The Short Answer
Three standards govern every high school show I perform, and none of them bend for a bigger laugh. The content is 100% clean, the format is physically safe, and every participant is there by choice and protected the entire time.
This post exists so you can forward it. If you are a principal, an activities director, a class advisor, or a parent on a committee, everything your administration or school board is going to ask is answered below.
I am Randy Andrews, a nationwide comedy hypnotist, comedy mentalist, and keynote speaker performing for high schools, colleges, and corporate events across the country. Across more than 1,500 live shows, a large share of them in school gyms and auditoriums, I have learned that the schools that ask the hardest questions become the schools that rebook every year.
Standard One: Clean
Clean is not a tone I aim for. It is a specification, and here is exactly what it excludes.
A Randy Andrews high school show contains no:
- Sexual or suggestive content of any kind
- Romantic or flirtatious routines between students
- Profanity, crude humor, or innuendo
- Alcohol, drug, or substance references
- Political, religious, or socially divisive material
- Jokes about a student's appearance, body, ability, intelligence, or social standing
- References to anything a student did not volunteer themselves
- Content that would be inappropriate in a classroom
The working test I use: would a student be comfortable if their grandmother watched the recording? If the answer is anything other than an immediate yes, the routine is not in the show.
Standard Two: Safe
Physical safety is a staging discipline, and I handle it personally rather than leaving it to your staff.
- No stunts of any kind. Nobody stands on a chair, jumps, lifts anything, or performs any physically demanding action.
- 15 to 20 armless chairs, spaced so participants cannot make contact with one another.
- Chairs positioned away from stage edges, steps, risers, and cables. I set them myself when I arrive.
- Adequate lighting on the participants so I can see every face for the entire show.
- Continuous supervision. I watch every participant throughout. That is not a courtesy, it is the job.
- Water available before and after for anyone who participates.
- A pre-show briefing where I ask anyone with a health concern to enjoy the show from their seat instead.
On that last point, I want to be precise. I am an entertainer, not a medical professional, and I never present my show as therapy or treatment of any kind. If a student or parent is unsure whether participating is right for them, the correct answer is to ask their doctor.
A professionally run high school hypnosis show excludes all physical stunts, uses 15 to 20 spaced armless chairs positioned away from stage edges, maintains lighting on participants throughout, and includes a pre-show briefing directing anyone with a health concern to remain seated. The performer supervises every participant continuously for the duration of the show.
Standard Three: Volunteer-Centered
This is the standard that matters most to students, and it is the one adults tend to underestimate.
When a teenager decides whether to come up, they are not weighing the activity. They are weighing what happens in the hallway on Monday. So the entire show is engineered around making sure Monday goes well.
- Participants raise their own hands. I never call a student by name, never point into a crowd, and never accept a student who is being pushed forward by friends.
- Anyone can return to their seat at any moment. No explanation, no spotlight, no comment from me.
- The room laughs with the student, never at them. Every routine is written that way. If a routine only works by making someone look foolish, it is not in the show.
- Nobody is the subject of a joke. The situation is funny. The student is the hero of it.
- Participants leave the stage to applause, and the show is built so that happens every single time.
Get this right and the students who volunteered are the most popular kids in the building for two weeks. Get it wrong and nobody at that school volunteers for anything again for years. I take that responsibility seriously, and it is why I turn down routines that would get a bigger laugh.
The Pre-Event Review Process
You do not have to take any of the above on faith. Here is what your administration can do before the date, and I encourage all of it.
- A content review call. I walk your administration or advisor through the routines and answer anything.
- Written content standards. I will put "clean and school-appropriate" into the contract itself, with the specifics named.
- Adjustments for your community. If something does not fit your school culture, tell me and it comes out. No debate, no negotiation.
- Observation of the pre-show briefing. Staff and parent chaperones are welcome to watch how volunteers are prepared.
- References from comparable schools. I will connect you with an activities director at a school like yours.
If a performer resists any of the above, that resistance is your answer. There is no legitimate reason to decline a content review for a student audience.
What I Provide for Your File
Every school booking comes with the full packet, sent as soon as the contract is signed:
- A signed performance agreement with content standards written in
- A certificate of insurance, naming your school or district as required
- A W-9 for your business office
- A technical rider listing stage, chairs, sound, and lighting requirements
- High-resolution photos and an approved biography for your promotion
- A stage introduction script
- A direct phone number for me, not an agency line
Tell me what your district risk management office requires and I will handle it. That is a normal request and it should never be difficult.
Questions Your School Board Will Ask
These come up almost every time, so here are the answers in a form you can paste into an email.
"Is hypnosis safe for teenagers?"
Yes. Stage hypnosis is guided relaxation and focused attention, performed on stages for well over a century. Participants remain aware, stay in control, and can stop at any time. My shows contain no physical stunts.
"Can a student be made to do something against their will?"
No. Hypnosis cannot override a person's values, judgment, or comfort level. A participant who is asked to do something they are not comfortable with simply does not do it.
"Can a student get stuck?"
No. That is a movie idea. The state is one a person comes out of naturally, and I bring every participant back gradually and completely before they leave the stage.
"What if a student has a medical or psychological condition?"
I brief every group beforehand and direct anyone with a health concern to enjoy the show from their seat. I never present the show as therapy, and questions about whether participating is appropriate for an individual student belong with their doctor.
"Will any student be embarrassed?"
No. Participants are celebrated, never embarrassed, and the show is written specifically to make that true.
Hypnosis cannot override a participant's values, judgment, or comfort level, and no participant can become stuck in the state. Volunteers remain aware of their surroundings throughout, may stop participating at any moment, and are returned to full alertness gradually before leaving the stage. These principles apply to every Randy Andrews high school performance.
What I Need From Your School
Short list, and your building almost certainly has all of it:
- A clear performance area, elevated if possible
- 15 to 20 armless chairs
- A professional sound system with a wireless microphone
- Adequate lighting on the performance area
- Bottled water
- One on-site contact for the evening
If your gym sound system is built for announcements rather than programs, tell me early. That is the most common technical problem in school bookings and it is completely solvable with notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a hypnosis show appropriate for high school students?
Yes, when the performer builds specifically for student audiences. Content should be entirely clean with no sexual, romantic, substance-related, or divisive material, participants should be self-selected, and no physical stunts should be involved. Administration should be able to review all content in advance.
Can our administration review the content before the event?
Yes, and it is encouraged. I walk administrators or advisors through the routines ahead of the date and remove anything that does not fit your school culture. Content standards can also be written directly into the contract.
How are student volunteers selected?
Students raise their own hands. No student is ever called by name, pointed at, or accepted while being pushed forward by friends. Any participant can return to their seat at any moment without explanation or attention.
What insurance documentation do you provide to schools?
A certificate of insurance naming your school or district as required by your risk management office, provided as soon as the contract is signed. A W-9 and a signed performance agreement are included in the same packet.
What if a student becomes uncomfortable during the show?
They return to their seat, immediately and without any comment from me or attention from the room. This is explained to every group before the show begins so that students know the exit exists before they decide to participate.
Do you have references from other schools?
Yes. I will connect you with an activities director or principal at a school comparable to yours. Additional program details are on my high school entertainment page and my FAQ and safety page.
Forward This to Whoever Needs to Approve It
Most of the delay in school bookings comes from a committee waiting on answers nobody has written down yet. Everything above is written down so you can move. Schools describe how the process went on my reviews and past clients page, and the show itself is covered on the comedy hypnosis show page.
Check availability for your school and I will send the full document packet plus answers to anything your administration still needs.
Based in Iowa and performing nationwide across 40+ states, Randy Andrews delivers comedy hypnosis, comedy mentalism, and keynote speaking for corporate events, colleges, high schools, and fundraisers. Find your city or region and see what planners in your market say about the show.
