Just Need to Rant for a Moment

All right, I'm going to be careful not to mention specifically which festival this involves, because I really don't want this popping up to easily in the search engines.

Basically, last May, a major festival (6 weekends long) about a two-day drive from my home started announcing that it was looking for a stage hypnotist. Those who know me will know what type of festival I'm talking about--the kind where entertainers dress up in more or less historical costumes--the kind my band has specialized in playing for over a decade. I figure it might be the perfect opportunity to refine my stage show before I start charging the big bucks for it.

So I contacted the man in charge and told him what I can do, pointing out the advantages of having someone who already understands that type of venue. He said he'd consider it.

Time goes by as we discuss possibilities back and forth, and eventually the conversation gets quiet, as I don't want to pester a potential employer. Then I find out he's announcing once again that he's looking for a hypnotist.

So I dropped him a line and said, "I guess we're no longer in negotiation. Since I'd like to work for you in the future, would you mind telling me what was the deal-breaker? Was it that I'm already obligated elsewhere for one or two of the weekends? Do I have bad breath?" (The last part was a joke, since we'd communicated only by email.)

He replied that it wasn't my breath and that we were in fact still in negotiation until he told me we weren't. He admitted that he was hoping for someone who could commit to every weekend, but that mostly the issue was that his boss (the festival owner) had directed him to hire a hypnotist who would "be a WOW"--that is, someone with a following, who could really be featured in promotional material.

Since I am still new in the field of stage hypnosis, I said I could see how I didn't meet his needs, and I even offered to post here or on Magic Cafe to help him find someone who would fit the bill. (I was silently thinking that he will never be able to afford what his boss wants. I know what experienced stage hypnos charge, and I know what his budget is like.) He said that he had a few leads already--but not to consider our negotiation closed until he said so.

All right, so two weeks before his festival began, musician friends of mine went to the pre-promotion event and reported that there was indeed a hypnotist on the schedule, so at that point, I'm figuring that he found what he wanted and didn't think me important enough to contact. Not a big deal.

But I started looking into the person he had hired. I wanted to know what would constitute a WOW. Well--she had zero web presence under the stage name she was using at the festival. The festival website didn't even list her by name. Then the opening weekend (Labor Day) rolled around, and my contacts reported that (A) she had 5 half-hour shows, (B) she had no PA and could not be heard past the third row, and (C) she disappeared after two days on the job, leaving the festival hanging for Labor Day.

WOW.

They also reported her name, which allowed me to see who she actually was--and wouldn't you know--she's a newly certified hypnotherapist who opened her office last spring. She had never done a stage hypnosis show before, nor had she performed or even been involved in that type of festival previously. Obviously, she had no idea what she was getting into, and she didn't even know enough to tell the director that a twenty-five minute hypnosis show is not a good idea on a regular basis.

Now my contacts report that some other hypnotist has stepped in--again, someone with zero web presence. I wonder how long he'll last.

Yeah, I know I'd be better off not obsessing about this, but it bugs me. So I needed to rant.

Thanks for helping me get this off my chest,

James

Favorite

0 members favorited this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Justin James on September 14, 2010 at 7:09am

Ahh the 3 day wonders.....

Permalink Reply by Denise Oatley Hall on September 14, 2010 at 7:41am

Ahh I hear you...but then you know how the people who own/run these kinds of things can be. And you know the kind of people who jump in after very little training or experience because of the "big bucks" and the power. Gets my goat at times, but I know the difference between them and me.

Permalink Reply by Justin James on September 14, 2010 at 8:22am

Just a thought James... You had a gut feeling when you were originally going after the guy that he did not like something about you.... The fact is when you get to the bottom of it all that my first comment had nothing to do with the price of tea in china... You are pretty new at this and so are many out there....

You know my rant on safety and training however I deal with you and many others (figuratively) every day that I put in a bid for a contract knowing that your price is going to come in far less then my own....

However I was new once too.. and today like then I will tell you something... Most of the people who book us rarely make us dance around a lot to get the contract... In fact most of the contracts that I have ever gotten that were a pain in the ass to get were pain in the ass events........ Seriously I should have written into the contract water and preparation H at stage side.....

In today's market every contract it seems is a blessing.. Yet that is not true..

There have been plenty of times that I did not get hired because...

I was not female...

I was not a well put together female.

I looked like all the other hypnotists (that one teed me off)

Because I looked to young...

Because I did not have a sufficient following in that market.... (BFD that why you advertise.... Grrrrr)

Because a skit i did on my promo video they did not like...

Because their friend sally thought that I was a devil worshiper because of what I do..

Because the local church had threatened to withdraw funding if they allowed my type to perform there...

Because Because Because... What I found a long time ago is that these are little lessons to take personally only in the department of how do I improve and how do I overcome weird unusual or irrational objections....

Justin James

www.thehypnosiscompany.com
www.justinjames.us
www.safeonstage.com

Permalink Reply by James Hazlerig - HypnosisAustin on September 14, 2010 at 10:47am

Thanks for your kind words, all.

I suspect you're right, James--she probably did the shows for next to nothing. In fact, this particular director is noted for being a tightwad.

And yeah, Justin--I hear you about tough contract leading to tough shows. Unfortunately, in that particular market, most contracts involve some ongoing negotiations--the flip side is that contracts are generally for a several weeks or even months of work.

Heck, I feel better just having ranted. Booking two therapeutic clients in the last two hours hasn't hurt my mood either--nor is knowing that a much better festival is interested in my show. :-)

James

Permalink Reply by James Hazlerig - HypnosisAustin on December 26, 2010 at 9:42pm

Just a follow-up--

I eventually saw a video of the second hypnotist that festival hired. It was quite possibly the worst hypnosis show I've ever seen--20 minutes of not terribly entertaining pre-talk followed by a 10-minute induction that was similarly not very entertaining, followed by about 3 minutes of really lame phenomena. The wrap-up was an apology that he didn't have a longer show . . .

Sigh,

James

RSS

Welcome to
HypnoThoughts.com

Sign Up
or Sign In

Or sign in with: