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| Great Moments in Stage Hypnotism |
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If you look around on the web and read books, you might get the impression that stage hypnotists never get anything wrong. Eric Jensen gave me the term “great moment” to describe that time that some people might think of as a mistake, but where you learn something really useful. These are great moments in ones education. Some of the great moments below happened to me, and others I have been told about by other hypnotists. The great thing about sharing this kind of stuff is that we can learn from others and we don’t have to make the mistakes ourselves. Find Out About the AudienceOne hypnotist I know was given a gig in Cancun. For various reasons his travel was botched up, and because he went to the wrong hotel first, he turned up at the correct venue with only minutes to spare. He got changed into his tux in his room and without a moment to spare rushed to the backstage door, grabbed the microphone and stepped out on stage. Only then did he find out that it was nudist week in Cancun Mexico, and his entire audience was naked. He was more than a little surprised, and was asked to disrobe several times during the evening. . . . Madonna and Marilyn MonroeOne hypnotist picked an elderly woman and told her she was Madonna. The music played, and nothing happened. He then told her she was not Madonna anymore and asked her name. She said “Madonna”. He said “no, you’re not Madonna, what is your name?”. She said “Madonna”. This went on for a bit with the hypnotist becoming increasingly worried that he’d somehow scrambled her mind – as unlikely as that is – until someone from the Audience shouted out “Madonna is her real name, you idiot!”. I once had a landlady named Marilyn Monroe, so I guess there’s always potential to accidentally ask a stranger to be themselves. Being Prepared
Leaving the StageThe set up for the show – including the opening “remarks” has a considerable degree of subtlety. I put a great deal of effort into scripting the first 15 minutes or so, but I never work from notes, and have always spoken off the cuff. Once or twice I have missed a bit by accident. It is when watching the DVD after the show that I can see the omissions that cause problems later on. One of these occurred when I had omitted to tell the volunteers to stay on the stage until I dismissed them. I also accidentally used the phrase “when you choose to leave the stage” while showing them where the stairs were. It seemed to me every time I turned my back that I’d lose someone. Some were clearly potential stars. The problem was that some excellent candidates just “chose” to leave, and I didn’t realise that I had given them that suggestion when I showed them the location of the stairs, and had compounded the problem by not telling them explicitly to stay. Monster’s Inc.
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