Holidays Are All About Family

I know this blog is about my hypnosis shows but I just wrote a blog entry on my photography blog I believe is important for everyone to read. I will copy it here and it is my holiday wish to everyone…

I was cleaning out my basement the other day and came across an old box. Inside was two baby books containing photos of my first birthday in 1954 to my Long Island, NY childhood days into 1960. I spent a couple of days scanning these precious photos that I had entirely forgoten about. These baby books also contain the writings of my mother as if it were me doing the conversation. These short writings were about my life as an very young boy. My mother wrote about my first haircut as if it were me descibing it, my first birthday party, etc. These book were filled with memories as well as my real birthday cards. These were cards sent to my mom and dad on the occasion of my birth. I cannot tell you about the emotions I went through as I looked at these photos and read all the word my mother had written and the crads that were sent. There was even all the documentation of the hospital visit. By the way, the doctor charged my mother $15 to deliver me. Room and board for the 3 day hospital stay was $9. Can’t put a price on the memories.
I was fortunate to have family photos like these. I have photos through my years in high school and beyond.

I now have a wonderful family, my wife, 2 grown sons, both with wonderful girlfriends. We get to spend time with one of my future daughter-in-law’s family during the Chanukah and other Jewish Holidays. They have a large family, from great grand parents to real young cousins. But they don’t take photos at these gathering. What a waste. This is time you don’t get back. When the older family members pass on, there will be no record for the younger members to have.

As I said, I was fortunate to have these irreplaceable photographs. The reason I say this, my mother died of cancer in late 1959. These are my only visible memories of her, although I have many fragmented memories of the times we spent. I have 2 younger brothers, both live in Georgia. I don’t see them or their families much. My dad, now 80 years young and my mother (my dad remarried in the early 1960s) live in Florida, where I grew up after my mother’s passing. When we get together, you better believe there are cameras everywhere.

So here’s my holiday wish to everyone. BE A NUISANCE. Get that camera out and shoot photos. Get individual shots, get group shots, get someone else to take the photo and you get in the picture. Take memories and share them with everyone. To make it easy for everyone to see these , put them on Flickr, or any of the other photo sites. Make a special gallery on your web page. Just do what it takes to make these family gathering memorable. It’s the best gift I can think of.

Even though I am Jewish, my household always celebrated Christmas. (More presents for me as a kid).

Here’s a photo of me in 1955, two and half years old. I was adorable!

Happy and healthy holidays to everyone, and to all a very prosperous and memorable 2010.

Please pass this blog post on to all your friends, family members, twitter buddies, facebook friends and everyone else you know. They will all thank you for this.

Now here’s the photo:

A Great Week of Hypnosis Shows

You would think after 23 years and 6,000+ shows that this would have been just another week of shows. But this was a real special week for me. I had a lot of fun; I mean a lot of fun. I had a show for a Massachusetts high school that I do look forward to every year. Although this year's audience was not as big as in past years, we had a wild and crazy show. Before I even set up, there was a group of the school's cheerleaders in front of the auditorium with their coach. They were just waiting to be picked up by their parents, go home to eat dinner and then come back to the hypnosis show. While they were waiting we got into a converstaion about hypnosis, what the show was like and they asked if the could volunteer. Only one of the girls was REALLY excited and do I mean REALLY excited. Her name was Sophie.

Let me skip to the end of the night... Sophie was the star of the show, actually Sophie WAS the show. Even though all the volunteers were very good and we all had a lot of fun with all of them, it was Sophies facial expressions that made that evening special. I have always said to people as they walk in the auditoriums that you want to sit as close to the front as possible to see the expressions on the volunteers' faces. Tonight they got the idea that just maybe I knew what I was talking about. One typical hypnosis routine like the volunteers forgetting their names had new meaning. It was just the conversations between her and everyone else on stage, her and me and just about everything she did that made this girl one of the best volunteers in a long thanks. So this is for you Sophie: "You were terrific !"

I know there were others in the show but here are a few photos of the star of this show... here's Sophie !

   

To view the entire photo gallery of this show go to: SWFB Hypnosis Show Photos

On Friday and Saturday nights I performed for a group in Bridgewater, Massachusetts called the Mass Drifters. This wonderful organization which is run by Coach Carol are fast pitch softball teams for girls from ages 10 to 23. There are 8 teams that compete against other teams in state, in New England and around the country. And they are great ball players. Anyway, many years ago I was contacted to perform my hypnosis show as fundraiser. It went well and now 8 years later I am still doing these well attended shows and doing multiple shows every year. These shows are fundraisers as the cost of running the organization is tremendous and money is always needed. At these shows, pizzas are sold for dinner and there are many raffles items. Tickets sales for these georgeous raffle baskets are quite high. Everyone buys many tickets. But I like to think they come out for the show.

There were more teams added this year so with more families involved, we had to schedule to do 2 shows. Friday night's show had 220+ in attendance. The hall was packed. It was a typical show with lots of really good volunteers, lots of laughs and lots of stars of the show. But there was one star who really stood out. She was a 9 year old girl that was hypnotized like the rest of the group, but who could have know the antics we saw could come from this sweet little lady. She oohed and ahhed during the romantic movie routine, she danced a storm up and when the batteries died in here show... well you just had to be there. I thought she was going to take my head off. Very funny stuff.

Saturday night in another hall down the road, the crowd was a bit smaller but none less vocal. Same senario, terrific volunteers, lots of laughs, a few requested routines from Coach carol (which went over very well) but again one incredible standout. This time it was from a 10 year old boy. Carbon copy of the night before with his uniqueness during the romantic movie as well as the rest of the show. And we also had one very funny volunteer; one of the older athletes and all I can say about her is " Yippie-Yi-Oh-Kai-Yay." Those at the show will know what I'm talking about. Words on a blog cannot translate well.

Both night raised a lot of money for the Drifters and I couldn't be happier. Everyone involved in this organization is wonderful, from Coach Carol, to the team coaches, the parents and of course the athletes. I am also proud they think enough of me to invite me out every year. If I lived a lot closer, I would be in the stand rootin' for the home team. As a side note, because of the ages of the 2 I mentioned, I will not be posting their photos on this blog, but here are a couple of photos from the older volunters from both shows.

  

 

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow !

This was a weekend I always look forward to. I do a show way up in New Hampshire, that for the last seven years has been a lot of fun. But before I talk about that show, I had an unfortunate and pretty lousy thing happen.

I was booked for a show on Friday night. This was to be my first time performing for this Boston area high school. We booked the show in September. Two days before the show, I called and left a message just to  let them know what time I would be arriving to set up. I had plans for the night I called withis reminder and when I returned home there was a message from a woman who I assume was on the committee for the show saying they had cancelled the show. She said she left a message a few weeks ago saying they never had secured the school's auditorium for this date and had never advertised the show in the school. I have one of those phone /fax machines that every 25 incoming phone calls prints out a record of all the calls I have received. I also subscibe to the AT&T feature that shows me ALL incoming phone numbers (including private and blocked numbers). I looked at my list and sure enough, there was no call made to me from this woman's number, nor from the woman who booked the show or any number from the Braintree, Massachusetts area. I got stiffed for the show. They cancelled the show the night before and had a battle of the bands instead. This according to the school web site. Now some fault on my end... I had sent out a contract but as happens on many occasions, I do not receive a signed copy back. Sometimes the signed copy is enclosed with the check I receive the night of the show. So not receiving the contract was not something I was worried about. OK, so the show cancelled and yes I am out the money for the show. It happens. But I had a hotel reservation that was passed the cancellation date and time so I am stuck for the price of a room that I don't need.  OK, it happens. It is part of doing business. I guess the part that bugs me is they didn't have the decency to let me know the show was cancelled. What an embarassment it would have been for both of us (really more from me) if I had showed up Friday night without calling to confirm first.

Anyway, thanks for letting me blow off a little steam. This has happened before and I am sure it will happen again. It happens to every entertainer. We rely on others to do the work to set up a proper show and some peopel put in so little effort that is easier just to cancel and make an excuse for doing so. Thank goodness not in Plymouth, New Hampshire.

This is one of the shows I really look forward to year after year. I have preformed at Plymouth Regional High School for the last seven years. This show is sponsored by various groups that promote drug prevention and personal responsibility, etc. It has always been aimed at the freshman in the school, although everyone may attend. And the show is free to all students. This is the only show that I preform that does this. This is great publicity for the school's guidance department program and Mr Ferenc has done a great job with this. More school should see the benefit of a program like this.

Anyway the show was wild and a lot of fun, as usual. Lots of volunteers and lots of great expressions on the volunteers faces during the routines. I geared the routines to bring out the expressions as much as I could. Because the auditorium is so intimate, everyone really got an up close and personal look. I really loved how the  2+2=  arguement carried itself out. You had to be there to understand it, words cannot describe the fun that ensued. But I did agree with the guy on the end... who cares, let's PARTY!

Oh and by the way, if anyone ever has realized, it has snowed every year the night of my performance. Not heavy and hard but enough to put a beautiful coating on everything. That's another reason I love Plymouth, NH. Everything is beautiful. Here are a few photos from the show. I'll see everyone again next year.

  

    

    

Holidaze Hypnosis Shows

Wow, Thanksgiving is over, December is here. Where did the year go? This is usually the slowest month as there were relatively few fundraising shows and over the last few years corporate holiday parties have become non-existant. But not this year. I like to think the recession is letting up. This is turning out to be the busiest December since 2005. Right now I have 5 high school shows, 2 fundraisers for a girls softball team (both shows are for the same group, they have so many teams we can’t fit everyone into one show) and 4 corporate shows. It’s nice to see these companies offering something special for their employees. I don’t mean my show per say, but just a little something to acknowledge a job well done. Many companies have still completely cut out their holiday party. Some are making the party smaller and having their celebration after the new year when prices are cheaper. (Psst… give me a call for an after new year party. I still have dates available).

Enjoy what is left of 2009 and get ready for 2010. I predict this will be a turning point year for many.

Talk to you later.

It's fundraising time !!!

I know it's been a month since my last blog post. I have done about 12 shows since number 6,000. Most are same old, same old. But a couple really did stand out. I really get excited when I go into a school for the very first time. Last Tuesday was one of those nights. If you have read this blog in the past you know I rarely mention names. This is usually because there are a lot of unscrupulous entertainers out there that would call venues and severely undercut the price. But this time I have no problem saying who this was and NFA you do know who you are. Wow! What a night!

I have to set this up and give credit where credit is due. And I don't want to take the credit for making this single performance what it was. I know my show is good, very good, in fact. But what made this night so incredibly special was the result of one individual. Mike G. He recommended my show, as he had seen it at a campground before. Once the show was booked and then because of his help and guidance, the maketing for this show went viral. This private school has a student population of 2,500. And not only with the usual posters on the wall and in the caf, Mike helped get the word out. (I won't say how as I will be using this to my advantage at other schools). When all was said and done almost everyone in the school had first hand knowledge about the show. Although not everyone showed up, I was told this was one of the largest non-athletic turnouts ever. And the students enthusiasm helped make this show special. I can't wait to come back again because I know the next time will be bigger and better. GREAT JOB MIKE !!! Here are 4 photos from that show:

The other show I want to talk about was a group I really enjoy performing for but don't do enough of them. This show was a fundraiser for an elementary school. They needed to raise money for a school program and I was recommended to help do that. (Thanks again Norman.) Through sponsorship and donations they raised quite a bit of money. And the attendance was very respectful, with the inclusion of a church youth group and a local boys & girls club. I like theses shows because not only to I get teenagers to volunteers, I also get many adults; teachers, parents and administrators. The show was well above average as all but 2 of the 19 volunteers got hypnotised and stayed hypnotised throughout the show. Plenty of photos and video to prove that point. And to top things off they had raffles to make extra money. And they a special raffle for kids under the age of 14. And it was free for them to enter. The prize was 2 tickets to a local water park. How cool! But they had some great raffle prizes for the adults. My favorites were a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label,  150 gallons of home heating oil and 2 tickets to a Ptriots football game (good seats too).

I get to do another elementary school fundraiser next week and can't wait to see what they raffle off. It seems I am doing a lot of fundraisers for many different schools, groups and organizations. I really enjoy doing them. I hope one day to do a fundraising show for you. Give me a call and we can discuss details how you can raise a lot of money.

I hope I get the pleasure of entertaining you all again soon.

6,000 SWFB Perfomances

Last night in an early snow fall, I performed my 6000th perfomance. The was in Connecticut for the Litchfield Robotics and Lego League Team fundraiser. The snow kept a lot of people away, but we still managed to have a great time. I really appreciated the effort that went into publicising this show; poster in school and around town, radio & tv mentions, newspaper spots and signage outside of school. Still the snow... that early season lousy snow... what are you gonna do? Thanks to the many students and adults you volunteered. You all were TERRIFIC!

Most friends and aquaintances know me as a hypnotist. Many of my older friends also know I perform magic. But most everyone would raise an eyebrow at the other acts I have performed during my many years.
Although Steve Wronker's Funny Business (SWFB) was named in 1987 (that's when I quit my real job and went to work full time as an entertainer), I had been performing since the early 1970's. An early Connecticut perfomance was at Henry Park in Vernon, CT on July 3, 1975. this was a kick off for the BiCentennial. It was my first public appearance as Gobbo the Clown. (I got the name from Shakespeare's 'Merchant of Venice'. I was a huge fan of Shakespeare and consequently named most of my doves after Shakespearian characters). I perfomed magic as a clown and did many typical clown skits. As a clown, this is where I developed my magic act as a magician where everything that could go wrong did. This was a slight take off from magician and actor Carl Ballentine (McHale's Navy).

Magic was predominant as I performed magic as a clown, as a regular act and in night clubs throughout New England. I had developed a dove act for the night clubs as well as my regular comedy magic act. I would perform anywhere and everywhere; from birthday parties to the opening of the Hartford Sheraton Hotel as a headline entertainer. I had always siad, "If the money was right I would perform in the nude!" I won't say anymore about that but remember it was the early 70's. During the late 1970's and thru the early 1990's I developed many other acts. Let me just list them here:


Bingo caller, clowning, disc jockey, emcee for many events, face painter, game show host, hypnosis seminars (stop smoking, stress reduction, etc), a creative thinking program for elemnatry and middle school students called "Imagination... It's All in Your Mind" program (I thought this program would put me on the national map but I couldn't get the right funding), many, many differently themed magic shows and magic workshops. I was a monthly columnist for a national sports collectors' magazine, motivational speaker (I still  do an occasional talk), simon says director, sports memorabilia collecting seminars, stand-up comedian, and believe it or not I did 2 gigs as a singer.

I've feel I've been blessed with the ability to make people laugh, to forget about life's pitfalls for a few minutes and just have my audiences just sit back and enjoy the show. I know how fortunate I have been and I will never take any of this for granted. I have a sign in my office that says "If you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life!" I hope I never have to work for many years to come.

Please allow me to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who took a chance and hired me, never knowing what to expect. Thank you to everyone who sat through any of these 6000 performances and had to listen to my corny jokes. Thank you to the many volunteers that help make my programs very funny. The jokes were never on you. It was all part of the act. And without these brave volunteers I would probably still be selling office supplies somewhere.

Here's hoping I have the pleasure of entertaing you soon... again!

Here's a few photos from my early year's in magic:

 working my magic at Newington Children's Hospital

my signature trick... the clatter box

teaching a rope trick

library summer reading program show

with Lance Burton, Fielding West & Margaret Daily

at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California

a scary trick

on stage

big night ahead

 a soccer game emcee for WINF radio

5,999 performances and counting...

Well, tomorrow night at Litchfield High School, is my 6000th performance. Obviuosly not all these were hypnosis shows. Many were magic show. But you will be really surprised at what else I have done. I'll give you a little taste of what else I have done; would you believe I have been part of 2 singing performances? And I got paid too! I will list many others on this blog on Friday . I am not counting the many photography seminars, lectures or workshops that I did. They are totally seperate. And the best part... I have some photos from the past; like this one of me in the mid 1970's.

See you here on Friday...

Other uses for hypnosis

I was sent an email from a high school student in Maine. She asked about using hypnosis to help improve her memory while she studied. I had mentioned that with practice hypnosis can indeed help a student to remember things better and give the ability to to concentrate better as well. I passed along some tips and techniques she could use to make her a better student. The number one tip I gave her was that she would have to put in the time to learn the techniques and like a lot of things in life, the more she practiced the better she would get. I believe she has the drive to do so. Good for her. I wished her a lot of success.

I often get asked to help someone with a desire to improve themselves, whether it is the standards like stop smoking, lose weight, stress managemnet or the like. Most people think I have the power to 'make' them do the things they would like to change or that hypnosis itself is a magic bullet. Most often this is never the case. Although on occassions someone has made a change using hypnosis almost immediately. This is the exception, not the rule. Behavior modification takes time. I can never 'make' someone change but can give them the words they most likely want to hear to help them. It is up to them to accept change and be motivated to do so.  Without their willingness to absolutely want to change, most likely hypnosis is not the help you want.

Here are some things hypnosis can help you with:

Hypnosis is a very effective tool to facilitate building of confidence, self esteem, overcoming shyness, attracting romance, improving study habits, sports performance, pain maintenence, and public speaking. Hypnosis can help deal with the symptoms of PMS (premenstrual stress). Hypnosis can also aid in dealing with Bi Polar disorder, ADHD, and schizophrenia. It's also used to overcome sexual issues; performance, frigidity, impotence or simply to overcome hang-ups and enhance the enjoyment of the intimate sexual experience. Hypnosis can be used effectively for dealing with anger, depression, and other emotional issues. And these are only a few of the ways one can use hypnosis to better themselves.

Hypnosis is more that the power of positive thinking. It's the "art of suggestion" to bypass critical thinking so positive thinking can be a reality. And then a change of behavior can take place.

If you want to use hypnosis for change, my immediate suggestion is talk with your family doctor. Yes there are hypnotherapists out there, most of whom are extremely qualified as therapists, psycologists and psychiatrists, but there are alot with no medical qualifications at all. That is why I suggest your doctor is the place to go.

My 23rd anniversary

I know, I know... I haven't blogged all summer. First; there were a lot of shows and a lot of traveling. Second; I used and will still use a new service called AudioBoo (follow me at www.audioboo.fm). This is a service where I can record a 5minute message, blog or update. You can listen to my past updates here as well. But now that school has started and my schedule goes back to a normal pace, I will be blogging again.

Last night was the last of my Monday night shows at strawberry Park Resort Campground in Preston, CT. I perform there every Monday night throughout the summer. This was my 17th year and I will be back for the 4 Halloween weekends starting September 26. A small crowd with big enthusiasm was a great way to end the summer. I will be in Maine for the Labor Day weekend shows at Powder Horn Campground and Bayley's Resort.

Last night was also a milestone for me. Last night ended my 22nd year of performances. It was on this date, August 31, 1987 that I retired from the real job world and persued a career as a full time entertainer. I had been a performing magician and clown for many years prior to that date, but it was then that I left a management position in a n office supply store to go on the road.

Coming up in mid October will be another milestone. This one I am very proud about. I will have my 6000th performance of my career. I will tell all about it when the time comes. You will be surprized at some of the types of performances I have had. Stay tuned!

Well, today I am going to kick back, relax and later go to a ball game.

Talk to you later.

Steve

For the kindness of strangers...

I know I haven't blogged in a while and this blog is not about my hypnosis shows, I'll write about my month of June later (I promise). This blog is about the kindness of strangers. This is the kind of story we should hear more about in our daily lives. And I could not be more greatful.

I did have 2 hypnosis shows scheduled yesterday, a 7:30 pm show at Normandy Farms Campground in Foxboro, Massachusetts and my last college orientation show at Becker College, scheduled for 11:00 pm. I left my house very early. I was going to take my time and drive up and enjoy the blue skies that finally arrived. If you live in Connecticut and New England you know about how bad the weather had been the entire month of June. As I was approaching the Foxboro exit I saw some very dark clouds overhead. I decided to stop at the Wrentham Outlet Shops before going to the campground. There was too much traffic at the shops so I continued to the campground. I don't know what made me look but I noticed needle on the battery gauge on my dashboard start to move down to the red zone. Not a good sign. As I drove on Route 1 I passed the street for the campground just as the rain started to come down in buckets. A little bit up the road was a NAPA store. I thought my battery was going dead, so I pulled in just as my car lost power completely. I bought a battery but had no tools to install it. The sales people were of no help at all. They just wanted to sell me the tools to do it myself. They suggested I try the used car lot next door.

Through the pouring rain, I ran over and pleaded my case. They were willing to help. One of the guys came back to my car with a booster pack, jumped the car and had me drive it around to the back of their lot. They had a single garage bay to work on their own cars. He open the door which let a flood of rain in to the garage. By now the rain was torrential and it was hailing big marble size hail. This was some of the worst weather I have ever seen. And did I mention I was soaked from head to toe. As he switched batteries he told me my alternator was dead. I would have to wait until Monday to get this fixed. I told him about how important it was for me to get to my shows. He called his mechanic, who was at a family event and told him my problem. The mechanic did not want to come but eventually agreed to. I went back to NAPA, which was closing up, bought the alternator and waited for the mechanic.

I knew I had to compensate the mechanic for his time but I had no cash. The guys at the dealership let me borrow a car off the lot, drive to a bank and use the ATM. Route1 by Gillette Stadium was flooded, bad. I got back and the mechanic showed up and fixed my car. When all was done I offered a tip to the guys from the car lot, after all they did for me, changing the battery, calling the mechanic and letting me borrow a car. They refused my money. I did pay the mechanic and it was well worth it.

Total time from driving into NAPA until I drove away was less than 2 hours. My 2 shows last night were terrific. My only regret about this entire experience, I did not ask the names of the 3 men that helped me out. It didn't seem neccessary as it felt like we were old friends. We did talk about many things during my stay in the car lots office, and this conversation seemed natural.

I want to take this opportunity to tell everyone who these nice people are:

Foxboro Auto Wholesale
130 Washington Street, Route 1
Foxboro, MA 02035
508.698.8888
www.foxboroauto.com

To these 3 men, this is a day I will never forget. THANK YOU so very much for your kindness.
I wonder what would my day have been like had I stopped at the outlet shops.

Steve

How to hire a stage hypnotist...

A comedy stage hypnosis show can be the funniest entertainment ever. But knowing how to hire the right one can be a daunting task... so here's some of my professional advise:

Okay, so you have an event planned and now you are looking into hiring the right entertainment. There are many options for you, one of which is a hypnotist. But who do you hire. There are quite a few in your area and most hypnotists don't mind traveling if they are outside your area. First thing you should think about is a hypnotist the right choice of entertainment? If this is for students in middle school, high school or college the answer is an astounding yes. Is this for senior center banquet, no way. Statistic show that people that might volunteer for a show average between the ages of 13 and 50. There are always exceptions. Most people over the age of 50 would rather watch the show than be the show. Also you have to think about how many people will be at your event. A good show can have as little as 20 but a great show averages 50 or more. Now that you think a hypnotist is perfect for your event, how do you find the right one to fit your audience.

If you have seen a hypnotist perform, this could be your first palce to start. You will know if this hypnotist is right for you. Second, do a Google search. Use "stage hypnotist", "comedy hypnosis" or words to this effect as your search criteria. View their entire web site. If you like what you see, make a note of this person. Don't forget a web site will spell out the virtues of this person and each web site will say that they are the one for you. Do more research. Check out YouTube and do the same searches there. This way you can see the hypnotist in action. Is the hypnotist a family-friendly entertainer at all times or does he alter his act to accomodate the client. There are many adult hypnotists shows out there. Is this what you want or do you want to take a chance on an adult entertainer toning down the show to accomodate students. Many hypnotist do this very well but again many push the envelope beyond good taste.

Call the hypnotist. You can get a better feeling for this person with a real converstaion rather than through email. Ask questions, a lot of questions. Ask about their experience, their training and the specifics about the show. Most people don't realize that a hypnotist does not need any formal training or license. And a hypnotist with a degree in psycology may not be the right choice either. Many hypnotist call themselves "master hypnotists". There really is no such designation. Other say they are a "certified hypnotherapist". The hypnotist can easily be qualified as such just by buying a lot of books or tapes from some of the organizations that hypnotist belong to. Ask for these answers. Other hypnotist will tell you they have 'many' numbers of years experience and they are only in their early 20s. The good entertainers, and that's what we are entertainers, will have a comfortable combination of study and actual stage experience. And don't forget to call for referrals from past shows.

These are some of the ways you can almost guarantee a qualified entertainer for your event. I will say this, and this is not a popular staement amoung hypnotists, but is the truth: there are a lot of hacks out there. These are the ones that promise the moon. But remember a hypnotist is like a tour guide, we take you places into your imagination. We are not the stars of the show, your volunteers are. And they should be treated as such.

To close this, let me try and answer the question that is usually first on eberyone's mind. How much should a show cost? Prices like everything, has its ranges. What is a fair price in New England may be too expensive in Florida. Some hypntist charge very little and others will blow you away with their fee. Weigh the value you will get with the fee charged. If the hypnotist comes very highly recommended and has worked a lot or has lots of practical experience, you can be sure the fee you are paying is fair. I know, I evaded the question. You want a dollar amount... a show could cost a little as a few hundred dollars or a show could cost a few thousand dollars. The fee is uaually based on the show itself. How many people will be attending the event, what kind of event is it (a sweet sixteen party or a major fundraiser), where and when will the event be held and how long a show do you want. These are only a few factors.

Enjoy your show, laugh at the antics of your friends as they volunteer, and remember most of us do a great job. That's why we are in the business and why we have been doing it consistantly throughout the years.

Please go to http://knol.google.com/k/steve-wronker/how-to-hire-a-stage-hypnotist/3v7xpib0ho2uj/1#1 and write a review if you agree with my comments.

Here's hoping I have the pleasure of entertaining you soon.

The old compare and contrast story...

Two show in two consecutive nights and two different stories:

Night number one, last Thursday night, I was to perform at a high school in Rhode Island for the very first time. The student who took care of all the arrangements was very excited about me coming to perform. I had previously performed at 3 other schools in the state and the word spread about how much fun my shows were. She said she and her classmates wanted my show as a fundraiser for their class. I had suggested putting up posters in the school to advertise the show and adding a facebook event page to help spread the word. I have been using facebook events for the last couple of months with modest results, even though many students have their own facebook page. This she did. What happened over the next few weeks was astounding.


432 students acknowledged this event. 115 confirmed the date, 135 said maybe attending, 144 were not attending and 38 was waiting to reply. It didn't matter that one third of those aware of the show were not coming. They KNEW about the show. In fact 432 students KNEW about the show. How many students were aware of the show but don't have facebook and didn't figure into this equation. I am sure there were many. I am totally blown away with the effort that went into this simple facebook event notice. No school has ever had this kind of response. Great job everyone.

And now we come to the night of the show. 7PM start time and the kids were still lined up at the door to get in. $10 a ticket, too. Not only the students but parents and families as well. We waited until everyone got in before we started the show. When I was introduced, you could have lit up a small city with the energy from this audience. The sense that something special was going to happen permeated the air.

I won't go into all the details of the show, especially not Sara's wild dancing ;-) but the moment I asked for volunteers, (and there were many), to the final bow, this was a sensational show. I really had a great time. And I never expected this to be as it did. Thank you SHS!

BTW, as I write this, I have been friended by 46 of the students on facebook and their comments were very high praise. They posted many photo galleries and added many video clips on YouTube. I really hope we can do this again next year.

Then there was my 7PM show on Friday night...

Let's compare this to my last show. Those that came out, came out to have a good time. That's where the comparison ends. Let's contrast this . Only 24 students came out. I had performed in this New Hampshire high school for the past 3 years with spectacular results; really good shows. But this group just didn't do anything to advertise the show except put up a (meaning 1) sign saying: Comedy Show, May 8, 7PM, Students $5, Adults $8. That was it. In the past, they advertised this show on their local cable access channel, put up posters all over town and papered the school walls with posters as well. This time nothing. The students' advisor wondered where everyone was.

Anyway I still did the show. The audience had 24 students, the advisor and 9 adults from the community. Joe DiMaggio once said, "I give 100% every day because there may be someone in the crowd that has never seen me play, and that person deserves my best". Rules to live by. I hypnotized 11 students and had another good time. I do wish we had a lot more in the audience because they lost a lot of money on this fundraiser. They just made no effort to promote it.

After the NH show I had the first of this year's after prom party. The show started at 2:00 AM.It was a fun show even though I was totally exhausted after driving up to New Hampshire, doing the show, then driving back down to Tufts University near Boston. But I enjoy this school and the party they put on is a lot of fun. Good food too 'cause you tend to get a little hungry at that time of night. It was a long drive home in pouring rain. Got in around 6:00AM, and went to sleep.

Next weekend , I start all over again. I can't wait!

I need your opinion... please!

In quick response to yesterday's blog, which was written tongue in cheek, I now need to explain why I wrote it. Basically it comes down to this: I lost a booking because I did not have a moniker. I was asked by a potential client how she could judge me against all other hypnotists if I do not claim I am the world's best, funniest, greatest etc. My intitial reaction was, "Was this lady NUTZ?" She told me that last year she hired a 'hilarious hypnotist' who was not that hilarious. The group loved the idea of another hypnosis show but wanted someone better qualified. Rather than talking to other people that have hired other hypnotists and getting their recommendations, she was relying on the hypnotists themselves to qualify how funny they were. This is the most absurd thing I have ever heard.

I have reread the above paragraph a few times to make sure I got it right. I think I did. This was the craziest call I ever got. BTW, I did not book the show, nor would I want to perform for her and her group.

But it got me thinking...

I need your opinion... please!

Should I fall into the hype and add a moniker to my name?
Should I call myself Steve Wronker's Funny Business, the _____________ hypnotist in the world!

Fill in the blank with: funniest, hilarious, greatest, best or most entertaining or even add your own adjective.

I'm really joking. Please don't do this. I am happy just being me. Steve Wronker.

The Best, Funniest, Greatest, Hilarious, Most Entertaining... (yeah yeah yeah)

If you google "hypnotist" you get 2,080,000 results. WOW! There is a lot of us out there. According to Google, of these two million plus hypnotists, seven hundred fifty eight thousand claim to be the best, two hundred twelve thousand are the greatest, one hundred eight thousand are the most entertaining, sixty two thousand the funniest and ONLY fifty eight thousand two hundred say they are hilarious.

So how do I go about finding how to get into these elite groups. And who decides which group(s) I should belong to. I have been performing for almost 23 years and I have never been asked to join. Do I decide for myself which category. I will admit that my show (and most every other hypnosis show) is funny and hilarious. But is this a reflection on the hypnotist himself. Or is it is the response we get from our volunteers, the way they carry out our suggestions that make this show one of the most unique forms of entertainment out there. Most likely the audience knows or is very likely aware of one or more of the volunteers. And how they respond to the suggestions makes this personal to each member of the audience. That's when you can say the show is funny, hilarious, best or (add your own adjective here). Yes as the hypnotist we can interject humor before and after each routine or say something that might add to the humor of the situation, but after all it is not the hypnotist the audience came to see. It is their friends, family and acquaintances they came to watch. To watch act silly in circumstances they would never be in.

As I have said in the past, I am not the star of the show, but my volunteers are. They deserve the applause, the accolades, the adjectives. So I think I am going to start a new club. I will not call it "Steve Wronker's Funny Business, the (Best, Funniest, Greatest, Hilarious, or Most Entertaining) Hypnotist in the World" But I should call it 'Steve Wronker's Funny Business... the comedy hypnosis show with the Best, Funniest, Greatest, Hilarious and Most Entertaining volunteers in the World'. And I give membership card #1 for each of my many volunteers. I will gladly share duplicates with all my volunteers.

Wha' do ya' think?

So I shameless say, hire me, even though I'm just the hypnotist, a guy who knows what to say and how to say it. But with me you get the best volunteers out there. They ARE your family, friends and acquaintances, people you know, maybe even you. And they make my show the best, funniest, greatest, hilarious and most entertaining show around.

See you soon!

Joining the ranks of 180 years of entertainers...

Last Friday evening I had the privilege of performing for the Littleton Lyceum in Massachusetts. What made this special for me was the fact that this Lyceum has been in existance since 1829. For those that do not know what a lyceum is; Wikipedia defines it as a "public hall used for social events". *Founded in 1829 when Littleton, MA was a rural farming community, the Littleton Lyceum is the oldest continuous lyceum in the country. Rooted in the past, with an eye to the future, the Littleton Lyceum adds to the quality of life of each and every citizen. With the financial support of regular subscribers, two endowments and many local businesses, the Lyceum brings affordable, enlightened entertainment to the residents of Littleton and surrounding towns. Although this show was performed in the high school auditorium, it did not detract from the notion of what history was taking place. Not that my act itself was historic but I was honored to continue the tradition.

What made this show memorable was the vast age difference of the volunteers, 12 years old was probably the youngest and a gentleman in his 60s was the oldest. (I hope I did not insult him with this guesstimate of his age. He could have been a little younger or a little older). Anyway I would like to thank all those that came out and watched, laughed and/or participated.

On a side note, being that I enjoy history, I was wondering what different type of acts over the last 180 years was hired to perform for the lyceum. I know there have been singing and dancing acts, poetry reading, lecturers and many type of variety acts and I am aware of other hypnotists, but coming from a background as a magician, I am curious to research what famous magicians performed for Littleton residents. I am very sure that during the early 1900's magicians such as Howard Thurston and Harry Houdini toured regularly on the lyceum circuit. I will research through magic history to find out.

To find out more about the Littleton Lyceum please visit their website at http://www.littletonlyceum.org/ and tell them Steve Wronker sent you.

The coming months of May and June have shaped up to be the busiest May and June in my 22 years of performing. May is a great month because it is the beginning of the all-night prom shows, campgrounds shows, senior week performances and at the end of the month the kick-off for the high school all night graduation parties. It's a really crazy schedule with some senior week shows starting at 8:30 AM and the graduation parties (a few nights 3 shows) starting at 11:00PM, 1:00AM and 3:00 AM. Yes you read that right, performances throughout the night. As each year passes and I get another year older, these shows are still as fun as when I started doing them in 1988. The only thing that gets to me is the drive. Some shows are a 3 hour drive each way. I do a lot of napping in my car. But boy do I love May and June.

I think I'll take a short nap now for practise... so until next week,

See ya !

*taken for the Littleton Lyceum website

Thanks Alex and a Sweet 16

This was a slow week with only 2 shows. Last Tuesday I performed at a high school , one of my favorite schools. This night was as wild as ever. Let's see; we had the 3 amigos Andy, Ryan & Mitchell, who kept falling from their seat, Lindsay who couldn't remember her first name but has a beautiful middle name Rose and then we had Haley who thought she needed her boyfriend's permission to be hypnotized. She got it. Alex thanks for being a great sport about all the teasing! And then we had the rest... they were all very animated and did a TERRIFIC job. Lots of photos on my web site and on my Facebook, page. But here's a few to wet your whistle.

And last night I had the pleasure of entertaining 14 young women during a sweet 16 party. Everyone knew I was coming but the birthday girl. She went nuts! Altho she chickened out to volunteers, 5 of her friends did and we had a great time. Especially as Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. I don't get to perform in this intimate of a setting as offen as I would like. These kind of shows can be ad-libbed and we all had such great fun.

Big show this week in Littlton, Massachusetts. See you there!

Driving home... I was feeling great !

Slow week for me, only one show and that was yesterday, Saturday night. It was a private party, a 50th birthday party. It was set at a yacht club on Long Island. The sunset was gorgeous as it set over the cove, an inlet to the Long Island Sound. I should have brought my camera, it was a perfect setting. Anyway, my show was after the dinner and birthday cake was served. Total number of people in the room: 17 family members. This small amount of people was a recipe for disaster for a hypnosis show as I am used to being in front of many more people. They invited me to eat dinner with them. This was very much appreciated and unexpected. Thank you very much. When it was time for me to start I was apprehensive but showed an air of confidence that we would have a good show. And boy did we ever.

Earlier that evening, I had twittered that the room was so small, no where to set up my sound system and absolutely no room for the volunteers to perform and I did not know what I was going to do. But when it was time to start, I realized I knew exactly what to do. And that was to be myself and put on the best show I know how. I talked to them a little bit about hypnosis and then asked for volunteers. I got 7 volunteers.

To make a long story short, they all passed my testing, they all got hypnotized and they all performed throughout the show. Not one woke up. I had no microphone so I had to talk very loudly, a small boom box that I hooked my iPod up to for music. I did my normal show and I had a ball. And so did the 7 volunteers and the 10 family members that made up the audience.

This show statistically should not have worked but it did, and to great success. The show was video taped and as I left, they all huddled around the video camera to watch the show again.

As George Peppard used to say on the A-Team TV show... "I love when a plan falls together!"

As I was driving home, I was feeling great!

Happy Passover and Happy Easter to all!

Steve

ps... you can follow me on Twitter; search for SWFB

Small Town America Has Moxie

Another weekend of shows, another 600 plus miles on the car. My show Friday night had real Moxie. That's because the show was up in Lisbon, Maine. This is the hometown of the soft drink Moxie. (It's an acquired taste!) The show was a fundraiser for the middle school but what I really enjoyed was that the entire town was invited to attend. For a seven dollar admission you received a spaghetti dinner and the show. The organizers were surprised more people didn't show up. Maybe next year now that they know what my show was all about. Sometimes going into a small town, a hypnosis show can be daunting because most people have preconceived ideas about a hypnosis show. You know; how dirty and embarassing they all are. I'm glad that those that were there thought very different. The turn out was still pretty good and I know that those in attendance had a really good time. One of the things I really love about these open to the public town shows is the different age groups of volunteers I get. There were middle school students, high school students and quite a few adults. And these different age groups respond to suggestions differently from each other. I love that.

I really do hope we get to do this again next year. I know the turn out will be much bigger. Where else can you get a huge spagetti dinner for seven bucks. Here's 3 photos from that show.

My Saturday night show is always one of my favorite schools to perform for. Over the years some of the best groups of volunteers came from this school. Saturday was no exception. Especially since one of the stars of the show was the son of the person who hired me this year. Way to go Jonathan, you were TERRIFIC ! One of the biggest supporter of the athletic booster club could not be with us this year. He is deployed as a Department of the Army civilian in Kuwait. We missed you but send you our best wished to stay safe and be home soon. He has seen all of the photos from the show and has said how much he enjoyed them. I hope he will be in attendance next year.

Another fun item about this show. I have been creating a facebook event about each of my shows. This school had 254 RSVP's. Not everyone had said they were attending, but the fact that there were that many students responding was overwhelming. I hope this works for the rest of my shows. it is a great way to get momentum going.

Here's three photos from this show.

Well that's it for this week. All the photos from these and other shows can be found on my web site: http://www.swfb.net/ Take a look and give me your comments and reviews.