Now, I’m neither an event promoter, nor a professional stage hypnotist, but I do know a little about each, and I was recently approached about doing a stage show for an organization some of my friends and acquaintances are affiliated with.
The request was rather vauge, in that they were just wanting a hypnotist to hypnotize folks in attendance, and it was ‘entirely up to me’.
When you get right down to it, however, any time you hire entertainment, you typically have some idea of what you’re looking for, and it’s in both your best interests and the entertainment’s to ensure understanding of these desires. You want to be satisfied with how you’ve spent your money, and the entertainment, hypnotist or not, is probably interested in being invited back for another performance.
When you’re looking for a stage hypnotist, here are a few guidelines:
1. Know what you’re looking to get out of the show. Are you looking for comedy? New-Agey wonderment? Relaxation or motivation? Something more edgy? Most hypnotists will have a mix of these elements; some will lean heavily in one direction. If the hypnotist has examples of their work, like a demo reel of hypnosis videos, be sure to see if that showcased work is what you’re looking for. If the hypnotist fits, make sure to still let them know what you’re looking to get, because that will help them plan ahead or even decide on the spot what they might do.
2. Know how big the show will likely be. Be able to describe the size of the show to the hypnotist, in terms of both scope and length. If he or she is to headline and perform for two hours before a several hundered people eating dinner, it’s much different from performing in a relaxed setting with perhaps a dozen audience members for 45 minutes. This will allow him or her to work with you to know what sort of setup work must be done, and what sort of bits they might consider using.
3. Discuss the venue. Will the hypnotist need chairs? Lights and sound? Elevators or disco balls or a plug in for his spiral disc? The answer to the first two, at least, is probably yes. Most of the time, hypnotists are improvisational artists at heart, so a missing element won’t stop the show as long as they know what they’ll be dealing with.
With these three tips, you should be in a much better position when looking to hire an entertainment hypnotist for your next event.
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