2010 Campground Season is Officially Over

Wow... what a busy season this was. Starting in May and ending in October, this was one very long campground season. I peformed 52 shows at 16 different campgrounds in every New England state except Vermont.

My estimation is over 14,000 campers watched my shows. There were just over 800 on-stage voluteers this year. And everyone of them was "TERRFIC!" I wish I had more room for volunteers on the stages at these campgrounds, as thousand of campers wanted to be hypnotised. I am always sorry when either I didn't chose them or they didn't pass the testing that goes on before a show.

Strawberry Park Resort in Preston, Connecticut hosted 16 shows this season. I perform every Monday night from late June to end of August, plus a spring weekend show and for their 4 Halloween weekends. This marked my 18th year at Strawberry Park and is absolutely one of my favorite places to perform.

The largest crowds of the season were at my six shows at Bayley's Camping Resort in Scarborough, Maine. I believe some of the shows had between 300 and 400 people watching. I could be wrong but I believe one of the shows had a lot more. It's hard to count that many. Bayley's is famous for their quality entertainment (amoung a lot of other things) and I am very grateful to be included. This was my 17th year here and it is another one of my favorite places to perform.

Most campgrounds only hosted a single show with a few campgrounds hosting 2 or 3 shows a season. I get very excited for these shows as well because I only have the one chance a season to impress. I am humbled when campers tell me they schedule their vacation at a certain campground depending on the date of my performance. I always appreciate these comments.

As always, I took a lot of pictures at these shows. I have sampled just a couple here.
You can see them all on my SWFB web site.

             

   

Shows for the 2011 camping season are being book now.
Have a great winter campers and I'll see you next season.

Steve

10 Myths About Hypnosis

No other subject inspires as much mythological fodder as hypnosis. It is surprising that during the age of information that many of these myths still remain and that people believe them to be true. Below you will find the truth behind 10 of the most prevalent myths about hypnosis.


MYTH 1

The first of ten myths about hypnosis and the one that seems to cause the greatest fear among people is the assumption that under hypnosis you have no control over your mind or your actions. This is simply not true. In a hypnotic state you do become more conscious of what you are thinking and feeling, but you do not become a puppet to a masterful hypnotist. A hypnotist may use suggestive words to help you focus your attention in different ways, however, you do not lose your ability to think on your own or to control your behavior while experiencing hypnosis.

MYTH 2

Hypnosis has ties to satanic practices. Hypnosis has no ties to Satanism or satanic ritual practices whatsoever. Satanic practices are seen as dark and unseemly with demonic undertones. Helping people to improve their lives is what hypnosis is really all about. That is in sharp contrast to the harmful practices that most satanic rituals are comprised of

MYTH 3

Once you enter a hypnotic state you run the risk of getting stuck in that state permanently. It is almost unbelievable that people still believe this, but there are many who unfortunately still do, but hypnosis is nothing more than a deeper awareness of what you are thinking and feeling. It is not another realm of existence as some would have you believe.

MYTH 4

You have to be a specific personality type to be hypnotized. Wrong! In actuality we all enter into a hypnotic state almost every night. When we go to sleep our conscious and unconscious mind meet and go over the days events or even over past ones, creating the dreams we experience. Even if after wakening up you have no recollection of having had dreams while asleep, research has shown that all humans and animals dream while sleeping.

MYTH 5

Hypnosis can only work for weaker minded individuals and not for those with a resistance to hypnosis. In fact resistance is suggested by many hypnotists so that individuals can recognize the experience as being their own and not a product of a cleverly skilled hypnotist.

MYTH 6

Hypnosis is just a clever illusion that has no real useful purpose. Magicians put forth illusions to confuse what the eye and mind are seeing. A hypnotist is attempting to clear away any confusion that is acting as an obstruction to a person.

MYTH 7

Going to a hypnotist when you can learn how to hypnotize yourself is a waste of money. Self hypnosis has its value and it can be a safe and effective method of self improvement. However self hypnosis can exasperate mental conditions and traits such as negative thinking, and this should really be taken into consideration before writing hypnotists off as a waste of money. Your overall health should take precedence over financial considerations.

MYTH 8

The belief that hypnosis wipes away all memory of the hypnosis experience. Your memory skills are not lessened by hypnosis. In fact, hypnosis can be used to help you improve your retention skills and as mentioned earlier in this article, hypnosis is not another realm of existence. You do not lose knowledge of whom or where you are or become completely unconscious of the thoughts and feelings you are having.

MYTH 9

Hypnosis can be used to force people to confess to crimes they have committed. First of all, if a person is not open to disclosing a fact, hypnosis will not make it happen. Hypnosis can help a person to feel comfortable enough to make disclosures, but this is still a conscious choice. This is why confessions made under hypnosis are can not be used in criminal proceedings.

MYTH 10

A very dangerous myth is that hypnosis is a cure all. Hypnosis is useful in conjunction with medical treatments for a number of diseases, but it cannot cure them.


I found this info from a Twitter friend who found this on RoFx.net. I hope it is helpful because I get asked about these things all the time.

The funniest 3 videos from my show I have ever seen

This will be quick....

I really love what I do. I have said this many many times. But then every now and then there comes a show when everything goes as planned and then some. Last Wednesday night was one of those nights. Now don't get me wrong, there are many shows I should be writing about as they are extremely funny. But then, year after year, there is Taconic High School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. For some reason they are what I believe every school show should strive to be. We fill the auditorium year after year with students, teachers, coaches and members of the community. I get so many great volunteers I wish I could use them all but there is not that much room on stage. And then the fun begins.

I do many of the same routines from all my other shows but these volunteers take it to the extreme. I am going to stop here and jus say you've got to see it to believe it. Here are 3 routines that were captured on video taken by a student from the audience. Enjoy...

Thanks Jenn for sharing.

Busy busy busy

I know it's been a while since my last entry but that's a good thing. I means I have been busy. Lots of shows. Lots of different shows. I have done a few corporate shows, high schools, middle school, Elks Clubs, VFWs, Lions Clubs, sweet 16 parties and a first for me... a 21st birthday party. And they all have been a lot of fun. I've put some serious miles on my car since the first of the year.

One thing that has caught my attention, was all the great fundraising the schools did even though the holidays just ended. Many schools raised hundreds of dollars with 2 schools raising over $2500 each. It just goes to show you that a little hard work can pay off with big dividends. Nicely done everyone.

As I watch another snow storm from out of my office window, I will leave you with a few of the fun photographs from a few of the shows I mentioned above. And all I have to say is... everyone, you were TERRIFIC!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving into the next decade

As I sit here getting ready to write about the new year, the new decade, I start to reflect on the past Year, the past decade. This was an interesting time in my life. Since the last 10 years, my career as an entertainer really took off. And I am greatful for this. My hypnosis show as a whole took on a sense of value. I am very proud of the show I do and I appreciate being asked to perform at the same places year after year. Just a few of the highlights of the past decade include my 6,000th performance, performing over a hundred shows each at Bayleys, Resort, Strawberry Park Resort and Point Sebago Resort and performing for my youngest son Geoffrey, at his high school graduation party.

For 2009 year end totals were: 146 hypnosis shows, 32 magic shows, 18 seminars/workshops. Yet there were times I wish I had more shows, as sitting home in front of the computer (or worse... the TV) is no fun. I feel alive on stage. I want that feeling more and more. So as we all go into the new decade I have made my list of resolutions for this new year...

Resolution #1... Continue to have as much fun during each show as I always have.
Resolution #2... Change my show for the better. This includes a shorter introduction and new or revamped routines.
Resolution #3... Make the after show suggestions more memorable. (You'll see what I mean at my shows)
Resolution #4... Continue to have as much fun during each show as I always have. I know I said this already but I have always said that I must enjoy what I do. This way everyone else can as well.

So I will leave you with this:
“2010 is an unwritten chapter…love deeply, live boldly, and go after something big!”

Happy and healthy new year to all. See you soon.

Steve

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