Carol Rosegg
Asad Mecci, left, and Colin Mochrie perform in “Hyprov.”
Monday, June 12, 2023 | 2 a.m.
It’s understandable if you’re skeptical about the legitimacy of hypnosis, especially if your experience comes from a dramatic stage show on the Las Vegas Strip. But clinical hypnosis is a real type of medical therapy used in various treatments, according to the Cleveland Clinic. And this week, it will be used in one of those Vegas shows in a very different way — not exactly to induce humorous behavior for an audience’s enjoyment, but to help volunteers become elite-level performers themselves.
New production “Hyprov: Improv Under Hypnosis” opened for previews at Harrah’s Showroom on June 10 and continues at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Tickets start at $40 and are available via Ticketmaster.
The show was created by master hypnotist Asad Mecci and “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” comedian Colin Mochrie, and it combines the two performances these two entertainers specialize in. Mochrie is one of the improvisational comedians that make up the rotating cast, and Mecci brings several audience volunteers onstage each night to be hypnotized and participate in the performance.
“But it’s not like he’s turning them into improvisers, he’s removing the thing that stops them from being improvisers,” Mochrie said. “We’ve had improvisers in New York City, where there’s a large improv community, come up and get hypnotized during shows, and their friends say they’ve never done it like that. They perform in a totally different way, their characters are crisp and smart, so it’s good for everyone.”
Mecci, who came up with the idea for “Hyprov” while taking classes at the acclaimed Second City comedy theater and school of improvisation in Chicago, said once he came to understand the philosophy behind improv, the connections became clear.
“What I realized was they didn’t want us to consciously construct the comedy, to try to be funny, they wanted unconscious functioning,” he said. “I thought to myself, wait — is it possible to take somebody with no improv experience and hypnotize them and turn them into a great improviser? The answer has been a resounding yes.”
The part of the brain that deals with self-reflection becomes disconnected when hypnotized, Mecci explained, so participants are no longer considering their own behavior, they’re just carrying out suggestions without hesitation — especially if they’re a highly responsive subject, which Mecci looks for when choosing audience members.
“First time improvisers might look or act nervous, and they try to be funny, and that can look very uncomfortable at times,” he said. “With really good hypnosis subjects, all of that is gone. At times, they might even be stealing the scene from somebody like Colin.”
It begs the questions: Can anyone truly be as funny and off-the-cuff as an improv great like Mochrie, even without the years he’s spent perfecting his craft? “I really don’t want this to get out, but I guess it will, quite easily,” Mochrie joked. “Over the years of working on this, I’ve learned so much about hypnosis, and I think it’s made me a better improviser … Sometimes if you’re not listening, a beautiful moment that could be expanded on could quite easily leave. So it’s been a lot of fun, very challenging and exciting.”
One thing that hypnosis shows and improv shows in Las Vegas have always had in common is a sense of spontaneity, of unpredictable humor and excitement, and also a guarantee that the show will be fresh and different every night. “Hyprov” raises the stakes with its talented cast — another regular performer is Stephanie Courtney, the actress who plays Flo in the well-known Progressive Insurance commercials — and an abundance of audience interaction.
“The audience participation is, I think, something totally different from any other show out there,” Mochrie said. “I’m still shocked after doing it all this time to see these people become expert improvisors, pure improvisers, just reacting to what we give them. They’re just truly living in the moment, not going for laughs, just going with the scene.”
