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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
I have personally never seen a street hypnotist I enjoyed. Though by the same token to be fair, I have never seen an opera I have enjoyed. I will say though I have never had an opera forced upon me LOL.
To be serious I know the difference in what I enjoy and the rest of the world. I do believe that many of the street guys, (especially the new ones) are under the delusion that they are as experienced or know a much as someone who has been working for decades. This I attribute more to youth, than blame on the phenemenon. Kids come along all the time in hypnosis, learn to put people in trance, get one or two shows and suddenly are experts. It has nothing to do with street hypnosis, it is more that street hypnosis attracts so many kids. But with that attitude and excitement and all that, comes also a youthful energy which is good. All the time kids come along who are going to change the industry, or think they have figured out something we havn't managed to consider. Cool. It is good for growth. I know from where I sit in America, hypnosis shows are one of the most popular forms of variety entertainment on college campi. They are in Las Vegas, and other destination cities. Comedy clubs use them regularly. Every few years the market gets saturated and the new group of magicians, mentalists, comedians and Dj's come along because they have watched hypnotists get higher fees for years and say to themselves "hmmm I could do that!". They take a weekend course, get some marketing materials, make a LOT of BS claims and try to get involved. The fact remains that they were terrible at what they did and they end up being terrible hypnotists and they don't last. It is a cycle. The streety hypnosis thing does not really going to harm a good hypnotist in America.
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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Mindpro Eternal Order 10586 Posts |
I like that..am ambush opera! Danny makes some good points. Fortunately for both Danny and I we have been in the business long enough and are also in a capacity where since we book other entertainers including stage hypnotists, we regularly receive promo and get solicited by every newbie, magician or DJ turned hypnotist, and every recent graduate from a weekend seminar that has them somehow believing the are ready to hit the stage and perform as a stage hypnotist (when 72 hours before they knew nothing other than having an interest). They send us their promo and demo for booking consideration. This allows us to see the good bad and the ugly. It also allows us to see the far-fetched, **** and vinegar mentality and BS claims that they use to try to put them on the level with experienced working pros. I've actually used some of these terrible performance footage demos to show those that I tutor, mentor, and consult to show what NOT to do, and how things should not be done. One year one of our production guys even edited together the best of the worst and showed it at our Christmas Party (I wish I had a copy of that now). We are also in the fortunate position to hear back from the clients, the buyers, and the venues. They do not hesitate to tell us what they like, what they felt and the feedback they received. Many entertainers, especially newbies only think from their own perspectives, not the ones that matter - they buyer/client and the audience.
The street hypnosis fad that is popular now seems to be more popular in the Europe, than here in the states, but it does still exist. I've questioned why this is and my feeling is that it has much to do with skating around the laws over there. Even here in Vegas street hypnosis is not that common and not very welcome. We had a wave of it when Criss Angel included some well-edited things in his t.v. show, but in reality Las Vegas is extremely picky, selective and very hard to do anything on the street. It works against the premise of the town - get them inside to spend money. It's so expensive to legally attempt something like that it literally stops 98% of anyone from even attempting it. |
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dmkraig Inner circle 1949 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-05-06 18:15, Dannydoyle wrote: I agree. I have met many stage hypnotists and I have no doubt if when asked if they could do street hypnosis, their response would be, "Sure, but why should I?" I took a specialized training in street hypnosis. We went out to the streets to do it as part of the training. The only "special skills" involved are having the wisdom to choose the most likely person to be hypnotized and the courage to go up to someone you don't know, introduce yourself, obtain permission, and hypnotize them. The hypnosis skill set between stage and street is the same. It's the level of extroversion and comfort with self-introduction that is different. As we reached the end of the training I realized, however, something important and asked the trainer a question: "How do you monetize street hypnosis?" How does a professional performer make money by sticking someone's had to a trash can in front of a group of a dozen people, maybe less? The answer, of course, is that you don't monetize street hypnosis. You MIGHT use it for publicity. As was pointed out to me here, it could allow you to be invited to a large garden party to walk around performing. So if there's no money in it, and if you're not helping people (hypnotherapy), and if you don't have a show you're publicizing, what's the point? And that, I believe, is the question those who exclusively perform street hypnotists really don't want to consider. Because the only answers I've heard consist of things like "because I can," "because it's cool," etc. These, IMO, are superficial answers at best. The truth is that it goes back to childhood feelings of inferiority and gives wimps a chance to say, "I can control you," "I have power," when, in fact, they remain powerless. It's like the older brother grabbing a younger brother's arm, shoving it repeatedly into the younger brother's face, and saying, "Why are you hitting yourself? You shouldn't do that. Stop hitting yourself. Why are you hitting yourself?" So if you get your yarbles excited by sticking someone's hand to a trash can instead of pulling down their pants in public, if your turn-on is making someone stand like a statue instead of giving them a swirly in the loo, just remember that you're not revealing your power over others, you're exposing your own feelings of inferiority and weakness. In spite of this, I have nothing against street hypnosis per se. If someone wants to do it I hope that it will eventually give them the strength of character to grow up and become self-actualizing rather than remain infantile. Further, I hope that the skills they develop can be translated to interests of really learning stage hypnosis or hypnotherapy in the future. Didn't you see (or read) "Spider-Man?" Remember? "With great power comes great responsibility." The ability to hypnotize is a great power. Is sticking someone's hand to a light pole really showing responsibility on your part? Really? |
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rpierce Inner circle New Hampshire - USA 1220 Posts |
Wow - that hurt
For me, this began because I need to expand my mentalism show to a full length evening without a second act. I have been opening for a stage hypnotist. I have always been intrigued by hypnosis and I have many ideas for blending the two disciplines, not the tradtional stage hypnosis show. I have been introducing hypnosis into my shows as a prelude to an effect, pushing the limit each time, but this is a painfully long process. I personally find approaching people on the street extremely uncomfortable, yet, at 54, I do not have decades to prepare. I have become proficient at many different disciplines in my life, and they all required competent training and repetitve practice. At some point we all need people to practice with. I actually began studying hyponsis 3 years ago and the recurring problem has always been finding people to practice with. I do not believe I am alone with this problem. I enjoy street hypnotists, I personally find it highly entertaining and courageous. And as uncomfortable as it makes me feel to consider this, I cannot think of any other way to become proficient and confident with my abilities before attempting it on stage. When we were in Union Square in NYC during Anthony's Headhacking, there was a goofy looking guy there with a chair and a sign that said, FREE ADVICE ON SEX AND DATING, and he had a line of people waiting. Now, if this guy can attract a crowd, how difficult would it be to attract hypnosis volunteers with a sign. At least this way you are not assaulting people, they are coming to you, willingly, and curious. If the truth be told, in Union Square, only about half of our group approached anyone, I was not among them, hence the idea of the sign. There was a comment early that there was no money in it. Everything in the world is not all about money. I have spent years performing for charities just because I enjoy doing it and entertaining people, its only recently that people started offering me money to perform. I see hypnosis as a skill to be mastered, if it turns into making money, great, in the meantime, its about creating memorable experiences for people and having fun doing it, I could care less about the money. Bottom line - I am hungry for experience |
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mindpunisher Inner circle 6132 Posts |
Danny said
>>>I do believe that many of the street guys, (especially the new ones) are under the delusion that they are as experienced or know a much as someone who has been working for decades. This I attribute more to youth, than blame on the phenemenon.<<<< Im not so sure I think the phenomena attracts kids because of the ease of getting cheap dvds and not having to do put any real effort or resources into learning real skills. When you start off in stage work yu need to be good enough that someone will pay you almost off bat. I think I did two free shows then all my shows after were paid and above the average hypnotists rates at the time. That pressure ensures you learn how to do shows fast. Mindpro said >>>The street hypnosis fad that is popular now seems to be more popular in the Europe, than here in the states, but it does still exist. I've questioned why this is and my feeling is that it has much to do with skating around the laws over there.<<< Actually it has nothing to do with the laws since professional hypnotists mostly abide by the laws if they want to perform in lucrative venues. And they tend to be high profile. Street hypnotists are badly skilled attention seekers that do it for the thrill nothing else. They tend to be wannabee Derren Brown clones. Derren made the handshake induction popular on his early tv shows which in turn created a new market for all the wannabees. And of course that market was quickly serviced by a few peddlars. Derren Brown is the real reason behind the popularity. Milky Bar Kid says >>>>MP, do you not rate Paul McKenna or Peter Powers? They are possibly the most famous hypnotists who have performed on the street.<<< Actually you are totally wrong. Both Powers and Mckenna perform on TV they do not perform on the street although Powers had a TV series filmed in the street it was a TV production which he was paid a lot of money for and was syndicated. I knew a sound egineer that worked on one of his tv series. He told me each episode took about 8 hours to film a 30 min programme where it took hours to select the right hypnotees and make them ready for the camera. They were anything but impromtu or street shows. Neither did either of them do it for free with no insurance etc etc, They had a whole production team behind them. Even so I thought they were totally boring annd didn't work although I rate Peter Powers stage show highly. Ive never seen Mckenna's live show. Pierce said >>>>There was a comment early that there was no money in it. Everything in the world is not all about money. I have spent years performing for charities just because I enjoy doing it and entertaining people,<<<< Then if you are hungry for experience get REAL experience train with the right people and offer real shows in proper conditions for fundraiser charity events. Seems to me you have plenty of contacts and could be booked solid if you so wish. I really think the current direction you are taking will actually hold you back rather put you forward. Do real shows from day one. It seems to me that the whole street thing developed from TV productions that were filmed in the street and were never "street performances". There really is a difference. Most street performers are wannabees while the "original" TV productions were anything but impromtu and highly paid. |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10586 Posts |
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On 2011-05-07 18:02, rpierce wrote: I have been very excited for rpierce and following his interests and exploits and quite encourage his efforts and approach, but disagree on two of his perspectives. But still encourage him and believe he has what it takes to be a great mentalist and/or hypnotist. But these two areas just jump out at me: 1.) my pet peeve is when magicians or mentalists use hypnosis as a premise, backstory or theme for a magic or mentalism effect. This sends the wrong point and perspective to an audience, and often contributes to the misconceptions of hypnosis, which as most performing stage hypnotists know, we spend most of our time dealing with, re-educating and trying to overcome these misconceptions each and every time we step on stage, as well as before and after each performance. Now I understand why it is such a great concept for a presentational foundation, as most people do not understand hypnosis and the mystery that surrounds it, so it can be an ideal premise, but it never seems to be presented in the proper way and usually just adds to the misconception and misinformation that the general public has towards hypnosis. Secoidly, it never too late at any age to learn stage hypnosis. I think being over 50 can add a certain credability to an adult audience that isn't as easy with younger stage hypnotists. In every single training I've ever taken or have been booked to speak at or participate in there are many over 50 people in attendance. Here is my thought(s) every time I read rpierce's posts: Why are you putting yourself in such a situation where your perception is similar to the guy offering free sex and dating advice, with or without a sign? These people are often perceived at the very least as odd, strange or if noting else unprofessional, Many believe they are quacks or scammers. Why create that perception when you have seem to taken the high road in so many of your thoughts, perceptions, and approach towards mentalism, becoming a pro performer and now with hypnosis? It seems so against what I feel I learned about your and values. Why create the extra anxiety of being on the streets, not be improperly perceived, talking to strangers, attempting hypnosis is a very unfriendly and unbeneficial hypnotic environment? This just very surprises me. You are in such a great place as you don't need to do it for the money, and based on your posts and our exchanges you want to do things properly and right. You aren't the tennybopper full of **** and vinegar that just saw a stage hypnotist at school or on youtube and just thought it was "he coolest sh** I've ever seen, and I've just got to learn to do this NOW!" PLUS, you have such a great, valuable resource for stage hypnosis right at your finger tips! You have to know about the hypnotist you've been working with, and his father, who specialize in utilizing this great resource, but then I see you spending the time, effort and money on all this street stuff and wonder why? It seems you are taking several steps back and in a direction away from where you are trying to go. You see many people take live stage hypnosis training and walk away from it and will never do anything with it other than perhaps a very mild initial attempt to apply what they've learned. You though, based on what we know of you, would be the prime candidate for this type of training. You would walk away from this just steps away from being able to begin attempting to perform stage hypnosis. They contact me every year to come and be a guests or speak at their live training events. To perform or to present my lecture on the business side of stage hypnosis. One of these events is coming up and if you ever decide to come (there here in Las Vegas) if I am in town, I would be happy to have lunch with you or meet with you and talk shop. This type of learning environment would be soooo beneficial to you, surround you with others specifically interested in stage hypnosis and plenty of opportunity to practice on individuals as well as groups. You could even participate in the student show at the end if you feel confident enough. My point is many of these newbies will never make it for many reasons - lack of commitment, using street hypnosis to somehow think it will teach them what they need to know to be a hypnotist and be a stage performer, lack of belief in themselves, etc. You have proven your intentions are proper and you have what it takes for the commitment and to succeed. Use the resources available to you and concentrate on the area that you are interested in rather than taking a side door approach to stage hypnosis. If you're going to learn stage hypnosis learn it directly and right. I'm sure you picked up many things that will be beneficial from Anthony's training. That coupled with your eagerness and even heightened commitment you're expressing coming out of Anthony's training should now take you to this next step. By the way I do not get anything for mentioning the stage hypnosis training I suggested above, as in reality there are several stage hypnosis training here in town that I would recommend, but I only suggested the one above because I believe you've worked with the stage hypnotist, they are in your own backyard, and they have been probably doing longer than almost anyone else here in the states. It just seems wild to me that you are not using this resource and keep mentioning how you don't have the resources to learn and practice when in reality you do, more easily accessible that most others here on this forum. I hope this helps as my intentions are only the best. I in no way mean to offend you or your desire to learn and move forward with stage hypnosis. Sorry if there are some misspelled words here but I'm doing this quick as I'm backstage ready to do my first of two shows tonight, have a pumped up audience of just over 1200 people ready to go, and am hurrying to get this out of my head. Best of luck! |
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rpierce Inner circle New Hampshire - USA 1220 Posts |
Mindpro - PM'd you
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dmkraig Inner circle 1949 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-05-07 18:02, rpierce wrote: So how did you intend to introduce street hypnosis into your act? Quote:
I personally find approaching people on the street extremely uncomfortable, yet, at 54, I do not have decades to prepare. I have become proficient at many different disciplines in my life, and they all required competent training and repetitve practice. At some point we all need people to practice with. I actually began studying hyponsis 3 years ago and the recurring problem has always been finding people to practice with. I do not believe I am alone with this problem. I agree with you. Of people with fears, the biggest fear of all is public speaking--it's even a bigger fear than dying. When people perform on stage, they often have a persona, so it's not really the person who is performing, it is THE PERSON. Same name, but a different person. It's easy for that other person to be open and speak in public. But when you are learning a new skill, you don't have that persona developed. It's just you trying to remember all of those techniques. In my experience, for most people it is quite difficult to simply go out on the street and try to say hello to a stranger. It's even more difficult saying hello and then hypnotizing that stranger! I want to assure you that you're not alone. With magic and much of mentalism you can practice by yourself. You can videotape yourself. My friend, Jeff McBride, has his own small theater with three-way mirrors so he can see himself and invite people in to watch him perform. But the fact is, you can practice French Drops and Square Circles all by yourself. You can practice add-a-number all by yourself. You can study ABOUT hypnosis and you can practice the moves of hypnosis, but you simply cannot practice hypnosis by yourself. It's a minimum two-person skill. You say you began studying hypnosis 3 years ago. I began studying decades ago. It was only many years later that I actually began practicing regularly with others. And that began when I took formal training. You are absolutely correct when you wrote, "the recurring problem has always been finding people to practice [hypnosis] with. I do not believe I am alone with this problem." You're not alone. And there's an easy way to resolve it: TAKE A TRAINING. I have consistently written that once you have taken a real, in-person training, books and videos will enhance what you learned. I do not believe that a person needs to spend thousands of dollar and months in training to become a good hypnotist. A week here and there or a few weekends in training can give you plenty of beginning experience. When this is complemented with book and video study a person can quickly become competent enough to become good hypnotist. Good actors spend years in training honing their craft. Good doctors spend years in study and practice to become physicians. Good plumbers spend years studying under the guidance of others before they become licensed. What makes anyone think being a hypnotists is easy? Is it because you see a performer put on a show and he or she makes it look easy? A juggler makes his or her craft look easy, too. Here are three balls...can you read a book and be entertaining with them? Some people can. Most people can't. But most people, with practice, guidance, and training can become actors, doctors, plumbers, jugglers, or hypnotists. Quote:
I enjoy street hypnotists, I personally find it highly entertaining and courageous. And as uncomfortable as it makes me feel to consider this, I cannot think of any other way to become proficient and confident with my abilities before attempting it on stage. I feel the same way. So if you want to learn street hypnosis NOT to be a hypnotist, but to overcome your lake of comfort in approaching new people, fantastic! If your comfort level in being before others grows as a result of learning and doing street hypnosis, that's great, too. But respectfully, don't confuse personal development with stage entertainment. They're not the same. Both have value, they're just not interchangeable. Quote:
When we were in Union Square in NYC during Anthony's Headhacking, there was a goofy looking guy there with a chair and a sign that said, FREE ADVICE ON SEX AND DATING, and he had a line of people waiting. Now, if this guy can attract a crowd, how difficult would it be to attract hypnosis volunteers with a sign. At least this way you are not assaulting people, they are coming to you, willingly, and curious. If the truth be told, in Union Square, only about half of our group approached anyone, I was not among them, hence the idea of the sign. This was pretty much the same with the training I took. But do you see the difference? The guy with the sign didn't approach anyone--they approached him. He had a gimmick. In my training, the most successful ones were using David Blaine-style come-ons "Come here. Let me show you something. Look. Look. Look. Look." They literally let people become comfortable and familiar with them while they were becoming comfortable and familiar with the audience. Then they went into the street hypnosis. But do you notice how this is sort of a "cheat?" They weren't really going up to people and hypnotizing them. I had to break down my own issues and just introduce myself and go into the street hypnosis. I had far more failures than successes. However, I think the people with the "cheat" weren't really doing "pure" street hypnosis (for lack of a better term). Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it wasn't what I was trying to learn and practice. BTW, we did practice within the group before going out on the street. Quote:
There was a comment early that there was no money in it. Everything in the world is not all about money. I have spent years performing for charities just because I enjoy doing it and entertaining people, its only recently that people started offering me money to perform. I see hypnosis as a skill to be mastered, if it turns into making money, great, in the meantime, its about creating memorable experiences for people and having fun doing it, I could care less about the money. My comment was how do you monetize it. You're right, it's not all about the money. However, when you perform for charities (as I have), they get value and you get value. The term "monetize" is simply a way of figuring out the value of what you are doing. If you prefer, you can use Bentham's "utils" instead of "money" as a way of determining value. Respectfully, in what you're describing, you're saying that you're looking for self-therapy and development. The entertainment value is what is irrelevant. You seem to be saying you don't care about the hypnosis and you don't care that you will never put street hypnosis into your act. Fair enough. If getting feelings of superiority and overcoming phobias by sticking people's hands to trashcans floats your boat, more power to you! It's certainly a lot cheaper than therapy. The bottom line, as you put it, is that you're hungry for PERSONAL experience. You're hungry to change YOUR life. And you're willing to use others in order to get this. At least that's honest. Still, I contend that there is no way to introduce street hypnosis into a stage hypnosis act. But I could be wrong. Perhaps you or someone else could explain how, in a theater with 500 people, a street hypnotist could go in, zap arms out of sockets, and be considered an entertainment because you were able to stick a few hands to trash bins. I have to admit I can't see it. So I would love to hear from any street hypnotist. How do you perform street hypnosis in front of a 500-person auditorium and earn a living? For those who do stage and street hypnosis: what percentage of your act--and for which you get paid--is exclusively street hypnosis? So far, RPierce is one of the few really honest persons who has talked about street hypnosis and revealed the truth: it's about him and his issues. It's not about making a living or being entertaining per se. By the way, I admire you for your honesty and openness in what you posted here. If more people were as honest as you there would be a lot fewer people talking about how wonderful street hypnosis is and more admitting that it's wonderful for themselves and dealing with their issues. |
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Shrubsole Inner circle Kent, England 2455 Posts |
I too was wondering that if you already have an existing Mentalism show/act, then why not go the 'Manchurian Approach' route and just add it slowly into your act?
In a nutshell: Have a foolproof piece of mentalism and pretend that it requires that the subject is hypnotised to make it work. If successful and the right candidate you can spend more time on the hypnosis part and still have an ending to the mentalism effect. It's a no fail approach where it doesn't matter if you do hypnotise them, don't hypnotise them or whether they think they were hypnotised or not, it all works out and looks good. While doing that, you are practising what you have already learnt. Plus you know how to approach people to show them mentalism so why reinvent the wheel? Your goal is to integrate hypnosis into your mentalist act, so why not just do exactly that? Personally I found it the easiest way to go than just approaching people cold and asking if they wanted to be hypnotised. (Well for me at least) : Start Mentalism effect: Hypnotise: Going well? Then continue and make that the main part: Or not going as well as hoped? Then cut short at any time: Finish Mentalism effect with a guaranteed result every time. Even if you are having a bad day with the wrong person at the wrong time in the wrong place and have a total lack of anything happening, the effect still ends as it should with a guaranteed outcome.
Winner of the Dumbringer Award for total incompetence. (All years)
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Shrubsole Inner circle Kent, England 2455 Posts |
I take a little exception at the idea that Street Hypnosis is for people who have problems that they are trying to sort out.
Now to me, hypnosis is hypnosis, only the presentation differs. With traditional Stage Hypnosis you are going to have all the trimmings and melodrama of a stage act, but were there is nothing at all wrong with that, it is very limited to a place with a stage. (Or at least any area suitable to set out as a stage, even if it's not an elevated platform.) Stage Hypnosis is also dependant on your own personal style. If you want to present your hypnosis like that and want a stage set drama, then that is the way to go and the best of luck. However, if you want to perform in places that don't have a stage (Bars, Cafés, etc)(It doesn't have to be out on the actual street to be street hypnosis) then a different style and approach is needed and wanted. Also different 'skits' lend themselves to different situations, so putting down 'Street hypnosis' as only sticking people's hands to things, really does sound just like a talking down to Street Hypnotists to form Stage hypnotists. It really is like Ballroom dancing (requires a dancefloor) and Street Dancing that can be done anywhere. They are all dancing and some may like one and hate the other, but there is room for both for anyone to take their pick. And exactly the same as a magic show where one style is a full illusion show done on stage and a strolling entertainer at a function. One is not going to produce a tiger and the other is not going to do a personal close-up effect; but both are (hopefully) entertaining magicians. I also dislike this constant abuse of the word 'ambushing' as a blanket cover to again talk down to Street hypnotists. Whilst there are bad hypnotists in both Stage and Street, we shouldn't use them to abuse everyone. As an example, their are still some Stage hypnotists who are getting people to have fake sex with inflatable animals and balancing people on backs of chairs, but that doesn't mean ALL stage hypnotists are boring, offensive and dangerous. If you are in a bar, café, etc and you are (as you should) asking people if they wish to be hypnotised and only preceding if they agree, then that is not 'ambushing' anyone. It's merely doing (sometimes impromptu sometimes arranged) hypnosis in an informal setting. And in such a setting, skits that are designed for a stage are either not suitable or are impossible. (As a point of safety; people jumping around in a confined space is usually not a good thing, but conversely they have no stage to fall off! So it's always appropriate to adjust your show for safety as well as practicality.) I'm actually somewhere in the middle as I normally add hypnosis to my mentalism act. My mentalism act can and is done both on stage and in very informal settings and so my hypnotism follows whatever setting I'm performing in. So I wish we could all get away from this idea that Stage Hypnotism is superior and anyone doing Street hypnosis is inferior and dangerous as it just doesn't address reality at all. (As far as I know, no one has died from having their hand stuck to a table!)
Winner of the Dumbringer Award for total incompetence. (All years)
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rpierce Inner circle New Hampshire - USA 1220 Posts |
Well.....so much to address, so little time
I think my biggest mistake here was being totally unaware that Street Hypnosis offended traditional Stage Hypnotists, I was truly clueless on this point. I have read all the posts and I have a much better appreciation for the arguments presented. I may have given the wrong impression here, my fascination with street hypnosis is not any need for personal development or therapy. I'm 54, I retired at 48, I had a good ride, I now perform professionally, shyness is not something I am impaired by. Admitedly, I am uncomfortable approaching strangers on the street to perform, which is quite different from public speaking or my mentalism show. While I admire those that can do this, I have no great desire to be one of them. Even with my mentalism, I prefer to be asked as opposed to ramming it down someone's throat. Hence, the idea of the sign. I know exactly who I am, my strengths and weaknesses and at 54, I am comfortable with that and have no need to be anything else. That said, I am just looking for practice, a steady stream of willing volunteers. I have had training, and I can always use more. The training taught me that I can do this, now I need experience before taking it to the stage. The stage hypnotist that I open for offers training as well, yet he tells me that it does not involve actual experience doing this. The thought of taking stage hypnosis training(expensive) and not actually doing it baffles me. Anthony's training on the other hand, was all about actually doing it. So when the opportunity arose to take his training I jumped on it. Of all the books and dvds on hypnosis that I have studied, the one that jumped out at me was Anthony's Manchurian Approach. This series specifically deals with Hypnosis for magicians and/or mentalists. It was the first material that has appealed to me. Yes, it deals with impromptu hypnosis, and/or street hypnosis, that is not what attracted me, it was how it blended the discipline with mentalism. The street hypnosis, at least for me, was a means to an end. One of life's hard lessons is that sometimes, you have to do whats really uncomfortable to get where you need to be. When I finally pull this all together, I hope to have my mentalism act that slowly blends hypnosis into my effects, clearly a work in progress, so don't ask me how I plan to do this yet. I have seen Anthony do this and the effect on the audience is stunning. It was mentioned above that traditional stage hypnotists did not appreciate mentalist or magicians from using hypnosis as an explanation for their effects, that it hurts their profession and they have to reeducate their audiences. Well, I understand that argument, but it happens to be in direct conflict with mentalism. Most of us claim to not be psychics. The effects appear to be the result of suggestion, NLP or some kind of pyschological illusion, or the result of hypnosis. All designed to misdirect the audience and confuse the method. I appreciate the argument, it is the first time I ever heard it, and at the same time, its what we do and have done for quite some time. I do not know the answer to that one. I try to respect everyone's point of view. This will all unfold, great points raised here, hopefully we all learned something |
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mindpunisher Inner circle 6132 Posts |
To be honest I think mentalists that claim to be NLP experts are lazy clones that need a better premise. NLP does have a place in the world and some of the more skilled practitioners spend years honing their skills which are valuable in a number of contexts.
They are much more skilled than magicians pretending to be mind readers and I think its a real shame that the public are misguided and lied to in this way. Apart from that I also think its totally unnecessary. You can be a "Mind reader" without reffering to NLP. Most of the public still don't even know what it is. |
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Anthony Jacquin Inner circle UK 2220 Posts |
Your own thumper product is chock full of presentations where you claim to read body language. How is this any different?
Anthony
Anthony Jacquin
Reality is Plastic! The Art of Impromptu Hypnosis Updated for 2016 Now on Kindle and Audible! |
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
I simply do not believe the skills necessary to perfect (or even learn proficiently) a stage hypnosis show can be learned ambushing people on the street. No more than you could learn to do an illusion show by attempting to do "Street Magic" ala David Blaine.
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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Shrubsole Inner circle Kent, England 2455 Posts |
But that is only stagecraft or staging and can be an almost inborn thing picked up from watching all sorts of stage acts or can be learnt at a theatrical class.
After learning the hypnosis and personal interaction with the subjects, a stage act can be put together and tested before it goes on the road and staging changed until works. And works for you (we don't all want to be clones of the mentor do we?) And of course that only applies if you want to do a stage act. I see the abuse of the words 'ambushing people' is back. Provided people are asked first and agree, then no 'ambushing' is taking place. P.S. I have seen many an illusion act that knew nothing about stagecraft and it showed!
Winner of the Dumbringer Award for total incompetence. (All years)
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10586 Posts |
[quote]On 2011-05-08 20:41, Shrubsole wrote:
I see the abuse of the words 'ambushing people' is back. Provided people are asked first and agree, then no 'ambushing' is taking place. The fact that people are approached unexpectedly and uninvitingly is still ambushing whether they agree or not. Their decision to agree or disagree comes only after the ambush. This is the basic approach for all street and impromptu hypnosis. Then to make matters worse many will not even mention the use of hypnosis or ask permission to use hypnosis). I also disagree with your perception of stage hypnosis based on your description in the above post. There is so much more to a professional stage hypnosis show than the hypnosis and understanding stagecraft. Those are the primary basics only. |
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Shikina Loyal user Los Angeles 260 Posts |
Having just familiarized myself with this entire thread, I must say, there is a surprisingly large number of 'regulars' here who seem to have a very low opinion of magic, and magical presentations which involve hypnosis. I have a feeling I'm not the first person who has ever noticed or commented on this phenomena, but it does seem strange that so many people would take offense to the encroaching dangers of magicians, on a forum for magicians.
So in case it's not abundantly clear from that opening remark, I am a magician by association who's attended one of Anthony's training sessions. I found it to be informative, inspiring, and respectful towards the entire field of hypnosis. Safety considerations were not glossed over, the way many seem to presume, but rather discussed at length, and the opinion was expressed by multiple attendees and panelists that insurance is a must for any serious performer. Perhaps it's because I might never have discovered hypnosis were it not for the street movement, but I commend Anthony on having the awareness, and business savvy, to cater to magicians who had been exposed to Derren Brown and wanted to capture some of that essence in their own work. Clearly, his efforts offend a lot of people here but, to my mind it was inevitable that something like this would happen given the convergence of street magic, and the growing influence of people like Mr. Brown. True, many of the people that come into hypnosis this way will drop-off and lose interest. But many others won't. And I would hazard the guess that they will be no more, nor less, clone-like than anybody who takes a training course in a field in which they are new. Some of them may yet turn out to be innovators in the field, shocking as that may sound. Personally, I make no apologies for being drawn to street hypnosis. I have no interest in stage hypnotism and, even with my limited frame of experience, I don't believe the notion that stage hypnosis is the only valid entertainment-based approach to this field. That said, I don't doubt the craft of stage performers, and certainly don't dismiss the tremendous wisdom which can only be gained from years of experience. If it were up to me, I would learn from all of you, and deepen my understanding of all forms of hypnosis without judgement regarding preference or style. Yet I find myself recoiling when I read the wild generalizations that are regularly made about people who have approached this field from the same path as I have. To make a brief analogy that will almost certainly upset some of you, many of the greatest jazz musicians of the last 100 years had no desire to play classical music, but it didn't stop them from admiring the work of classicists. Needless to say, their classical counterparts didn't exactly engage in a mutual admiration society with the jazz performers in their midst. They believed that the latter were sloppy, unskilled, and the vanguard of a passing fad. Well, it might be a facile analogy, but I can't help but seeing shades of that dynamic in the way many of you feel about street hypnosis, and your willingness to dismiss both it, and it's adherents, with broad strokes. |
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hypnokid Regular user 172 Posts |
And on it goes. More generalisations. Regardless of all the exprience and success most of you can point at, making generalisations about street hypnotists is just as stupid as making generalisations about stage hypnotists. Would you like to all be judged by what you consider the worst in your industry? It just makes you look stupid which I guess aren't your intentions.
I don't ambush, unless being sociable is ambushing. I don't 'zap'. I don't do it for any need for control. I do it to entertain, for free, in my own personal style. I'm not planning on becoming a paid strolling performer and I'm not planning on becoming a paid stage hypnotist. I appreciate it might be hard to understand that someone would choose to perform for free, but I do. I don't monetise my hobbies because I generally do not monetise fun. And once more (for what must be the fifth time), mindpunisher (see how I can copy and paste your username accurately?), please please please tell us if you were breaking the 1952 Hypnotism Act with your youtube video of your 'impromptu' show. My bet is that you couldn't possibly do it impromptu and that's why you won't reply to this question. Did you have a license? Was your insurance valid? Wasn't it dangerous? Oh, and out of interest, when's you next big Edinburgh run? HK
Too much style to be a stage hypnotist.
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Shrubsole Inner circle Kent, England 2455 Posts |
[quote]On 2011-05-08 21:48, Mindpro wrote:
Quote:
On 2011-05-08 20:41, Shrubsole wrote: Oh please credit everyone with at least basic intelligence. It is quite obvious to all that the word 'ambush' is being use in a derogatory way by Stage Hypnotists to talk down to anyone that isn't them. So please spare us the semantics of definition. Then you disagree with me with what you claim is my 'perception of stage hypnosis' yet state that what I wrote was 'the primary basics': I made no such claim in my post that it was the exhaustive list of absolutely everything that is or may be needed to put on a Stage Hypnosis show. So your post really just seems to be that of a stage hypnotist talking down and correcting everyone else from on high. Using semantics and having a go at others for not posting an exhaustive list of what is required for a stage hypnotist show yet don't bother posting one of their own to help all who may find your opinion very interesting. So if you have something constructive to help people who want to become Stage Hypnotists then please post that instead of arguing semantics and having a go at other's limitations in their posts that you have failed to address yourself. Or if you are here just to put yourself on a pedestal, talk down to Street Hypnotists, brand them all the same and dismiss other's posts for being incomplete whilst not addressing the claimed deficiency yourself, then carry on! But all it comes across as is you trying to keep hypnosis a closed shop for you and your friends and not here to actually help the community at all. Please feel free to post everything you think people need to know about stage hypnosis any time you like. Then people can decide if that is for them or if they prefer impromptu hypnosis. Both are valid forms of hypnosis with both good and bad practitioners in each camp.
Winner of the Dumbringer Award for total incompetence. (All years)
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-05-08 20:41, Shrubsole wrote: I don't thin you know the first thing about putting together a stage presentation. Now if this is not your goal, no problem. I too have seen many many many hypnosis shows, illusion shows and dance shows, and shows of every sort that are VERY poorly put together. So what? Does that excuse putting another one out there as bad and poorly concieved? Again, if your goal is not to do stage work, then no problem. BUT if you do want to move into that realm, what you have put forth in this post will be your largest stumbling block. I have never understood just walking up to attempt to entertain people for no aparant reason. Call it ambush, call it whatever, the name is not important. "A rose by any other name" and all that. I simply do not see the point. That is only my opinion. I speak for an army of one, just me. It does not make it right, it simply makes it an opinion. Take it for just that, one mans opinion.
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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