Even the most skilled improvisers will tell you they do their best work when they get out of their own way.
When professional hypnotist Assad Mecci was taking courses at The Second City and noticed that instructors would often say, “Get out of your head.” At the same time, though, they were dispensing core rules of what improvisers call “the game of the scene” — the beats, the characters, the partner relationship, the don’ts. Add to that all the dimensions of an audience suggestion, and it’s quite a lot for a new improviser to get into their head about.
“(Improv) games are designed to focus somebody consciously on the game,” he said, “and then they want unconscious functioning!”
“So, I thought, ‘Is it possible to hypnotize somebody who doesn’t have improv experience and turn them into good improvisers?’ Well, bringing the world’s greatest improviser to improvise with them while under hypnosis would make for an incredible show!”
He thought immediately of Colin Mochrie, a 40-year veteran of the world’s best-known improv show, “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and reached out to him on his website.
Mecci already had logged 40 shows on Broadway and performed his solo act with Carnival, Disney and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Mochrie’s agent responded and set up a meeting.
“He told me about this frankly insane combination of two skills,” Mochrie said, “and I was fascinated. I’ve been improvising for 40 years, so I’m always trying to find ways of doing it that still scare me. When I’m outside of my comfort zone, that’s when most of the magic happens. And I thought, ‘You really can’t get much farther than working with people who I’ve never met who are in hypnotic trance.’
“What he’s actually doing is taking the part away that’s stopping them from using this talent that they already have.”
Since Mochrie signed on for “Hyprov,” the duo has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in over 70 cities across the U.S. and Canada.
But how does Mecci know who’s hypnotized? “It’s very important for the audience to understand this,” he said. “We don’t use plants. We’ve never met any of the people before who come up on stage and volunteer. We invite 20 volunteers up to the stage. I hypnotize them, and then work it down to the best hypnotic subjects.”
He starts by guiding the group through scenarios, for instance, imagining that they’re on a beach in Hawaii. He says that as the candidates respond to his suggestions, he’s looking for a “tell.” “It’s kind of like what poker players look for when they’re trying to get a read,” he said.
“I’m looking for a physiological change (such as) breathing changes, skin color changes, skin tone changes, dilation in the eyes, the capillaries in the eyes become engorged, the eyes start to tear up. If I see it, I’ll keep that person on stage.” Ultimately, he narrows the field to the most susceptible four or five volunteers.
“The fascinating part about really good hypnotic subjects is that the part of the brain that deals with self-reflection will become disconnected,” Mecci said. “They no longer reflect on their behavior. They just carry out my suggestions without hesitation and without question, which makes for a really good, seamless improv.
“For example, when I say to somebody, ‘You fall madly in love with Colin. You’re going to propose to Colin,” there’s no hesitancy. They immediately jump into the scene and are fully committed.”
There’s no gaming the selection process, either. “People who are hypnotized play it straight. They don’t play to the audience. There’s an economy of movement. I don’t mind giving away this information because if somebody tries to replicate it, the audience start to pick up on it. ’This person is an anomaly. They’re not behaving like the others.”
“I’ve learned so much about hypnosis,” Mochrie said. “There are so many misconceptions out there. I think people have a hard time believing in the show because they think when Assad hypnotizes them, he’s adding a superpower to them.
“And what he’s actually doing is taking the part away that’s stopping them from using this talent that they already have.”
“Once Assad gets them in their state,” Mochrie said, “then we have formed an improv (ensemble). We have a list of improv games that we play. So we get suggestions from the audience.”
From there, it’s anything goes. They make make up songs based on audience suggestions. They create animals and life event scenarios. The highlight of the show is a radio play in which the audience volunteer plays different characters, changing their physiology and their vocal qualities for each one.
Mochrie recalled one particularly memorable game of “Film Noir,” a murder mystery that typically concludes with Mochrie reciting the evidence leading to a confession on the part of the murderer, played by the audience volunteer.
“One night,” he recalled, “I said to this woman, ‘You’re the murderer!’ and she said, ‘What are you talking about? This isn’t real. You’re in a dream, Colin. You’re in an insane asylum right now!’
Mochrie admits he was taken a back, and it took him a minute to recover, but, he said, “There are curve balls like that all the time—truly moments where I just stare at them going, ‘I have no idea how I’m going to use this.’”
But he admits that’s the vulnerability he’s looking for. “You know, when I’m working with the ‘Whose Line’ (players), someone like Ryan (Stiles), who I’ve worked with for over 40 years, I can see where he is going to lead the scene. I have none of that with these people because they’re not thinking (how) we can work toward an ending.
“All they have is the present. They’re truly living in the moment. So that makes it exciting.”
“Hyprov: Improv Under Hypnosis,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1, Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street, foxtucson.com, tickets start at $49.50
OTHER SHOWS THIS WEEK
Laff’s Comedy Caffe, 2900 E. Broadway Boulevard. 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday, March 31, and 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1, laffstucson.com, $15, $20 preferred seating. Gabriel Rutledge, a comedy fest habitue, has appeared on Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham” and more.
The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress Street, screeningroomdowntown.com, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., Saturday, April 1, $12, “LadyBits,” 7 p.m. Holly Hilton, Allana Lopez, Amie Gabusi, Crickette Gill, headliner Saskia Bee, host Jen Blanco; 9 p.m. Lux ShRee, Sylvia Remington, Andrea Carmichael, Jen Blanco, headliner Phyllis Voren, host Allana Lopez
The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress Street, cantevencomedy.com, 5 p.m. DJ, 6 p.m. show, Sunday, April 2, tickets start at $17.85, featuring Leroy, Caitlin Benson, Chris Quinn
Tucson Improv Movement/TIM Comedy Theatre, 414 E. Ninth Street, tucsonimprov.com, $7 each show, $10 for both shows, same night, free jam and open mic. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 30, “Harold Eta” and “Shatfan;” 8:30 p.m. Open Mic.; 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 31, Improv Jam; 7:30 p.m. “The Soapbox;” 9 p.m. Standup Showcase; Saturday, April 1, 11 a.m. “Pretendy Time” (bring the kids!), 7:30 p.m. “Carcajadas” (Spanish/Spanglish); 9 p.m. “LOL and Order.”
Unscrewed Theater, 4500 E. Speedway Boulevard, unscrewedtheatre.org, $8, live or remote, $5 kids. 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 31, family-friendly improv with Not Burnt Out Just Unscrewed (NBOJU); 1 p.m. Saturday, April 1, “Rabbit Hood” Easter fun for kids; 7:30 p.m., Family Friendly Improv, 9 pm. “The Backyard Improv Playground,” pay what you will.
