Hypnosis and improv comedy come together in “HYPROV” at the State Theatre
A mix of improvisational comedy and hypnosis will be on display May 6 in 无毛视频淗YPROV: Improv Under Hypnosis无毛视频� at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown.
The show begins with 20 audience volunteers being placed under hypnosis (more information below on how to become one!) by master hypnotist Asad Mecci, who whittles those 20 down the five whose inhibitions have most evaporated.
At that point, one of the world无毛视频檚 leading comedic improvisers, Colin Mochrie, takes the stage, and those five become the show, performing improv with Mochrie.
Mecci, who has performed live hypnosis shows in front of over 1.5 million people across the globe, wanted to be better at his craft and decided to take improv classes at The Second City in 2015.
He found the instructors often telling him to get out of his head.
无毛视频淲hat I realized was they don无毛视频檛 want to you to consciously construct comedy,无毛视频� Mecci said. 无毛视频淭hey wanted it to be unconscious, they wanted it to be a knee-jerk reaction.无毛视频�
That无毛视频檚 when he wondered if it were possible to hypnotize people with no comedic improv experience, and turn them into great improvisers.
无毛视频淭he answer is a resounding yes,无毛视频� he said.
Mecci then found Mochrie, a fellow Canadian is best known for the hit television show 无毛视频淲hose Line is it Anyway?,无毛视频� and pitched the idea.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e been improvising for about 40 years now, and I enjoy when people come up with variations on how to do it,无毛视频� Mochrie said, adding he especially enjoys a variation that takes him a little out of his comfort zone. 无毛视频淚 thought, I really can无毛视频檛 get farther out of my comfort zone than this, working with people I无毛视频檝e just met who are in a hypnotic state.无毛视频�
Mochrie also loved the idea that neither he nor Mecci had any idea of what each show would be. With five strangers rounding out the cast each time they did it, there was no way to rehearse.
In 2016, the duo went on tour with the show, selling out theaters in North America and Europe.
Mecci said while he didn无毛视频檛 find the show to have any extraordinary challenges for him, he did find that he was extremely nervous during that first show.
无毛视频淭hen we hit our stride, and the show took on a life of its own,无毛视频� Mecci said, adding that working with someone as skilled as Mochrie, he has a front row seat to the best comedy in the world. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a comedy high-wire act.无毛视频�
In the hypnosis part of the show, participants are disconnected from the self-reflective parts of their minds. In essence, they don无毛视频檛 worry if they无毛视频檒l be judged for what they say. Mochrie said that removing that fear makes it as though he is working with already experienced improvisers.
无毛视频淲hen these people are hypnotized, they become true improvisers 无毛视频� they react immediately to anything Asad and I give to them,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淭he only thing I don无毛视频檛 have with them is that I don无毛视频檛 know them. So I have to have that instant trust and that everything is going to work out.无毛视频�
The two said things have certainly worked out as they receive positive feedback after each show, which involves anything from Mochrie and an audience member singing a duet to Mecci having someone in the audience believe they无毛视频檙e in love with Mochrie.
无毛视频淭he proposal scene is always so interesting,无毛视频� Mochrie said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 great to see the amount of love coming from someone无毛视频檚 eyes, and I have almost been manhandled in a good way.无毛视频�
One woman told the two after a show that she suffers from crippling anxiety, and didn无毛视频檛 know why she volunteered to go on stage. She became one of the five, and while under hypnosis, was told she was a pop star. The woman ultimately told them that being on stage was the best hour of her life, and it inspired her to take improv classes.
无毛视频淚 hope she went with it and is doing well,无毛视频� Mochrie said. 无毛视频淚t feels good that this goofy show we do has a beneficial side effect.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 incredible to see ordinary people do extraordinary things on stage,无毛视频� Mecci said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 phenomenal to watch that metamorphosis.无毛视频�
To be hypnotized, Mecci said the only thing a participant needs to be is an honest and willing subject who wants to have a great time and a good experience.
He said around 20% of the population is susceptible to hypnosis in a non-clinical environment like a stage show, which is why the show starts with 20 audience members and ends up with five.
Mecci also wants to shatter any misconceptions about hypnosis that people may have.
One of the most common is that he will have total mind control over someone.
无毛视频淭he reality is you can无毛视频檛 make someone do anything that无毛视频檚 against their morals or cultural values,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚 can make people do what they normally wouldn无毛视频檛 do, but I can无毛视频檛 make people do what they don无毛视频檛 want to do.无毛视频�
Mecci also said that people cannot get stuck in hypnotic state.
Another misconception is that only weak-minded people can be hypnotized.
无毛视频�(Hypnosis is) basically getting into a willing state of mind and getting caught up in what they无毛视频檙e doing,无毛视频� Mecci said, providing an example of watching a horror movie where the viewer knows it无毛视频檚 not real, but feels the tension and feels their heart racing and becomes afraid.
Mochrie said even though only those 18 or older can be hypnotized, their show is family-friendly as children are routinely in the audience and have a lot of fun with it.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 fast-paced, action-packed, high-energy and, above all else, hilarious,无毛视频� Mecci said.
无毛视频淗YPROV: Improv Under Hypnosis无毛视频� will be at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown at 8 p.m. May 6.
Thirty volunteers are needed to fill 20 stage seats. Those interested in participating in the interactive show must sign-up in advance through the venue by calling the box office to sign up at 724-439-1360. Volunteers must present proof of full vaccination to participate on stage or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of the show.
Tickets are $25, $36 and $40 each and can be purchased at the theatre by visiting www.statetheatre.info or calling 724-439-1360.