All that Chris is asking is if anyone is doing a show in a non-traditional form. And it raises the question of what can be done in a show using trance beside the traditional comic beats and psychological seance work?

The main stumbling block is that in order to do drama or whatever with hypnosis you need to be a talented dramatic actor. Otherwise it comes off as simply a hack experience and one ends up getting laughed at anyhow.

Part of the problem with MOST hypnosis shows is the same holds true of comedy. But laughs tend to carry one past the problem.

If only a guy was doing something like this every so often in New York.

I guess it depends. I would imagine a psychological seance show would attract a different type of audience. I never really thought of a seance type show as being a "hypnosis" show. I would've thought it would fall into mentalism or bizzarre magic that would use a number of techniques as well as perhaps hypnosis. If it was a really theatrical show then yes great acting skills would be needed. However I have found in the past when I did a few parties doing Tarot etc these people were the easiest to "entertain". It goes back to what I was saying earlier being able to entertain is a different skill to being able to do hypnosis. I think you could pull this off without being a great actor just watch Derren Brown or old footage of Uri Geller. They aren't great actors they just "act as if" what they are doing is real. Just pretend it is for real and be yourself. Its when you go over board and ham it up it appears silly.

Tony mentioned Paul Voodini. If Chris gives this ago It would be great if he lets us know how it goes. I hope he gives. it ago and reports back

As I mentioned in this post, I have read most of Voodini's work and I use it regularly.



Hypnotic seance work is a specialty of mine. I have done it many times. It attracts people who are more 'serious' about the concepts of seance, and also people who are into Victorian stuff. The performance that Paul was complimenting last year, was a hypnotic/suggestion seance routine where the subject was contacted by, received some messages from, and was eventually partially possessed by, a "spirit entity".

As Todd put so succinctly - what I am looking for is a show that isn't like the common shows out there. I have already begun building my show, which is based around the powers of the mind and trying to unlock potential - but I am always looking for inspiration for texture, drama, and an all around better show. Hence why I was asking if anyone had recommendations for other performers.

I guess the sort of arrogant (At least gore it came off.) statement about being bored with traditional hypnosis shows was not necessary.

You come into a forum with those exact people and drop that first club off the tee and are shocked at the result.

As for how it can be done there are 2 very important things to keep in mind.

First is that you have to sell it properly. It is all in the sale. Ticket sales I mean. If you have the wrong audience for the I don't care what structure you build it will die badly. That is the key to the whole thing.

Second once you have them it is very easy to go down that path. As a matter of fact it might be easier than a traditional show as that audience seems to want to be involved in that and their belief system is pretty well in line with where you are going anyhow. It is easier to take someone where they already want to go. This crowd fixes that issue. With the right marketing it would be almost universal. That is an advantage.

Marketed correctly those who show up woo be predisposed to being entertained by that process. Another big hurdle gone.

Only real would be is the market big enough of a segment to make money or do you have the money to sustain it until it is?

Other than Voodini (whose work I also love), can you cite some resources for hypnotic seance work?

The list of folks who have influenced me the most are: Voodini, Jerome Finley, Bill Montana, Anthony Jacquin, Mike Mandel. I'll send you a PM regarding the seance work as I feel that's drifting from the purpose of this particular forum.

Chris, did you ever see Ormond McGill's hypnotic show? It was built more around a sense of wonder and mystical fascination for hypnosis which worked pretty well (but then his wise old wizard vibes suited that approach). I went to a stage show by a very reputable hypnotist last year which I thought was terrible - incredibly tacky jokes, tired routines, over-reliance on pseudo-hypnosis and other lame tricks to pass the time. The whole thing was slightly embarrassing. Personally I would much prefer to see a show that was more built around the implications of hypnosis, exploring ideas of automaticity, the illusion of conscious will and how various angles relate and apply to everyday life. I rarely see that, but its powerful when done well. I would hope there's a market for that approach, but it takes a very rare and special blend of skills and personal qualities to get it right (and sell it right).

WillBox that would be closer to a personal development seminar. I used to run them years ago. They are more interesting but more niche than shows.

Sadly, though that does sound very interesting, McGill was not of this world by the time I was getting into this stuff. I would have liked to see him work, though.

Hey Christopher,

I'm hardly ever on the Café anymore but was just reading a review of something, had a little gander at sleepy and saw your thread. I do a show that use hypnosis in interesting ways that doesn't involve comedy and uses a strong dramatic narrative. It's possible to entertain using hypnosis without comedy skits or routines and I'm sure you are on the right track! Happy to talk via pm. Anthony Jacquin has been doing some very interesting work lately involving stage hypnosis that has some glorious theatricality to it.

Best wishes,
Anansi.

Mcgill apparently was a lovely guy but his work was very dated.

It wasn't dated when he was doing it.

No but we can't go back in a time machine. Nothing is dated until its dated. It's a chronological phenomenom. I would love to see him perform too on video if it was available. I love old stuff including movies etc.

The techniques are not dated, just how they are applied in routines.
Which in an interesting way sort of brings us full circle to the point being made by the op.

I think the problem with the vast majority of shows I have seen is that there is no heart in them. Few add anything that is them. You don't discover much about the performer.

And these insufferable seminars and courses and dvds just keep making the problem worse.

The sad simple truth is any fool can induce trance on stage. But what happens then? Is it comedy (good comedy.) or as the op wants drama? Sadly people learn the words and nothing more. The don't learn how to perform and how to communicate and connect with an audience.

It is all just artificial stupid stuff like how fast an induction is or how many volunteers they keep. NONE of which matters to an audience. Then they go to seminars to learn how to do exactly what others are doing.

Then the worst is they come here and yell at those is us who point out the truth. In the name of being "supportive". All the while leading to the very problem the op is mentioning.

It has sadly become the hypnosis equivalent of how many times can one do the classic pass in a minute.

I agree with you 100% above. I was thought it as a given that anyone can induce trance etc. What is dated about Mcgill is his presentation and content. I have friends who trained with him a few years before he died. He performed in the evening. They all loved him but didn't take his show seriously as it from another era. And that was way back in the 90s.

I can't help but wonder if an act based on old, I mean really old performances might be seen today as "new." I'm not well versed enough to truly be specific about that statement, but I'm envisioning something along the lines of a 19th or early 20th century freak show. Something from the age of traveling circuses and gypsy caravans. What sort of hypno-entertainment was being done in the age of vaudeville? I imagine that the supernatural was part of the pitch and prevailing views today are not what they were a hundred years ago, but that doesn't mean that there is [i]nothing[i] from that era that stands up today. And if someone has the sand to pull the supernatural act off, more power to them. I'd buy a ticket and watch that.

What was a hypnotist in that era doing? Was it comedy, or was it mystery, or something completely different?

You ever watch old black and white movies? Lovely to watch the classics. But they are dated. You couldn't get away with making movies that way today. I think hypnosis shows are best when they have a mystical element to them. It still works today. But needs to be more updated.

Dominque Webb was a very popular magician and hypnotist in France. He had an over the top flamboyant style that framed what he was doing very well and it was filled with pattern disruptions that lead to very quick inductions. Though we might find some of what he did comical, he was not a comedy hypnotist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ODw6fcdIj4