Getting volunteers to sign release forms seems like a lot of hassle and would not be a great way of creating the right state for a good show?

And what would happen if some one breaks a leg?

I would also point out that there was no successful lawsuit in the UK until recently. With more and more websites and e-books springing up and rising popularity I wouldn't be suprised if that changes.

And really is the insurance provided by equity worth anything at all if it ends as trance begins? Apart from fooling a local council into giving you a license?

I agree that getting people to sign forms is a hassle and can interrupt the show. Also, it could potentially put an idea into a volunteer's head by the fact that it talks about legal liabilities. But I have found it useful in certain contexts.

If someone breaks a leg after being put into trance, presumably it would depend on whether the fracture was a presented in a lawsuit as being a result of the hypnosis or not. I must ask Equity for the answer to that. The thing to do is to ensure that the volunteers remain safe (this is one reason why I prefer not to do postural sway inductions, however dramatic they look to the audience, in case someone falls and hits their head).

Personally, I wouldn't recommend anyone to try and fool a local council into granting a licence for a public show by fraudulently misrepresenting the amount and nature of their insurance. The modest financial rewards aren't worth the risk of facing both criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits. (Quite apart from any ethical considerations.) The shows I've done over the past two years - few though they have been - have all been private events, so no licence was required.

Offer a free hypnosis CD as a reward after the show. In order to get the CD they have to fill out a questionnaire that is written to include your release before they get the CD when they come for their free gift.

To All of You,

Thanks for putting me onto the UK licensing and insurance requirement. Lucy and I don’t plan to perform in Europe until 2005, but we needed to know how different it would be from the Western Hemisphere.

My bother-in-law is a British subject and a barrister. From what I am reading, we may be keeping him very busy just to make it by 2005.

Is this problem exclusive to UK? Will Europe and Scandinavia have similar problems? Is the problem limited to mentalism?

People would expect me to know these things but I don’t. I was on the board of directors of a Norwegian corporation in the 80s. But we were into shipping, construction, building materials, medicine and entertainment in the USA. Entertainment law there never touched us. We made movies in the USA and Central America.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Bob - Having a UK-based barrister for a brother-in-law will probably save you a lot of money and enable you to get accurate information and informed advice.

With regard to European countries other than the UK, stage hypnosis shows are legal in Spain and can be performed without a licence. However, in most western European countries, public stage hypnosis shows are prohibited by law.

(I assume you mean "hypnosis" instead of "mentalism", and the latter word was used in error. I've never heard of any restrictions on the public or private display of what appears to be "mind-reading" in any country.)

It's hard to sue someone who doesn't own anything.

Blair

Stage Hypnosis Secrets Revealed:www.Mental-List.com/masterhypnosis.htm

Actually, it's easy to sue someone who doesn't own anything. Collecting is another matter.

See ya!
Joe L.

Dr. Omni,

Thank you very much for the help. A mind is a terrible thing to lose. It looks as if “mind-reading” may get more attention.

I am having some problem watching the change in nations that ran on stable common law switch to the erratic randomness of statutory law. It kills the benefits of aged learning.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Signing release forms after a hypnotic show wouldn't be worth the paper they are wriiten on if someone really wanted to sue you. If you can be manipulated to do really stupid stunts then I'm sure they could claim they were dis-orientated when they signed them!

Also signing such a form would also carry a presupposition that hypnosis may be harmful. In other words "if something goes wrong and you are harmed you release me from any responsibility".

Shrink,

I agree with you. The requirement to sign forms to be a volunteer does two things detrimental to the whole process. It taints the concept of volunteer. Even worse, it plants the question about what could reasonably be expected to happen. In a fertile mind with a financial or publicity need, that spells trouble.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Martin,

Good idea on the CD/fill out the forms idea, but it's sort of closing the barn door after the horse ran off.

After a show where an injury occurred is not the time to have someone sign a waiver.

A waiver, as I understand them, is a statement of foreknowledge and intent not to sue should an injury occur during the performance of something potentially dangerous.

Back in my days in the Society for Creative Anachronism, we were required to sign an injury waiver prior to entering the combat lists and fighting. The same held true for any karate or judo tournament I have ever been in, as well as a couple of fencing tourneys.

A waiver is viable as prior consent to participate, with full knowledge of dangers and a statement of intent to hold harmless the person running the show.

And a statement of intent is NOT a denial of one's right to sue as I have been repeatedly told by various attorneys...

So, while your idea is a really good one - and will boost back of the room sales, it's probably of little value in lowering liability, from what little knowledge of the law I have.

But I AM going to use the CD idea for rewarding my volunteers! That's positively genius! Thanks!

Respectfully,

Lee Darrow, C.Ht.
http://www.leedarrow.com

Actually I can't take credit for it. It was an idea I got from Jonathan Royle's material and it would have to be taken into context. He used wording in his advertising and during his shows that tied into the release that made signing it just a formality. He used the CD to get the questionnaire that was worded such that they had agreed to all these conditions by coming up and volunteering. I believe the negligence laws in the UK are different than here in the US. The CD does make a good inducement. It is better than having to give each participant their own mini therapy session.