My participation this past weekend at the Bradley Farm Haunted House in Herndon, Virginia was no exception. This was my second year performing at this family-friendly event and I was given the privilege of going on-stage on both Friday and Saturday night.
Plus, I learned the community of Bradley Farm was honored a few months back for the contributions they've made to a Herndon-Reston FISH, Inc., an organization that provides assistance to Northern Virginia families in need. The proceeds from the Haunted House are donated to this worthy charitable group.
The Hypnotic Experience shows this weekend did present an interesting set of challenges. Here are a few thoughts:
1. Last year's audience was a mix of ages from adults to high school students and tweens. The range of ages allowed me to incorporate a broader set of visualizations into the show.
This year, more than 90 percent of the audience on each night were primarily kids aged 8 to 12. I'm still able to put on an entertaining performance, yet had to cut down on the pre-talk and funny anecdotes. It's imperative to respect the maturity level of the audience and their lack of interest in any discussion of the health and wellness benefits of hypnosis.
It's a nice reminder that when performing the focus must always be on catering to the needs of the audience, rather than staying true to how I scripted out the show.
2. The event organizers from Bradley Farm are incredibly warm, friendly and gracious, except for the person tasked with running the stage and sound system. I'm not sure if he does not like me, my show or comedy hypnosis shows in general. We just didn't click and it made for a few awkward moments.
For instance, on Saturday evening I had intended to begin setting up the stage about 10 minutes prior to the start of the show to create interest and excitement. This would have also given me the full hour to perform, rather than having to cut the content of the show back by 10 to 15 minutes.
The early set up was a "no go," even though the entertainment at the time was merely an informal set from the DJ.
As my wife likes to say, "it is what it is" and I did not let any uncomfortable interactions steal away my enthusiasm for being part of the Haunted House event.
So...forward we go. I'm presenting tomorrow to a class at Whitman High School about the applications of hypnosis to enhance athletic performance. Look for an update on the blog later this week.
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| Even the food vendors were part of the Halloween scare. |
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| Rock on! The bands that played at Bradley Farm were awesome. |
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