FortuneShow

Overview:

Improv show using fortune-telling methods and paraphenalia as inspiration, 60-90 minutes long.

Open Items

• Performance date
• Lab Show or independent performance?
• Cast (see below)
• Rehearsal schedule
• Promotion ideas
• Set list / shape of show

Setups:

• wrapped fortune cookies inspire scenes
• animals game based on names and chinese astrological signs of audience members
• get fortune questions from the audience and have a word-at-a-time "expert" answer them
• improv stories based on horoscopes of actual audience members (ie, use their name & characteristics as one of the characters
• fortune/horoscope as dire consequences
• phone bank at the psychic hotline headquarters
• paper cards with fortunes/horoscopes
• secrets based on a line from a fortune/horoscope
• fortunes/horoscopes in another time, another place
• word-at-a time fortune with the audience member receiving the fortune as one of the players
• individual fortunes told to each audience member by a different improvisor as they leave the show
• fortune teller with translator (or with subtitles)
• god game with a person's horoscope as the voice of god

Elements:

• Cootie Catcher
• Crystal Ball
• Divination
• Fortune Cookies
• Reading Tea Leaves
• Horoscopes
• I Ching
• Magic Eight Ball
• Oracles
• Ouija Boards
• Palmistry
• Runes
• Scale Fortunes (i.e., find out your weight and your fortune)
• Tarot Cards
• Tea Leaves
• Telephone Psychics
• Blood Type
• Fotune Sheet (soon to be scanned)
• Face Reading

Cast:

• MattVance (producer)
• ShellyMiller
• Chris R B Fay
• PeterRogers
• KatyShea
• BobApthorpe
• Bueller?

Related/Random ideas

• incorporate ". . . in bed."
• perform a scene onstage with guidance from inner spirit guide
• show on Friday the 13th (9/02 or 12/02)
• past lives
• fate
• karma
• lucky day
• romance
• past, present, future
• dictionary game
• bad fortunes
• tie in the concept of destiny with the drivers license game
• weird fortune collection
• fortune cookies

TECHNIQUES OF DIVINATION (from "Schott's Original Miscellany")

• observing facial features - anthroposcopy
• analyzing currents of water - bletonism
• studying the passage of smoke - capnomancy
• behavior of birds - augury
• looking into fire - pyromancy
• examination of arrows - belomancy
• interpreting oil poured on water - leconomancy
• studying the entrails of animals - haruspicy
• shadows or ghosts - sciomancy
• examination of ashes - spodomancy
• studying bones - osteomancy
• analysis of numbers - arithmancy
• interpretation of random (often biblical) texts - bibliomancy
• becoming dizzy and falling - pyromancy
• looking at fountains and springs - pyromancy
• randomly drawing lots - sortilege
• studying patterns in the flight of birds - ornithomancy
• observation of lights or candles - lampadomancy
• examining the entrails of sacrificial victims - hieroscopia
• interpretation of laughter - geloscopy
• burning straw on hot iron - sideromancy
• analysis of pebbles - pessomancy