Hypnotism and improv come together in show coming to Windsor and Chatham
Improv comedy legend and Whose Line is it Anyway? star Colin Mochrie is coming to Windsor's Chrysler Theatre on Saturday with master hypnotist Asad Mecci for a show like no other.
Hyprov: Improv Under Hypnosis is the name of their show. It ran for 70 shows off Broadway in New York City and has toured across all of North America — now the show will spend two weekends in Windsor and Chatham.
Mochrie said the show features an unusual ensemble — 20 audience member participants under hypnosis, improvising alongside Mochrie.
And Mecci said the people he puts under hypnosis can keep up with Mochrie's decades of improvising.
"At times [Mochrie] is just reacting because they're stealing the show," Mecci said.
Hyprov hits Canadian stages
Mecci said he pitched the idea for Hyprov to Mochrie through an email.
The pair tested out the idea in 2016 at Second City in Toronto before bringing it to Just for Laughs Montreal and overseas to Just for Laughs London and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.
LISTEN: Colin Mochrie and Asad Mecci join Windsor Morning
After that, the show went on a 60-city tour across North America before it ran off Broadway.
"We're really excited to bring the show back to Canada now. We've already hit the East Coast," Mecci said.
He gave a sneak peak into what audiences can expect from the show. He said the "crescendo" of Hyprov is "an old time radio play where Colin is a detective and he's trying to solve the case."
Mochrie said doing Hyprov has helped him get back to his improv roots and provides challenging improv scenarios that require him to stay focused.
"I love doing this show because for me it's a fresh way of doing improv," he said.
On top of giving a good performance, Mochrie said Hyprov shows what regular audience members can do when their inhibitions are taken away.
"The end all, be all of the show is entertainment, but there's also a component that shows you what you can do when you get rid of the person who stops you from doing things you can do, which is yourself."
Improv and hypnotism lessen self-reflection
Mochrie said one time he was doing an improv show in San Francisco when an audience member named Dr. Charles Limb asked if he would participate in a study.
Mochrie said he improvised for an hour and a half while being monitored by an MRI brain scanner.
"What they found was the part of the brain that deals with self reflection, the part of your brain that you know goes, 'You know, like you're gonna be embarrassed, don't do this.' Activity there lessens and creativity increases," he said.
"It's the same when you're hypnotized."
Mecci said when he hypnotizes people their part of their brain that self reflects "becomes disconnected" and when they can't reflect on their behaviour they become more suggestible.
"First time improvisers, they'll play to the crowd, they'll hesitate, they'll use filler words and they'll look nervous. Whereas people who are hypnotized just carry out my suggestions without hesitation," he said.
For anyone worried about leaving the show still hypnotized, Mecci said hypnotic trances only last for a few minutes when he finishes with the show.
"After the show is done, we remove all the suggestions, give them positive suggestions, and then they leave feeling great," he said.
The show is playing at Windsor's Chrysler Theatre tonight and at Chatham's Capitol Theatre on Feb. 18.
