Mind Play

Flip Orley first saw hypnotism as a tool for a lovesick tween who wanted to invite a girl to a dance. The impressionable lad found a disreputable tome on how to pick up girls with hypnosis that was, he notes, “not well written or very accurate.” But you know how it is — boy wants girl, girl doesn’t want boy — so he read the book cover to cover and willed himself an expert. “I tried to hypnotize her on the playground with horrific results,” Orley remembers. You’d think that would’ve been enough to put him off hypnotism for the rest of his life — but no, he later tackled hypnotism in college from a more serious, therapeutic angle, eventually combining it with his propensity for performing standup to develop a form of entertainment that became surprisingly popular with audiences.

Twenty years later, he’s still at it, wowing crowds with his gentle, funny touch. “A lot of hypnotism acts are mean-spirited in nature, but I don’t do that humiliating bark-like-a-dog genre of entertainment,” Orley reveals. He’ll show off his spellbinding skills starting tonight at the Denver Improv, 8246 East 49th Avenue, with shows continuing nightly through Sunday, May 31. For tickets, $15 to $17, go to www.improv.com or call 303-307-1777.

May 28-31, 2009