Performance Techniques for Summoning Spirits

Flexibility: Routine can be adapted based on performance needs, allowing performers to tailor their approach to different audiences or venues.
Recommended Knowledge: Familiarity with the 'OTT' move (Over the Top) is beneficial but not essential; mastery of basic techniques is sufficient to create a captivating experience.
Key Principle: Use the one-ahead principle to manage the billet discrepancy, ensuring smooth transitions in the routine that enhance the illusion of a spiritual encounter.

Business Cards: Minimum of two, which will be used during the interaction to write down spirits' names.
Pen: For writing names or information discreetly; a black pen is suggested for visibility against light-colored cards.
Haunted Item: Options include a necklace, photograph, or even a candle if haunting in a room; these items should possess a sense of history or intrigue that captivates the audience's imagination.
Force Object: Typically a tarot card or equivalent item that can be forced; this object should align with the theme of the spirit interaction to heighten the experience.
Example Item in Explanation: A black beeswax candle is suggested due to its inexpensive and low-maintenance nature, making it suitable for rehearsals and performances.

Initial Changes: Audience should feel a temperature drop and heightened anticipation as they sense something supernatural is about to occur, facilitating a connection to the performance.
Knocking:
- Essential to backtrack and add suspense with three knocks to summon, creating an unsettling atmosphere.
- Establishes a primal fear connected to the unknown, invoking a deep-rooted sense of curiosity and dread.
Tension Management: High anticipation is maintained without necessarily delivering a jump scare immediately, allowing the audience's imagination to amplify the experience.
Audience Interaction: Participants encouraged to acknowledge sensory experiences (e.g., chills, goosebumps) as spirits draw closer, fostering engagement and immersion.

Creating Anticipation:
- Silence before a jump scare maximizes audience tension, amplifying the effect of forthcoming surprises.
- Focus on an inadequate item (like a toaster) as a metaphor for their fears, reinforcing the idea that anticipation can often be more fear-inducing than the event itself, enhancing the overall creepiness of the atmosphere.

Volunteers and Mind Engagement:
- Volunteers should close their eyes and take deep breaths while envisioning the spirit's name and essence; this mental exercise elevates their belief and involvement in the performance.
- Guidance is provided on how to mentally engage with the spirit, resulting in heightened belief and emotional investment, making them more susceptible to the performance's influence.

Confirmation of Spirit's Influence:
- Once a name is provided by the volunteer, performers should respond without overt surprise, maintaining a calm demeanor that suggests inevitability in the supernatural occurrence.
- Seemingly ordinary names may be modified to match the haunting theme (e.g., calling someone 'Steve' but framing it as unusual in context), adding layers to the narrative.

Name Written: Performers should write down the spirit's name while ensuring it stays concealed from the volunteer, creating a sense of mystery and intrigue.
Influence Demonstration: Players will later choose cards one by one, with the performer manipulating decision-making framed as controlled by the spirit, emphasizing the illusion of otherworldly influence.

Thematic Ties:
- Cards may represent deeper meanings, enhancing the narrative and symbolism within the performance (Example: 'The Hermit' representing introspection).
- The message relates to ongoing ideas of guidance even in darkness, expanding beyond just the scare element and reflecting broader life themes.

Showpiece Creation:
- Entire performance relies on simple principles and cost-effective materials, focusing on creating engaging narratives and experiences.
- Opportunities for expansions into different routines or adaptations based on audience interactions and spirit narratives can be explored, allowing for a dynamic performance.

This routine can potentially adapt to various performance styles, options include:
- Haunted items leading to unique audience interactions, enhancing personalization in performances.
- Incorporating different themes or practices (such as hypnosis) to enhance the horror experience, engaging broader audiences.

Inspiration for Performance: The process draws on effective psychology and performance art techniques to create an engaging and haunting atmosphere, usable in various contexts throughout the year.
Final Note: Performers should modify based on their own style while maintaining the ideological core of interaction with the supernatural, ensuring personal flair.
Acknowledgment: Thank you from Lewis