Hypnotism meets comedy: Boris Cherniak leaves audience in fits of laughter

Holding his hand above his head, Boris Cherniak began commanding the theatre with his voice. His hope was to send 25 eager volunteers who ran onstage, or anyone in the audience with an open mind, into deep sleep.

By the end of the opening act, only seven sleepy volunteers were left on stage in the Algonquin Commons Theatre, completely hypnotized.

“My job is to find the best ones who are going to be the people on the stage who are going to be big characters,” said Cherniak in an interview after the Oct. 29 show. “It’s like acting, but I give them something to react to. So once they react well, I can add on to it.”

Cherniak is a entertainment triple threat: a hypnotist, comedian and motivational speaker.

The Canadian entertainer began his interest in hypnotism, positive psychology and all things the mind can do while roaming the halls of York University at 14 years old. While taking a night course at the university, he discovered the book The Search for Bridie Murphy by Maury Bernstein.

This led Cherniak to ravage all the books he could find on the library’s psychology floor.

“I truly believe that a mind is a computer that can be programmed and reprogrammed, hence all the positive messaging that you would see throughout the performance,” said Cherniak. “I want to leave people with something positive and at the same time give you tools that you can use in the future.”

During the show at the college, the star of the act was a young man in the audience who was found asleep in a trance. Cherniak walked into the crowd and shook him awake. He told the audience member it was Boris Cherniak, and that he should go up on stage. The young man followed him and promptly faced the audience.

The man, who was first introduced to the audience as Matteo, was told that not only is his name now Chip, but he will also get increasingly more agitated any time someone forgets or mispronounces his name.

“I love every second of it because I never know what to expect,” said Cherniak after the show. “Chip, he’s such a nice guy to start off with. I can’t get him to get mad. So, there was a progression until finally…he was holding himself back.”

The root of Cherniak’s comedy is in his belief that visualization and positive reinforcement allows someone to do anything. At the end of each show, he repays his volunteers not in money, but by using his hypnotism to rid them of bad habits or mental distress.

He instructs them that they now want to quit smoking, eat healthier, stop biting their nails and go after the things they want in life. He thanks the audience and lets the participants take a bow for their involvement in the show.

“I struggled for a long time before I was able to make a living doing this,” said Cherniak backstage. “But I was happy as hell because somebody was willing to put me on stage.”

It was his determination and belief that promoting happiness is the key to life, and that propelled him into the global spotlight.

“Where else are you going to find a job like this, where somebody wants you because you’re able to deliver something worthwhile and put a smile on people’s faces,” he said.

While Cherniak has made an incredible impact in the word of comedy, hypnotism and motivational keynote speaking, there will always be those who question the reality happening on stage.

“I am a big skeptic… but it was very entertaining, it was very fun to watch,” said Sabrina Ochisor, a 2019 music industry arts alumna who works at the theatre.

The show at Algonquin College was the last one the current leg of his Mind Boggling Tour. Cherniak was planning a break before returning to the stage in December.

Cherniak sensed plenty of good energy in the college theatre.

“There’s just a special feeling in the room,” he said.