When an actor as accomplished as Sir Anthony Hopkins says he has used hypnosis successfully, you can't help but be curious, right? You probably wonder, as I did: what has he used this often-admired, more-often-misunderstood tool for?
The answer: to quit smoking.
Hopkins knew smoking wasn't healthy and, it is rumored, was concerned about his voice, so smoking-cessation hypnosis was an ideal choice for him, but there are many other uses of hypnosis that could be beneficial to actors.
- Top Ten Ways Actors Can Use Hypnosis:
1 - Lose or stabilize weight.
It's no secret that actors need to be able to control their weight: whether to be svelte for photo ops or to bulk up for a role. Hypnosis can help. In fact, weight adjustment is the second hottest application for hypnosis for all users. (Smoking cessation wins first place most years.)
2 - Change destructive habits.
Smoking, overeating, habitual negative thoughts, and even numerous bad choices in relationships. Do these or other habits hurt your chances for a stellar career or an extraordinary life? Hypnosis can be a pain-free habit buster.
3 - Ease or vanquish pre-performance jitters.
Whether it's a go-see, an audition, a callback, or opening night, hypnosis can be a great tool. Releasing undue worry makes acting fun again, the way it should be.
4 - Improve time-management.
If you work a "regular job" and perform, and take classes to boost your skills, and you're attempting to have a regular life of friends and family. Whew, time is an issue! With self-hypnosis, you can train your inner mind to maximize time, set priorities, and move from task-to-task more effortlessly.
5 - Enhance the process of preparing for a role.
All I can tell you with certainty is that I, for one, have no self, and that I am unwilling or unable to perpetrate upon myself the joke of a self.... What I have instead is a variety of impersonations I can do, and not only of myself—a troupe of players that I have internalised, a permanent company of actors that I can call upon when a self is required.... I am a theater and nothing more than a theater.
—Philip Roth (b. 1933)
Is there an accent to learn, a way of carrying yourself, or simply a character's mindset that you'd like to take on? Hypnosis is a great supplement to the preparation you usually do and can help you integrate the techniques you already know.
6 - Add naturalness and grace.
After your preparation for getting into character, there is still the issue of naturalness. Hypnosis can give you a leg up, allowing you to easily expand your sense of ease and increase spontaneity.
7 - Boost creativity and the ability to create effortlessly, without unnecessary second guessing.
You know this yourself: when you're in the moment, really in the moment, there's no self judging, no second guessing, no fear. You're at your most creative. At your best.
If you're lucky, those times are frequent, and they last a while.
If you're like many, those moments come and go, and you may not know how to create them reliably, or how to maintain them.
If you know how to hypnotize yourself, you know that you create those moments. Once you sense how easy it is, you take the initiative to do so. And when you do, boy is it good.
8 - Deal better with rejection.
Wouldn't it be great if every rejection didn't hurt so much? Hypnosis can help you better handle the times you don't get an expected callback, lose to a rival, or feel you didn't perform as well as you'd like.
The less rejection hurts, and the shorter that feeling lingers, the more powerful you are as an actor because you can get right out there again, and every audition is a sparkling new opportunity without lingering negative feelings.
9 - Improve ability to memorize dialogue so it's not a barrier.
The more easily you can memorize, the more quickly you can move on to the real deal: becoming the character. Hypnosis can also assist you with integrating a character's accent or inflection so it feels, and sounds, natural.
Modern tourist guides have helped raised tourist expectations. And they have provided the natives—from Kaiser Wilhelm down to the villagers of Chichacestenango—with a detailed and itemized list of what is expected of them and when. These are the up-to- date scripts for actors on the tourists’ stage.
—Daniel J. Boorstin (b. 1914)
10 - Put yourself in charge of your feelings, your career, your future-anytime, anywhere.
Once you've experienced the ease and effectiveness of hypnosis and its benefits, learning self-hypnosis is easy. This "do-it-yourself" approach is a natural next step. It lets you get the benefits of hypnosis anywhere, any time, even minutes before an audition or actual performance. What a tool!
Sometimes you may still want expert help from a professional hypnotist (and someone who is not embroiled in the "problem state"). Even so, knowing self hypnosis will help you recharge the effects between sessions.
- Something To Consider
When I speak of hypnosis for performers, one question inevitably arises. Same when I speak of hypnotizing athletes. Can you guess what it is?
That's right: "Is hypnosis an unfair advantage?"
Hmm.
Well, is any advantage unfair? If you have the resources to take acting classes, voice classes, classes in auditioning more effectively, is that unfair to actors who don't have the time or money to do the same?
What about hiring the best photographer in town for your headshot when others can't?
Having an expert do your makeup before the photography session? Voice lessons?
Hypnosis, like many of the others, is a kind of coaching. We just happen to be coaching your subconscious mind, where most substantial change occurs, most easily.
So if you think it is unethical to get coaching that may improve your odds in a competitive field, don't sign up for a hypnosis appointment. But if you're okay with the possibility that you may outdo your competition, find the best hypnotist in town (one who understands actors!) and make an appointment. ©2008 by Wendy Lapidus-Saltz. All rights reserved.
Wendy Lapidus-Saltz is a mind coach and consulting hypnotist who teaches people to access the power of the subconscious mind for many purposes. She has worked with local actors and greatly appreciates their imaginative ability, a great boost to any hypnosis session. See her at http://www.hypnoattraction.com,www.nonsmokerforlife.com or connect by phone 312-640-1584 or email: jaguarmind@earthlink.net.