HYPROV: Improv Under Hypnosis is coming to the Sherman Theater at 8 p.m. Sept. 27.
Courtesy of the Sherman Theater
STROUDSBURG — The stage show HYPROV: Improv Under Hypnosis is coming to the Sherman Theater this September, starring master hypnotist Asad Mecci, Colin Mochrie from “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and a handful of lucky volunteers from the audience.
The show is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Sept. 27. Tickets are for sale from the theater’s website. The show lasts about 90 minutes and is family-friendly, though you must be 18 to volunteer.
Mecci and Mochrie have performed as the HYPROV duo since around 2016, and have taken on a number of high-profile stages since that time, including a stint Off-Broadway and a residency in Las Vegas. In total, they have performed in over 200 cities across North America.
“The show is fast-paced, it’s action-packed, high energy, but above all else, hilarious…,” Mecci said.
Mecci bring 20 volunteers from the audience onto the stage at the beginning of the show and chooses the four or five most susceptible volunteers to be hypnotized. At that time, Mochrie enters and performs a series of games and scenes with the hypnotized audience members, who he has never met.
“Both of us enjoy the danger of what we do. I love the fact that I don’t know these people, and I love the fact [that], every night, I’m watching Asad hypnotize,” Mochrie said. “Every night, I keep going ‘This can not work. … How is [Mecci] doing this?’”
The thrill of the show lies in the risk involved with its format. There is little Mochrie can do to prepare for his stage mates’ spontaneity.
“The first time we went on stage, we had no idea whether this was going to work, because we couldn’t rehearse it. It truly was going by the seat of our pants…,” Mochrie said. “What happens, when you’re hypnotized, the part of your brain that deals with self-criticism is gone, so [the volunteers] react immediately to everything I say without any hesitation. So it’s like I’m working with pure improvisers.”
Mecci can do a bit more to prepare for his part of the performance, but the guardrails are removed once the improvisation begins. He said that he is aware that there is skepticism surrounding hypnosis, but the audience reaction reveals the honest magic of HYPROV.
“The people that are laughing the hardest are always the people who know the volunteers on stage, because they know that they’re not plants,” Mecci said.
The list of games Mochrie plays with the subjects can depend on several factors, including the stage setup and the volunteers themselves.
Showgoers are, according to Mochrie, only going to get a full picture of what can be achieved during a HYPROV performance by seeing it with their own eyes.
“We’re describing the show, but you really have to go and see it. It’s unlike any improv you’ve seen, any kind of hypnosis show you’ve seen,” Mochrie said. “It just unlocks the creative genius of all our volunteers.”
And for Mochrie, its a pleasure to see the volunteers’ inhibitions melt away throughout the performance.
“I find it fascinating, with this show, what people can do once they get out of their own way.”
