TheaterMania: If you want a truly unpredictable night of theater, head on down to the Daryl Roth Theatre at Union Square for Hyprov: Improv Under Hypnosis. The conceit alone may give some spectators pause — master hypnotist Asad Mecci hypnotizes a group of audience volunteers, and then they do scenes with beloved improv comic Colin Mochrie (of Whose Line Is It Anyway?) — but the result is a true one-of-a-kind experience.
2 comments:
I never would’ve considered it, but hypnosis and improv seem to fit together really well. Since the whole idea of improv is getting out of your head and just reacting in the moment, without worrying too much about what will happen in the scene down the line, it makes sense to remove that concern that’s always present in the back of your mind. I’m very curious about the hypnosis element; I would’ve liked to learn more about how exactly that process works and what is asked of the volunteers. It’s also interesting to me that these scenes are done by volunteers and not necessarily an improv team. It makes sense because part of the fun of the hypnosis element would be seeing what people can produce out of their subconscious; whereas improv teams are always going to have that training shaping their ideas of what they’re going to do. I also like the consent-based nature of it with how the article explains people under hypnosis are still conscious, aware, and choosing to remain in that cycle.
To be frank, hypnosis stresses me out. I know that it’s actually a very safe state, I believe it's called a “suggestive” state, but I don’t think I could ever stomach getting hypnotized. However, this combo with improv is fascinating. I’m a Whose Line fan, so seeing Colin intrigued me. I’m trying to imagine that improving while in a trance wouldn’t feel like acting or storytelling, it would just feel like something that was really happening to you. You know, you have the bit where the participant eats an onion but the hypnotist makes them think it’s an apple - they’re not pretending to eat an apple, they actually think they are eating one. Colin is storytelling and improvising, but he’s fully at the mercy of what the participants are “genuinely” experiencing. They’re not working WITH Colin to create a scene, like Ryan - Colin has to work to keep up with the participant.
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