Check Out Ami Dayan’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ami Dayan.

Hi Ami, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised on a Kibbutz (think large commune) in Israel. After completing the mandatory army service, which I served at an elite rescue squad, I was passionately drawn to a life in the theatre, studying and working professionally in Israel, Europe, and across the US.

In ‘99 my wife and I came to Boulder with our year-old daughter, for what we thought would be one year of Yoga studies with Richard Freeman at his Yoga Workshop. As they say “humans make plans and the God’s laugh.” That one year turned to 22, producing another child, dog, home, careers, and an inspired vibrant community that has kept us in Boulder since.

The concept behind our venture, “The Interview Game,” fostering interpersonal connections using one-on-one reciprocal interviews, grew organically in ’18 among a group of friends raising kids in Boulder. We all had healthy parents, living thousands of miles away. Collectively, we felt responsible for depriving our kids and parents of each other’s presence. And we became determined to keep the essential intergenerational bond between our parents and our children intact.

We started experimenting with reciprocal interviews, sharing initial drafts with friends and colleagues, welcoming their input, and inviting them to share and include their friends and families in the process. We asked psychologists, teachers, parents, grandparents, and kids of all ages to play and their response was unabashed enthusiasm and support, an outpouring of insights and recommendations.

The original meaning of the word “Interview” is “to see each other,” and from the beginning, our mission has always been to help create “a better, more compassionate, empathetic world; made possible by truly “seeing each other.” The pandemic did not change this mission one bit, but with growing isolation and loneliness, particularly among the older population, this mission is now more urgent than ever, and I feel fortunate to be able to dedicate my time and capacities to bring people closer.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
In April of 2020, we were set to launch four Interview Game booklet editions, which had a unique design for players to sit, looking at each other three feet apart across a table with the booklet set between them like a chess set (a perfect Covid trap if ever there was one).

We were scheduled to hold public events at churches, community centers, bookstores, and schools that invited us to demonstrate and offer The Interview Game to multiple generational audiences. Of course, the pandemic was a major challenge that forced us to alter these plans and indeed the platform for the product.

By June, we shifted to offering video chat editions, allowing anyone with WiFi, a web-enabled device, and 60 minutes to connect deeply and safely with family and friends anywhere. Last November, we introduced our first ‘group’ games for entire families, groups of friends, residents of elder care facilities, congregations, and cohorts to play together.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a playwright, theatre director, and actor, but in the last three years, I dedicate my time to creating one-on-one/two-way interviews that bring people closer. We have editions for grandparents and grandchildren, family members, valued friends, and our 2021 Holidays and Hanukah group games will be in two weeks.

I am particularly grateful and proud of the wide range of input we keep getting and incorporating  into the work from educators, psychologists, parents, grandparents, and kids. This ongoing feedback continually improves our products and inspires us.

I believe my path is unique in how it expands the forms and platforms for seeking and finding shared humanity by sharing life stories, on stage, in homes, and recently from anywhere online.

What matters most to you? Why?
Human interconnectivity, empathy, compassion, and love. All else (jobs, possessions, self-image, etc) is here today – gone tomorrow, these are eternal.

“The most important thing in life is human affection.” – The Dali Lama

“In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” – John Lennon.

Contact Info:

• Email: hello@theinterviewgame.com
• Website: https://www.theinterviewgame.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheInterviewGame