The ensemble’s goal is to create a coherent story while going around the circle, each player contributing one sentence starting with either “Fortunately…” or “Unfortunately…” in an alternating pattern. 

A leader will begin the story with one establishing sentence. Then player 1 will begin the next sentence with “Fortunately”, player 2 with “Unfortunately”, player 3 with “Fortunately” and so on. 

EXAMPLE: 

Leader: Once upon a time there was a little frog who wanted to become a bird. 

Player 1: Fortunately, the frog spoke bird and so he decided to ask a bird friend to teach him to fly. 

Player 2: Unfortunately, the bird refused to share the flying secret. 

Player 3: Fortunately, the frog had another idea - he would become a pilot!... 

Sample Starter Sentences: 

  • Once there was a monkey who wanted to be a movie star. 

  • One day I got a new puppy. 

  • One day a man was flying on an airplane. 

  • One day, a woman discovered a dinosaur bone in her backyard. 

  • Use a character from a book you are reading and have the students tell their own version. 

Variation: Fortunate Me 

Players sit in semi-circle. One person chooses a goal that they want to achieve in 1 year from today. The game is played as if it is exactly one year in the future. The person plays themselves, telling the story of how a year ago they set this intention to achieve this goal and all that happened between then (real life today) and now (real life a year from now). 

They start telling the story "A year ago today I decided...(the goal they decided to achieve)" and the first person in the circle says UNFORTUNATELY... (what happened). Then the main player says "FORTUNATELY... and finds a way forward with their story. They go around the circle refuting every UNFORTUNATELY that comes their way. 

Notes: Toward the end of the circle ask the main person if they want to have someone add any additional unfortunately for them to refute (real things they are scared might happen). 

  • What role did active listening play in this game? 

This activity has been adapted from 100 Virtual Theatre Games – Theatreish.com. Fortunate Me has been adapted from Session Lab.