Prepare to be spellbound.

Hypnotist Cris Johnson will be performing at the Syracuse Center for the Arts Friday night. Johnson has been an entertainer for 16 years since becoming a certified hypnotist at the State Hypnosis Center in Phoenix, AZ. The Daily Orange had the opportunity to talk with Johnson about his show and his practice of hypnosis.

Daily Orange: What exactly is a comedic hypnotist?

Cris Johnson :Well, it’s a little bit different than any form of hypnotherapy or anything like that. My sole purpose is to entertain the audience. Basically, I come out, I dispel any myths about hypnosis, alleviate people’s fears, and then I create new personalities for them, change their environment so everyone has a wonderful time. It’s all done in a very entertaining matter.

What does your typical show consist of?

It’s very funny and very interactive. One of my most popular skits is one I call ‘Jeopardy.’ It’s based on the game show, but all of my contestants are a little bit unusual. Contestant one can only speak in Martian, and she’s the champion and the buzzer is broken. She gets very, very angry and whenever she goes to answer a question, it doesn’t work, and she starts yelling in Martian. Contestant two always gives an obviously wrong answer, contestant three can only giggle and contestant four, when she goes to speak, her tongue is stuck to the roof of her mouth. A lot of hypnotists will do dirty shows and ‘R-rated’ shows but I don’t do anything like that.

Can you explain a little bit about hypnosis and how it works?

It’s a very natural state. Have you ever tried to get the attention of someone while they are watching television and you just can’t seem to pull their attention away?

That is because that person was in a trance state. It’s a very natural state we all experience every day. With all of the thousands and thousands of stimuli around us, you can’t let that all in at one time or we would be overloaded, so the critical factor in our conscious mind helps us maintain our sanity. With hypnosis, we bypass that critical factor and go right into the subconscious.

Do you ever find that people that come to your show are skeptical about believing in hypnosis or are they pretty much open to the idea?

Some people are skeptical, but most people are very open to it. I don’t know if they feel people are faking it or if it’s all make-believe because there are some instances of hypnotists employing actors and telling them to play along. To me that is a very inferior type of hypnotist because if they can’t hypnotize people, then they shouldn’t be calling themselves hypnotists. But within a few minutes of my show, everyone is convinced because things people are doing … they’re not faking, going from one emotional extreme to the other.

What should people attending this particular event expect?

Nobody is going to be embarrassed; everyone is going to have a great time and laugh and applaud for their friends and family up on stage because they are going to be amazed at what these people do. My volunteers are truly the stars of the show. I am just the ring master of the show – off to the side.

If You Go:What: Cris Johnson, hypnotistWhere: Syracuse Center for the ArtsWhen: Friday, 8 p.m.How much: $12

Published on January 17, 2007 at 12:00 pm