note that completion of the Life Practice Program is a prerequisite for the Leader Training Program.

Location: In-person - Melbourne VIC (Venue TBC)

First Weekend: Friday 24 July – Sunday 26 July 2026
Second Weekend: Friday 18 September – Sunday 20 September 2026

Cost: $1050 (payment plans available – please reach out if this would support your participation). If this is your second or third time, you get a 50% discount!

If finances are a barrier, please don't let this hold you back. Inclusivity is a priority in InterPlay, and we're committed to finding ways to make participation possible.

Please submit your expression of interest, if you haven't already done so, by 15 May 2026 to Pemra at eventsinterplay@gmail.com in order for us to know the size of the group.
Please note that late-comers can still join after this date.

For more information, contact Pemra eventsinterplay@gmail.com or 0403 809 496

Zee has facilitated community art workshops since 2004 and InterPlay since 2008, including the Life Practice Program and the Leaders Training Program. A trained acupuncturist, psychotherapist and Family Constellations facilitator with a long-term commitment to Conscious Dance, Yoga and Meditation, she delights in expanding the myriad ways we can find simple pleasure and nourishment in our own creative self expression.

Zee was a founding member of "Playing with Edges", Australia's first InterPlay based performance group, which offered community events for 12 years.

You can also see vintage Zee on Facebook @InterPlayPlayLab.

Alee Lee is a multidisciplinary Artist, Group Facilitator & InterPlay Leader with more than 30 years experience in arts and community health. Alee's commitment to InterPlay has emerged from her practice as a group facilitator and psychotherapist, witnessing and listening to stories that speak to a longing for community connection. Alee has completed a Fine Arts Degree, a Masters of Gestalt Therapy, the InterPlay Life Practice Program and Leadership Training and has introduced InterPlay to a variety of settings including Griffith University education and Community Health Services. Alee currently facilitates the Sunshine Coast InterPlay monthly play dates and is an active member of the Australian InterPlay Leadership Team.

Posted on October 4, 2025 by Janet Hartmann

InterPlay on the Sunshine Coast- Saturday 11 October

Posted on September 9, 2025September 16, 2025 by Janet Hartmann

InterPlay in the NT – Sunday 14 September

Posted on August 27, 2025March 12, 2026 by Janet Hartmann

SummerPlay January – February 2026 – Five Locations!

InterPlay is incremental and uses a set of tools and ideas that can help us to find wonder, laughter, joy, community, recognition, affirmation, and support.

Join InterPlay Australia co-founder Trish Watts and InterPlay Director of Development Agnotti Cowie (from the US) plus local Leaders for “untensive” play that is full of connections and possibilities. Come if you are brand new to InterPlay or have played for a long time. Bring a friend, make new friends, and learn new ways to explore your own gifts, experience and creativity in community.

Canberra (lunch included):

Early Bird Pricing
Three Days
Full $450 Concession $400
Two Days
Full $310 Concession $270
One Day
Full $160 Concession $140

Standard Pricing
Three Days
Full $480 Concession $430
Two Days
Full $340 Concession $300
One Day
Full $180 Concession $160

Melbourne and Newcastle (Byo lunch):

Early Bird Pricing
Three Days
Full $400 Concession $350
Two Days
Full $270 Concession $240
One Day
Full $150 Concession $130

Standard Pricing
Three Days
Full $430 Concession $380
Two Days
Full $300 Concession $270
One Day
Full $170 Concession $150

Sunshine Coast and Adelaide (byo lunch)

Early Bird Pricing
Two Days
Full $270 Concession $240
One Day
Full $150 Concession $130

Standard Pricing
Two Days
Full $300 Concession $270
One Day
Full $170 Concession $150

Bookings close:
Sunshine Coast - 2 January
Newcastle - 7 January
Canberra - 9 January
Melbourne - 22 January
Adelaide - 30 January

Sunshine Coast

Building D room DG.47, University of the Sunshine Coast, 90 Sippy Downs Dr, Sippy Downs, QLD

Newcastle

Adamstown Uniting Church, Brunker Road, Adamstown, NSW

Canberra

Mackillop House and Conference Centre, 50 Archibald Street, Lyneham, ACT

Melbourne

Friday - Thornbury Community Hall, 99 Leinster Grove Thornbury, Vic

Saturday and Sunday - Bargoonga Nganjin, North Fitzroy Library, 182 - 186 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North, Victoria

Adelaide

Lounge Room, Fullerton Park Community Centre, 411 Fullerton Road, Fullarton, SA

Sunshine Coast: Alee 0410 457 208

Newcastle: Greer 0438 608 776

Canberra: Alison 0416 065 687

Melbourne: Pemra 0403 809 496

Adelaide: Mandy 0415 253 169

Cancellation Policy (after full payment):

More than 3 weeks before (event name) -full refund.

Up to 3 weeks before (event name) - 90% refund, 10% will be retained as an administration fee.

Up to 1 week before (event name) - 50% refund.

Less than 48 hours before the event payment is non-refundable.

Posted on August 27, 2025October 23, 2025 by Janet Hartmann

EarthPlay – 20 to 21 September 2025 – Newcastle

Come sink into your body-wisdom as a way to explore your feelings and desires in response to the challenging and re-aligning times we are living through.

Using the mode of InterPlay we will evoke the notional spiral developed by the original seeders of The Work That Reconnects and Deep Ecology (John Seed, Pat Fleming, Joanna Macy and Arne Ness).

We invite you to Play, Dance, Create Stories and Claim your Voice.

Experience Connection, Creativity, Authenticity and Fun.

InterPlay (created by Phil Porter and Cynthia Winton-Henry) is the practice of living in the moment by moving, dancing, telling stories and creating song as a means to access our bodywisdom. InterPlay can hold profound depths and also take us to light and easeful places.

In EarthPlay we will use InterPlay to remind us that we are an interconnected part of nature and that this awareness in humans is essential to the future of the planet. We will explore ourselves as emotional beings in a period of ecological crisis, reflect on where we fit in the story of the universe, and share what it means for us in this period of adaptation to a changing world. We're not looking to come up with answers but we may find some insights for the way ahead.

EarthPlay is for anyone who is concerned about how to navigate the climate catastrophe – including artists and activists, environmentalists and dreamers, scientists and people who practice spiritually to promote peace and calm … and your friends! In other words, EVERYONE is welcome!

Using movement, voice and storytelling to navigate this time of ecological crisis, explore connection to nature, yourself, and others.

Play and move through Gratitude, Love, and Loss, to find your Way Forward in community.

1 ticket for the whole weekend!
Saturday 20th September 9:30am-5pm AND 6:30pm-8:30pm
Sunday 21st September 9:30am-5pm

Includes morning tea and afternoon tea, and dinner on the Saturday night.
For lunches, bring your own or make use of the local cafes and shops.

Saturday 20 September 2025 9:30 AM - Sunday 21 September 2025 5:30 PM (UTC+10)

Venue: Adamstown Uniting Church
228 Brunker Rd, Adamstown NSW 2289

Posted on August 4, 2025August 11, 2025 by Janet Hartmann

Sophia van Ruth

Sophia van Ruth is a facilitator and educator based in Adelaide and an active member of the InterPlay community there.

Sophia has been leading InterPlay in both community and professional contexts since 2007. Whilst living in Europe from 2008-2020 she was a core member of a team of international leaders who co-led InterPlay 'untensive' weekends and InterPlay Leaders Gatherings in the region.

In 2009 she founded Animate Arts - an organisation dedicated to bringing people into embodied relationship with their world and equipping them with practical tools for thriving in the face of complexity and uncertainty. Click on the link for her website to discover workshops and coaching to enhance your intuitive and embodied skills in the workplace.

With over a decade of experience working in community engagement and collaborative design, Sophia is highly skilled in supporting diverse groups in co-creation processes.

Sophia holds an MSc in Holistic Science from Schumacher College, and her work is deeply informed by the principles of complexity science. Her holistic, participatory approach guides participants beyond traditional 'systems thinking' toward 'systems sensing'— an experiential, intuitive way of engaging with complexity.

If you or your team are facing a tricky problem and want a fresh perspective, or if you'd like to try some playful and collaborative ways of making decisions, Sophia can help.

Posted on July 9, 2025October 23, 2025 by Janet Hartmann

Leaders Gathering 2025 – Bookings Closed!

Registrations are now closed!

This year's Leaders Gathering is being held at the peaceful St Clement's Retreat and Conference Centre in Galong, NSW . The Canberra community will be organising pickups from the Canberra airport and the train station at Yass. Pickups are also available from the Harden train station and the Galong bus station.

All InterPlay Leaders and Life Practice graduates are invited to come and play, bringing your creativity, curiosity and sense of fun, as well as a beginner's mind.

Theme: Playing with the Forms

Play is a magical way to foster learning and well-being. So let's delve deeper into InterPlay.

For this Leaders Gathering we are curating a series of sessions centred on the basics—not as a beginner's review, but as a return to the well, a fresh look at the richness within the Forms of:

✨ Movement (one-hand dances, walking, running and stopping, shape and stillness, contact, following and leading)
🎤 Storytelling (incremental stories, big body stories, babbling)
🌀 Stillness (in ourselves, between us, in the space)
🎶 Voice (toning, songs, silly sounds, verbal play)
🎯 Focus Sessions (playground time, witnessing, getting what we need)

The gathering will be an opportunity for experiencing and learning more about:

InterPlay forms and practices and their impact
Creative ways to lead InterPlay
Delving into self, connecting with others and a sense of community
Letting go and having fun.

Deep dives will be included on the menu this weekend.

Expect a weekend packed with play, reflection and sneaky deep experiences, in person with fantastic Australian InterPlay leaders.

Early bird closes 7 September. (Post early bird prices increase by $30 per ticket).

Bookings close 26 September.

Please note: There are a limited number of single rooms with ensuite.

Ticket Prices per person (including accommodation and meals)

Weekend Fri 5pm - Sun 3pm - (Couple's room with ensuite)
Full $500
Conc $450

Weekend Fri 5pm - Sun 3pm - (Single room with ensuite)
Full $560
Conc $500

Weekend Fri 5pm - Sun 3pm - (Single room with shared bathroom)
Full $500
Conc $450

Fri 5pm - Sat 9pm - (Couples room with ensuite)
Full $290
Conc $240

Fri 5pm - Sat 9pm - (Single room with ensuite)
Full $380
Conc $320

Fri 5pm - Sat 9pm - (Single room with shared bathroom)
Full $290
Conc $240

Saturday and Sunday only (Couple's room with ensuite)
Full $310
Conc $260

Saturday and Sunday only - (Single room with ensuite)
Full $400
Conc $350

Saturday and Sunday only - (Single room with shared bathroom)
Full $310
Conc $260

Ticket Prices - Single Days (no accommodation)

Saturday 9am - 9pm (including dinner)
Full $150
Conc 110

Sunday 9am - 3pm
Full $70
Conc $60

Ticket prices include breakfast, lunch, dinner, morning & afternoon teas. For day visitors breakfast is not included.

Contacts:

Alison Stewart regarding logistics and booking questions
email: alisonstewart.au@gmail.com
mob: 0416 065 687

Jay Hartmann regarding booking errors or changes
email: enquiries@interplayaus.com.au
mob: 0413 993 449

Posted on May 19, 2025August 4, 2025 by Janet Hartmann

WinterPlay 26 – 27 July 2025- Online via zoom

WinterPlay 2025 - Playing with Sparking the imagination with story, movement, poetry and song.

Winter wraps around us, as we watch the trees drop their leaves and draw inwards, engaging in a play of shadow and light. Come and enjoy a poetic space together, where wholesome company welcomes the emerging shape of our lives.

For beginner and experienced InterPlayers.

Saturday 26, 1 -4 pm (AEST)

Sunday 27, 11am - 4pm (AEST)

You can register for one, or both days.

Please register below and the Zoom link and program will be sent to you closer to the time of the workshop.

Playing with the outside, inside and in-between

To Register:

Cost