On Sunday, November 9th, master hypnotist Asad Mecci and improv extraordinaire Colin Mochrie will be in Pittsburgh for a stop on their “Yes, It’s Real” tour for their show Hyprov: Improv Under Hypnosis. The show will begin at 7 pm at Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall.
For those unfamiliar, the 90-minute show begins by asking for volunteers from the audience. Mecci and Mochrie accept up to 20 volunteers to start. Those volunteers are then invited on stage to be hypnotized by Mecci. The volunteers who respond well to the hypnosis then join Mochrie as his impromptu improv group, and they put on a show for the rest of the audience. The keyword here is volunteer, but in case you were wondering, they always get more people than they can accept. Mecci jokingly said, “We have to beat them back with broomsticks.” And because the volunteers help so much to set the tone of the performance, they are also well respected for their participation. “We are never making fun of them. They are our equals, our troop,” Mochrie said. While the show is rated as family-friendly, to volunteer to be on stage, you must be 18 years or older.
Comedy and improv might seem more mainstream than hypnotism, but both receive their share of skepticism. That is what the show is both poking a little fun at, but also proving wrong night after night. Just like the tour name says, “Yes, It’s Real.” Mecci is a well-practiced hypnotist, and outside of this show, clients such as professional athletes rely on him to teach them visualization techniques to help with their performance. He’s even been a consultant for major corporations for stress management and motivation.
Once the volunteers are initially hypnotized in a five to seven-minute induction, Mecci monitors those individuals to whittle down to an improv group that has responded best to the hypnotism. He studies their physiological feedback, looking for changes in breathing, for example. Once the three to five final volunteers are selected, instant improv and instant laughter ensue! Guided by Mochrie, a seasoned improviser, literally as he has appeared in 18 seasons of the hit show “Whose Line Is It, Anyway,” the troop is pitched into different scenarios. A lot of the suggestions come from the rest of the crowd, making it super interactive, even if you don’t find yourself on the stage.
Because the chemistry and originality of the show are so captivating, it leads some to question whether the show is real or not. In fact, Mecci and Mochrie recently debuted a filmed special of Hyprov on CBC Gem in Canada. The special features the best of two sold-out shows. Afterwards, a journalist interviewed families in the audience, as well as some of the ‘hyprovisers’ themselves, and found “they are not plants, but genuine individuals and they have no contact with production before or during the show,” Mecci said. Ok, hypnotism is one thing, but what about the comedy? Again, there are always skeptics, but the whole point is to have a good laugh. “There were once people who accused me of reading from cue cards on ‘Whose Line’ (Is It, Anyway). Some people can’t change their minds, but we are there to have a good time. Hypnotism is not always fact-based, but the volunteers are always aware and are free to say whatever they want,” Mochrie said.
The unpredictability is what adds to the magic of the show! Mochrie will guide his improv group of strangers through a list of games, while Mecci maintains the hypnotism. If you take a scroll through their social media feed, you might see some original songs being performed right off the dome! They might ask for someone to come forward who is a good singer. Sometimes the person really can sing well, and sometimes they just believe wholeheartedly that they can. But, no matter which is true, pure chaos usually erupts. Mochrie has to be the comedy wrangler in those situations. “Unlike a usual improv team where you are telling a story with a satisfying ending, we just have this moment in time,” Mochrie said. For Mecci, this makes it special to watch every night. “I get a front row seat to the best comedy show. Sometimes he will get painted into a corner because they aren’t following the regular improv rules of “yes, and…’ and Colin has to build upon that with no structure. Watching a master improviser, like Colin, is truly amazing,” Mecci said.
Once the show is over, I wonder whether the participants remember anything about the last 90 minutes. The answer is yes! According to Mecci, “we send them back to the audience happy.” What about Mecci and Mochrie? Are there moments that have become unforgettable to them throughout the tour? “So many moments,” Mochrie said. “My favorite was maybe a superhero scene we did with the Gibraltar Kid. It was inspired and ridiculous.” For Mecci, it again went back to Mochrie and how he seamlessly interacts with the hyprovisers. For example, the time a gentleman went to propose to him (Mochrie), but realized he was already wearing his real-life wedding ring, and then he was confused because he thought he was being cheated on. There was passion, drama and most importantly, comedy. Again, all in good fun!
Considering how both Mecci and Mochrie rose to the top in their respective fields and then came together to create this wildly successful show seems meant to be. For Mochrie, in high school, he actually wanted to be a marine biologist until he was dared to do a school play. “It was there that I got my first laugh,” Mochrie said. “Then it was goodbye, science. Comedy has been easy, and I am very lucky and happy.” On the other hand, Mecci didn’t come upon hypnotism until his first year at university. “I was on vacation with a friend and his family, and my friend got a really bad sunburn. His father, who used hypnosis in his dental practice, used it to take away the pain of the sunburn, and it really intrigued me,” Mecci said. Here they are now, having toured more than 200 cities after developing the show at Toronto’s Second City. Don’t forget about the show’s run Off Broadway and residencies in Las Vegas and Toronto. Oh, and the comedy special, for which you can add your name to the wait list when it drops in countries outside of Canada.
For full tour information and to follow Hyprov on social media, click here. To get tickets for the upcoming Pittsburgh show, click here. I guarantee, you won’t want to miss it!