Letting someone take control of your mind may be scary for some but one improvisational comedian is teaming up with a hypnotist to turn dread into delight.
Colin Mochrie is a Canadian comedian and star of the television show “Whose Line Is It, Anyway?” He said he will use his improv skills to complement the work of a hypnotist in the upcoming HYPROV: Improv under Hypnosis experience.
“Every night I watch Asad work his skills on our volunteers,” he said. “And I've gotten to the point now where I can go, ‘OK, he's faking, she's faking? Oh, he's really under.”
Asad Mecci is a master hypnotist. He said the funniest part of the show is when a volunteer is doubtful about becoming spellbound.
“And they go up on stage to get hypnotized. And then I see their family members just keeled over with laughter,” he explained. “So, the best ones are the ones that are skeptical.”
Mecci gave an example of what the audience can expect during the upcoming show.
“I will tell you that we pitch them into different seats, improv seats with Colin. So, for example, a marriage proposal where somebody is proposing to Colin or Colin is doing a radio play,” Mecci explained. "And they're morphing into all the different characters. So, it’s very much elevated from the usual slapstick kind of hypnosis.”
The fun takes place at 8:00 p.m. Nov. 13 at the Raue Center for the Arts in Crystal Lake. Volunteers must be 18 or older but the entire family can attend. Tickets can be purchased at the center’s website.
- Yvonne Boose is a current corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. It's a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms like WNIJ. You can learn more about Report for America at wnij.org.
