Mr. G’s Hosts Magician, Hypnotist Jeff Jay

Jeff Jay will hypnotize volunteers at Mr. G’s on Sept. 23.

For more than ten years, magician and hypnotist Jeff Smith, aka Jeff Jay, has crisscrossed the country with his wife Donna Bright, hypnotizing the masses. “I’ve hypnotized something like 30,000 people,” says Jay, who will be appearing at Mr. G’s Dinner Theatre on Sept. 23 for a night of comedy, magic, and hypnosis. “The audience becomes the stars – I’m just the facilitator,” he says.

Jay and Bright will present their Mind Power Show to Mr. G’s – a show that includes props, costumes, and about 20 hypnotized volunteers. “People will act in ways their friends have never seen before, it’s quite the experience,” laughs Jay. “They say things like, ‘I can’t believe you made John dance like Elvis, he’s so quiet at the office.’”

Jay was first introduced to hypnotism as a college freshman, witnessing a show at Michigan State University. “It made a believer out of me,” he recalls. “I almost quit college to pursue [becoming a hypnotist], but the parents wouldn’t have been happy about that.”

Always a performer and magician (he learned his first trick at age eight from his grandfather), at the age of 49 Jay finally pursued his dream to become a hypnotist.

What was it like to hypnotize for the first time?

“It’s freaky,” admits Jay. “Even now – it shocks me as much as it shocks the audience.”

Jay learned what he calls the ‘classical method’ of magic and hypnosis. “It’s the difference between David Copperfield and David Blaine,” explains Jay, who leans toward the discipline of David Copperfield. “Some hypnotists do an instant trance, just run up to someone on the street and hypnotize them. It takes me about seven minutes to get them in a trance.”

Jay is quick to say that he “never forces anyone” to participate in hypnosis. “They have to volunteer. It’s based on trust.”

Bright’s role is to “tell the audience what to expect and make sure no one falls off their chairs or off the stage,” laughs Jay. “She also takes incriminating, I mean candid, photos.”

Though Jay enjoys using hypnosis to entertain crowds, he and Bright also put on smoking and weight loss hypnosis clinics. “We meet with clients one on one and by hypnotic suggestion reinforce good behaviors,” explains Jay. He also says hypnosis is used in surgery when anesthetic is not an option for the patient and to help witnesses recall events during criminal trials.

Jay also uses hypnosis to show the dangers of drinking and driving as well as texting and driving. “I’m most proud of the safety message we give to high schools, colleges, and the military on the dangers – that could be an article in itself,” he says. “The emotional response is so powerful; the audience will never forget.”

The couple’s show at Mr. G’s will be light and comedic, however. “I’m very excited to visit,” says Jay. “It’s going to be a lot of fun, a wonderful time.”

Jay and Bright will perform Sept. 23. Dinner and the show costs $40 and includes chicken marsala or smothered chicken as well as tossed salad, wild rice, vegetables, rolls, coffee and dessert. The show only costs $25. Dinner is served from 6:30 – 7:15 pm, the show begins at 8 pm.

Mr. G’s is located two miles south of Jacksonport on Highway 57. For more information or to make reservations call 920.823.2112.

For more information about Jeff Jay visit hypnoticpresentations.com.