A magazine for and about Stage Hypnosis. ©


James Szeles
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Are stage hypnotists going the way of the stand up comic?

In the 80's stand up comedy was all the rage and  comics  were in great demand.  Every bar and bowling alley had a comedy room and soon there were more rooms than good comics to fill them.   So, the comedy clubs started to use anyone they could get to perform and when people paid good money and saw bad comics the clubs went out of business.

In my opinion, stage hypnosis is reaching that point right now.  Just as the clubs hired bad comics, the same thing is happening with hypnotists.  Everybody it seems, wants a hypnotist at their school or party and a lot of people want to be a stage hypnotist.  The problem is, some inexperienced  hypnotist's are selling themselves as pros and when they bomb at  the events the people who booked them don't know they are beginners and never want  to use a hypnotist again.  This situation hurts all of us.   These new hypnosists perform a show or two at a school, or for a small groups of friends and think they are ready for the big shows.  But then they run into trouble, the subjects don't go under as easily as high school kids, or don't go under at all and their show bombs.

A real pro knows what to expect and is able to handle whatever situation comes up and still perform a great show.    I get calls often  from people who have seen a hypnotist perform in college or high school and want to book me.  I recently performed for a New Year's Eve party and did two shows.  By the time the second show started at 10:15pm,  many people in the audience were drunk and the room was very noisy.   During the induction, people were popping balloons and blowing noise-makers.  It was hard going,  but I got the room under control and my subjects to go under. By drawing on my experience,  I got the crowd to help me keep it quiet until I could get them under.

What will the future of stage hypnosis be?  Only time will tell.