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TonyB2009 Inner circle 5006 Posts |
Last night I went along to Keith Barry's new show, The Asylum. For those of you who don't know, Keith is an Irish magician who has had his own television show here, as well as appearing on the box in the UK, on MTV, and in an American network special. He began doing close-up, graduating to mentalism. This month he has progressed to hypnosis.
What has me envious is he has just done the show I have dreamt about, but didn't have the marketing muscle to pull off. He opened with an hour of very solid mentalism (using the theme of a ninteenth century mental asylum as the gum to hold it all together). It went down very well. The second half was the hypnosis. Keith has not done hypnosis before, but has the advantage of playing to thousand seater halls (all full houses) nightly. So the numbers are on his side, and he is an accomplished presenter. For someone a month into hypnosis he did a very solid show. But he did it a little bit differently than most of us. He opened with a two minute lecture, then did a suggestability test on the audience (hands clasped, fingers coming together). He then called for volunteers, and got fifty onto the stage. He did another suggestibility test on the fifty (hands rising) then eliminated twenty, leaving thirty on the stage. Finally he did the hand-claps, and got rid of a further ten. Of the twenty left on the stage he held on to fifteen, and got a good show out of them. It was very fast-paced and he will have to work on that, slowing it down in parts. But it got the laughs. At the end he did one final routine with everyone (they had orgasms when he shook their hands) and dismissed the volunteers (no post-hypnotic routines). As they left the stage he explained that there is no such thing as hypnosis, and his volunteers had been just doing what he told them to and using their imaginations. He then got the entire audience to close their eyes and do a brief visualisation exercise, telling them that if they unlocked their imagination they could do anything they wanted to. With this piece of positive thinking he closed. It was a three hour show, and people were very happy afterwards - he was held nearly an hour signing autographs and posing for picture. One other point is worth noting. Hypnosis is not mentioned on his posters, and none of his publicity material mentions hypnosis. And yet they are hypnotised (or not, depending on your beliefs). Its certainly revived interest over here, and I hope to get rich riding in on his coat tails.
Check out Tony's new thriller Dead or Alive http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alive-Varrick-Bo......n+carson
http://www.PartyMagic.ie |
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mindpunisher Inner circle 6132 Posts |
If you want to make money you NEED to lock yourself into the relevant venues.
The audience will still believe its hypnosis. And he pulled them in because of his exposure he has had on TV. You need to work at your exposure as we covered in other threads. I have seen Andrew Newton do exactly the same suggestion tests its a very safe method but I find boring to watch. I haven't seen Mckenna but I believe he used to do the same thing. Newton even kept extras up on stage incase the ones he had snapped out of trance. |
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
That process of getting huge numbers of volunteers and then weeding them out like that is very old school and very cool to do if you have the numbers to back it up.
I think those sorts of "suggestion tests" do not work so well in the USA. I think that it is far too TV oriented, wanting things NOW. A 3 hour show very well may not play well here in the States. Attention spans and all. Heck Copperfield, Penn and Teller and the Vegas acts are just over an hour!
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
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mindpunisher Inner circle 6132 Posts |
True Americans need a burger every 40 mins or they go into shock.
Actually I didn't think they worked that well over here when I saw Newton he took about an hour to start the show! It was pure safety on his behalf. But a great cure for insomnia. |
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TonyB2009 Inner circle 5006 Posts |
Newton might well have taken an hour, and I saw Paul McKenna do long slow boring bits. But Keith keeps it moving at a rapid pace, and that helps a lot. It was an interesting show. I have seen funnier hypnosis, but as a whole show it was very satisfying. The combination of strong mentalism and a good laugh in the second half really worked for me.
Check out Tony's new thriller Dead or Alive http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alive-Varrick-Bo......n+carson
http://www.PartyMagic.ie |
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-02-01 12:32, mindpunisher wrote: Yea the need for continuous stimulation is a tough master no doubt. I think that the shows really need to be far shorter for MOST American audiences. Even I would be bored to death with mentalism and hypnosis or waiting an hour to get to the show. Yea it is safe, but for my taste personally I am not sure I would like it.
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
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TonyB2009 Inner circle 5006 Posts |
Hi Danny. I appreciate your point, but the first half of the show is not a preamble to the hypnosis. It stands on its own as a very strong mentalism show, and for many in the audience was the highlight. His hypnosis show was very fast-moving. Perhaps that was its only fault. It needed to slow in points to make it flow better. But the three hours did not feel long.
Check out Tony's new thriller Dead or Alive http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alive-Varrick-Bo......n+carson
http://www.PartyMagic.ie |
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mindpunisher Inner circle 6132 Posts |
A quick hypnosis show is a sign of a newbie. Its as if they are panicking to get on to the next bit then the next bit.
A good hypnotsist will slow it right down and bring the best out of his volunteers. He will be good at noticing what is unfolding before him and allow it to grow. That doesn't mean the show is slow it just means he gets the best out of the volunteers. Its not about making people do silly things. Its about finding people who can "explode" on stage. People are funny not us. |
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TonyB2009 Inner circle 5006 Posts |
I agree. He did a lot of quick fire stunts, but it makes for a better show to pick on the best people, the stars, and let the comedy flow from their reactions and imaginations. He is not doing that yet. I have no doubt he will.
It worked for him because the hypnosis was only about a third of the show. Had it been longer it might have dragged.
Check out Tony's new thriller Dead or Alive http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alive-Varrick-Bo......n+carson
http://www.PartyMagic.ie |
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mindpunisher Inner circle 6132 Posts |
He an established show. So that means he can learn the hypnosis as he gies along. I did that with mentalism. I used to do half an hour of mentalism before my hypnosis show. They came to see the hypnosis but it gave me the opportunity to try out the mental stuff.
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chichi711 Inner circle 5810 Posts |
So I am just getting into Hypnosis, but I cant imagine asking everyone to leave the stage and then tell everyone that these knuckle heads are just goofing off for your entertainment for the last hour. I would imagine the ones leaving the stage feel like crap and the people watching I would think are left with a bad taste of the experience. Is that really the best way to gain a following? From someone that is wet behind the ears here, but is very entertained by Hypnotism I can tell you right now Id never go back and watch that guy again. Maybe I am missing something with that idea?
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Rotten Special user 829 Posts |
I agree with every single one of you on this.
I am fairly new myself chichi. I have been studying GR and McGill books for 7+ months and recently completed a seminar through NGH. Now I'm reading more books cause every time I come in hear someone is telling me to buy another book. Thanks for the tip MP on a sign of a newbie. I had not thought of rushing but it probably would have happened. I have not done a stage show yet as I am getting the business end tied up. (insurance, LLC, registered) but I have been working with friends. I am confident and perfectly on temp one on one. I'll make sure I don't speed up on stage. I guess in a large Theater and with a big fan base you could pull it off with out making anyone feel like a "knuckle head." I wouldn't. |
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TonyB2009 Inner circle 5006 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-03-09 17:54, chichi711 wrote: Yes, you are missing something. Many experienced performers do not believe in hypnosis. I am one of them. The important thing is to treat your volunteers with respect, keep the show entertaining, and make your volunteers feel as if they were stars for an hour. If you do this, then it will not matter. No one will feel like a knuckle-head, and people will return to the show. Keith's shows are selling out very quickly. There is nothing bogus about his approach. It is just slightly non-traditional.
Check out Tony's new thriller Dead or Alive http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alive-Varrick-Bo......n+carson
http://www.PartyMagic.ie |
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chichi711 Inner circle 5810 Posts |
All boils down to Opinions. I see I major flaw with that. You don't. So goes the world.
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
Chichi what you are missing is that the show did not take place in America. Even his two hour long run time would not play well. The whole pace of the show, everything as I said would just not go too well in America. Not too many of the big time shows even go that long as I said earlier.
I have to admit the process baffles me. The idea that you tell them that there is no such thing as hypnosis AFTER is really sort of counter productive. It seems to sort of miss many points, but if it works for him there ya go. It does not sound like he makes people feel like a "knuckle head". It is an odd way to end. I am not saying it is wrong or bad for that matter, just different. There are just a lot of things that would keep it from working here at all.
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
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chichi711 Inner circle 5810 Posts |
I am now Curious though. When pitching yourself Tony to you bill yourself as a Hypnotist?
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TonyB2009 Inner circle 5006 Posts |
Yes, Chichi, I bill myself as a hypnotist. It's like when I book myself as a magician I call myself a magician, even though I do not believe in magic. That doesn't mean that my show is a parody of hypnosis. I give the audience what they want - only I have a different opinion about what is going on than they do.
I will agree Keith's approach of telling them afterwards is odd, but it did work. The audience loved him. There is a tradition of being upfront about things. Orville Meyer's Telepathy In Action is a hypnosis show without hypnosis, and the audience know that from the start. There are other examples. But Keith draws huge crowds and can bend the rules without risking his show. Danny is right; this approach might not work in the States. And Keith's three hour show is too long for most markets. Though no one was complaining. And he is reviving interest in the art over here. So I'm not complaining either.
Check out Tony's new thriller Dead or Alive http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alive-Varrick-Bo......n+carson
http://www.PartyMagic.ie |
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chichi711 Inner circle 5810 Posts |
I think if you want to tell your audience that you don't believe in Hypnosis go for it. Id say that at the start not the end though. At least have the stones to do that. (I think at that point the honest thing is to not bill yourself as a hypnotist though) It doesn't seem like your friend does. I also don't think you can give a statement like "there is no such thing as hypnosis". Just my thoughts. I am learning a lot here reading through all this.
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Rotten Special user 829 Posts |
Chichi, I was very confused at first myself. Here is what I have learned. There are performing, professional hypnotists that believe in the state or trance (what ever word you want) of hypnosis and those that do not.
IMO the ones that do not believe have never been hypnotized. They CAN be just as good a performer as one that does believe. I have seen good and bad on both sides of the fence because you can't learn charisma. Stage presence is something you are born with and can be honed. If you are standing on stage in front of people and you don't have "it" you are not going to entertain regardless of what your position is. I have learned allot from believers and non believers and understand both sides of this position. I don't think the show would have worked if he had walked out and said "And now I would like to do something that does not exist and will not work." |
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Laurent A New user 61 Posts |
Quote:
He then called for volunteers, and got fifty onto the stage. Wasn'it a little bit messy on stage? Fifty is a huge number of spec to handle |
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