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2004-02-10 - 2:20 a.m. Going under Brushes with fame, part two... I'm not really sure this next encounter actually counts as a brush with fame, since the performer isn't, well, famous. But he gets up on stage and people pay to see him, and not everyone can say that, now can they? A friend of mine is a licensed hypnotherapist who also does a stage hypnotism act. It's an all ages family show, and in fact the times that I've seen him have been performances at local schools. They're open to the public though, so there are all ages and all types of people there. Saturday night he invited me to come to a show that was near me. I was still feeling pretty down and I really didn't want to drag myself out of the house, but he was expecting me, and I knew in the back of my mind that if I did go, I'd be glad I went. So I ran myself through the shower and got dressed and forced myself out the door. It was great. He's such a fun performer. We met when he used to work for me as a teacher. Don't ever tell me that teaching isn't performing - I'm convinced that being in front of an audience is as big a draw for most teachers as the fun of seeing students learn. It was that way for me. He's never asked me to get up on the stage, and I don't think he ever would - he never tries to talk anyone into it. I don't think being unwilling would help the process. But I would never. Uh uh. Positively no way. You've probably heard the thing about hypnotists not being able to make you do something you wouldn't want to do on your own. Well, true. My friend begins his show by explaining that, and explaining what hypnotism actually is. He has this great phrase that he uses. Being hypnotized, he says, is just "using your imagination and letting your body respond." He does some suggestibility tests on the audience, that everyone participates in from their seats, and says if you respond a certain way, you should think about volunteering to come up on stage to be hypnotized. I didn't pass two out of the three tests this time, so I might not be a good subject anyway. He also reassures people that they won't do anything they wouldn't want to do, because all they're really doing is zoning out so that they forget the audience is there, and then responding to suggestions. And, he says, you wouldn't accept a suggestion to do something that you just wouldn't do if you weren't hypnotized. Ah. But here's the problem. There are plenty of things I *would* willingly do if I didn't think there were an audience, that I would NOT be happy to find out afterward I had done in front of one. There is also a bit he does where he suggests to someone that they are seeing a celebrity across the room that they really like. He really knows just enough about me to come up with some specific suggestions, and not enough about me to stop me before I thoroughly embarrass myself. I did feel a little bad for him at this show though - the weather was bad and the audience was small, and all of the volunteers were high school kids. He did ask once if no adults were coming up, but he doesn't push. I could tell it was one of his more difficult nights, but honestly, it was a really great show. He came out afterward and I hung out with him and his wife and a couple of other friends, and the first thing he said was, "So how early did you all know that was going to be a train wreck?" Truthfully, I could see early on that it was going to be much harder work for him than most shows, but he certainly still made it look easy, and the audience was very entertained. But I will not be one of his subjects in his show - ever. No way. Yeah I know, it's just "using your imagination and letting your body respond." Well, I have a pretty vivid imagination. My body responding to it is just not something that should be on a stage. my mood - |
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