Comic/Hypnotist Flip Orley

Flip Orley is a comic hypnotist whose one-man show has set comedy club attendance records across North America. He has appeared on "Entertainment Tonight," "The Today Show," "The Martin Short Show," "Comic Strip Live," "The Ricki Lake Show," "Maury Povich," and "Space Ghost Coast To Coast." The Los Angeles Times notes that "the beauty of Orley's show is that most of the humor comes from the volunteers, and no two performances are alike."

The two-hour show combines a stand-up set with audience hypnosis. Orley is deliberate about not embarrassing his volunteers: "I want the audience to laugh with them, not at them. This is the purest form of improvisational entertainment you will ever see as the show rewrites itself every night, and the volunteers are my partners, not my victims." Subjects may find themselves forgetting their own names, being regressed to age 5, or pledging undying love to strangers in a version of "The Newlywed Game."

Orley studied psychology at the University of Arizona with the intention of becoming a clinical hypnotist, and it was there that he discovered stand-up comedy. He later merged the two disciplines, and marquees across the country have read "Flip Orley / Held Over By Popular Demand" for up to 12 weeks at a time.

Beyond performance, Orley has developed seminars, workshops, and self-help recordings addressing stress management, weight control, smoking cessation, and sleep disorders. He has also been called upon by dentists and doctors for patients who are allergic to anesthesia.