Stage Hypnosis
Outline of a Show
Pre-Talk
The hypnotist begins with a brief introduction, explaining what hypnosis is and what it is not. For many people, this is their first exposure to hypnosis, and it is important that they learn some of the basic facts about hypnosis. After dispelling old myths about hypnosis, the audience is excited to experience it for themselves.Volunteers
Next, the hypnotist asks for volunteers from the audience. There's never any shortage of volunteers from those who have seen a good hypnosis show. Some others may be a bit more hesitant at first. Usually this is because they are afraid of being embarrassed. No one gets embarrassed. (If they did, no one would want to volunteer the next time, and I wouldn't have a show!) "Quack like a duck" is one of the often quoted examples of how someone might be humiliated on stage. I personally don't know of any stage hypnotists who use that suggestion anymore. When I choose suggestions to use on stage, I want the volunteers to have fun as well as the audience. I never want anyone to regret having volunteered for my show (or they won't do it again next time!). I find that past volunteers are the first ones up on stage the next time, because they had so much fun the last time. But if you feel at all hesitant about going up on stage, just go ahead and watch one first (we need people in the audience as well as on stage). You may decide that the next time, you'd like to volunteer as well.Induction
After seating the volunteers on stage, the hypnotist performs the hypnosis induction. Depending on the hypnotist and the crowd, the audience may be given the opportunity to experience hypnosis along with those on stage. It's important for the audience to remain silent during this portion of the show so the volunteers can focus. After the induction, the hypnotist may send some people back to the audience and bring some people on stage from the audience (if they were following the induction as well) in order to create a good mix of people on stage who are responding well to hypnosis. Now, just because someone was sent back to the audience, doesn't mean they weren't hypnotized. It is generally accepted that there are different depths to hypnosis. The entertaining suggestions given on stage require some of the deeper levels of hypnosis as well as a person whose reactions to them are entertaining. Thus, some of the people sent back only reached lighter levels of hypnosis (perfectly effective for most kinds of clinical hypnosis). And sometimes, there are just too many people on stage to use them all.The fun begins...
Once the right mix of volunteers is reached, the fun begins! Some examples of the great stuff we do on stage are:- Visit a racetrack and cheer on a horse
- Meet James Bond
- Interview a Martian about life on Mars
(of course, we'll need a translator, since the Martian will only speak Martian) - Perform an amazing magic show for the volunteers
- See some untapped dancing ability emerge on stage
- Find out what happens when you have 11 fingers