Dr. Dave Hill - Comedy Hypnosis Shows

**A Fast-Paced, Interactive Comedy Hypnosis Show**

Dave Hill's Comedy Hypnosis Show is an interactive entertainment experience where members of the audience volunteer to come onstage and become part of the show.

And that's where the fun begins.

Dave has one guiding philosophy:

**The volunteers are the stars of the show.**

Rather than making the performance about the hypnotist, Dave creates imaginative situations, guides the volunteers through the experience, and then lets their personalities and spontaneous reactions provide the comedy.

No two performances are exactly alike because no two groups of volunteers—and no two audiences—are exactly alike.

### Comedy, Music and Audience Participation

The show is carefully structured to maintain a balance of comedy, music, audience interaction and changing energy throughout the performance.

But some of the best moments are completely unexpected.

A volunteer may react in a way nobody anticipated. A spontaneous moment may become funnier than anything that could have been scripted. After more than 16,000 performances, Dave knows when to guide the action—and when to step aside and let a wonderful moment happen.

The result is a fast-paced show in which the audience isn't simply watching the entertainment.

**They're part of the experience.**

### Appropriate for Your Event

Dave believes you don't need offensive or embarrassing material to create a hilarious comedy hypnosis show.

The performance is designed around the audience and the event, with material selected to be appropriate for the occasion. The comedy comes from imagination, interaction and the wonderfully unpredictable personalities of the volunteers—not from humiliating the people who were generous enough to come onstage.

Whether Dave is performing for a high school Grad Night, college audience, corporate event or private celebration, the goal is the same:

**Give everyone a night to remember.**

### What Happens to the Volunteers?

Volunteers are invited from the audience and seated onstage. Dave guides them through the hypnotic process and then introduces a series of imaginative comedy situations.

The volunteers aren't actors and they aren't following a script. That's part of what makes the show so entertaining.

Dave creates the premise.

The volunteers create the moments.

Throughout the performance, Dave watches the volunteers and the audience carefully, adjusting the pacing and direction of the show to what is actually happening in the room.

At the end of the performance, the volunteers are brought out of hypnosis and Dave asks the audience to recognize them with the applause they deserve.

**Because they really were the stars of the show.**

## Frequently Asked Questions About Hypnosis

**What Is Hypnosis?**

Hypnosis is a state of focused attention and relaxation in which a person can become more responsive to suggestion and imagination.

In a comedy hypnosis show, that imagination becomes part of the entertainment. Dave provides the suggestions and scenarios; the volunteers' individual responses create the spontaneous comedy.

**Do I Have to Volunteer?**

No. Participation onstage is voluntary. Guests who prefer to remain in the audience can simply relax and enjoy the show.

**Will I Be Embarrassed?**

Dave's philosophy is that volunteers should leave the stage feeling that they helped create a terrific show.

The comedy isn't built around humiliating participants. Dave creates the premise, guides the experience, and lets the personalities of the volunteers provide the fun.

**What Makes Dave's Show Different?**

Dave learned during his years in Las Vegas that great showmanship isn't about keeping the spotlight on the entertainer.

It's about knowing where to direct it.

That's why you'll often see Dave working from the side while his volunteers occupy center stage. His job is to create the moment, control the pace, look after the volunteers and recognize when something wonderful is happening.

Then sometimes his job is simply to get out of the way.

**A good entertainer gets attention. A good showman knows where to direct it.**

After more than 16,000 performances, Dave still approaches every audience with the same goal:

**Give them a night to remember.**

**Dave Hill — “The World’s Greatest Hypnotist”**

For more than 39 years and over 16,000 performances, Dave Hill has entertained audiences with a philosophy of showmanship that is simple: **the volunteers are the stars of the show.**

Dave’s comedy hypnosis show is not about bringing people onstage simply to hypnotize them. He creates an environment in which ordinary people become the entertainers for the evening. Dave guides the experience, keeps the show moving, and then knows when to step aside and let the unexpected happen.

The result is a fast-paced, interactive show combining comedy, music, audience participation and the spontaneity that makes every performance different.

### A Lifetime of Showmanship

Dave’s career has taken him to casinos in Las Vegas, Reno and Atlantic City, as well as comedy clubs, colleges, high schools, corporate events, state fairs, festivals and theme parks including Great America.

His corporate and special-event clients have included GE, eBay, PayPal, Google and the Golden State Warriors. He has also performed extensively for high school Grad Nights, post-prom celebrations and college audiences.

Dave has appeared on television programs including **MythBusters**, where he hypnotized Grant, Tory and Kari during a segment exploring hypnosis and memory.

But the heart of Dave’s show has never been the résumé.

It is the audience.

### The Volunteers Are the Stars

Dave learned some of his most important lessons about entertainment during his years in Las Vegas.

**Frank Sinatra taught him generosity onstage:** the volunteers are the stars of the show.

That lesson became a defining part of Dave’s performance style. While many entertainers naturally gravitate toward the center of the stage, Dave often works from the side. Once a volunteer has created a wonderful moment, Dave doesn't need to step into the middle of it or claim the applause.

His job is to create the situation, guide the performance, protect the pace of the show—and recognize when it is time to get out of the way.

**A good entertainer gets attention. A good showman knows where to direct it.**

At the conclusion of the show, Dave asks the audience to give the volunteers a standing ovation because, for that evening, **they truly have been the stars of the show.**

### Structure, Spontaneity and Reading the Room

Another important influence was Wayne Newton, who taught Dave the discipline required of a professional entertainer: **give every audience everything you have, adapt to the room, and never assume there will be another show.**

Dave’s performances are meticulously structured, with comedy, music, audience interaction and changes in energy carefully balanced throughout the show.

But structure does not mean rigidity.

After thousands of performances, Dave knows that some of the funniest moments are the ones nobody could possibly have planned. A volunteer does something unexpected. An audience reacts in a surprising way. A spontaneous moment becomes better than the routine that was originally planned.

Dave follows it.

**Preparation gives an entertainer the structure. Experience teaches him when it is safe to leave it.**

That combination of preparation and spontaneity is one reason no two Dave Hill comedy hypnosis shows are exactly alike.

### Professional, Respectful and Audience-Focused

Comedy hypnosis should be funny without making volunteers regret having participated.

Dave’s approach is built around creating situations in which volunteers can be funny while allowing them to enjoy being part of the experience. The comedy comes from imagination, spontaneity and interaction—not from an entertainer trying to embarrass the people who trusted him enough to come onstage.

The audience isn't there merely to watch something happen. **They become immersed in the experience.**

Dave watches the audience as carefully as he watches his volunteers. Their reactions tell an experienced entertainer when to move forward, when to slow down, when to let the laughter build and when an unexpected moment deserves more room.

There may be another performance tomorrow.

**But there will never be this audience again.**

### Training and Experience

Dave is certified as a Master Hypnotist by the National Hypnotism Training Institute and as a Certified Hypnotherapist and Advanced Hypnotherapist by the National Guild of Hypnotists. The International Hypnosis Federation has certified him as a Professional Stage Hypnotist, and Advanced Neuro Dynamics certified him as a Hypnosis Trainer.

Dave also spent years training with the late **Gil Boyne**, including an intensive period of apprenticeship that helped establish the technical foundation upon which Dave would build his own performing career.

After more than 16,000 shows, that education continues every time Dave walks onto a stage.

Because ultimately, great entertainment isn't about how much attention the performer can command.

**It's about what the audience feels, what the volunteers experience, and what everyone remembers after the show is over.**

Dave Hill's Comedy Hypnosis Show has simple technical requirements:

**1. Wireless Handheld Microphone**
A professional wireless handheld microphone connected to the venue's sound system. Dave can provide his own microphone and sound equipment for events in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area.

**2. Professional Sound System**
A sound system appropriate for the size of the audience and venue, with the ability to play Dave's show music.

**3. 25 Armless Chairs**
Please provide 15 to 25 sturdy chairs without arms for the volunteers. Chairs should be arranged on the performance stage or designated performance area before the show.

**4. Performance Area**
A clean, unobstructed performance area with sufficient room for Dave and the volunteers to move comfortably and safely.

**Greater San Francisco Bay Area Events:**
Dave can provide his own professional sound equipment when needed. Please discuss the venue and technical arrangements when booking.