Dr. Andrew Scarpati has a sign on the wall of his Richboro, Bucks County, office. It says, "All Hypnosis is Self Hypnosis."

Likewise, when Scarpati -- longtime owner of the Comedy Cabaret, a board-certified hypnotherapist and successful stand-up comedian -- returned to the stage two years ago after six years away from performing, he didn't bother telling the jokes.

Instead, he let the audience entertain itself. And the people loved it.

Regulars and newcomers alike at his five Delaware Valley comedy clubs, including the one at the Northeast Philadelphia Best Western, at 11580 Roosevelt Blvd., still flock to see selected guinea pigs make fools of themselves on stage during Scarpati's comedy hypnosis show.

One moment, audience members may see a group of volunteers exchanging sweet talk with imaginary birds perched on each of their fingers. Minutes later, a group of grown men may stand up and begin rubbing their stomachs, convinced of their own pregnancy.

YUK IT UP A LITTLE

According to Scarpati, it's spontaneous moments like these -- based on a pre-arranged format but ad-libbed to be sure -- that make for the hearty laughs and the continued sellout crowds.

One of the owner/headliner's most recent shows at the Best Western last Friday night certainly did nothing to dispel such an assessment.

Scarpati also appeared in the Northeast on Saturday night.

Although the doctor, who is certified by the American Institute of Hypnotherapy in Irvine, Calif., still is primarily a "serious" hypnotherapist, he readily concedes that his decision to apply his seemingly supernatural skills to the stage has given a big jolt to the sluggish local comedy scene and has garnered him more recognition than he ever received in the clinical setting.

At one time, however, he refused to even consider doing the shows, even after seeing his highly-profitable promotional/booking agency drop off drastically from its peak years of the late 1980s and early '90s, when, he said, "I made a (expletive)-load of money."

Even so, during the mid-'90s, he vowed not to resort to stand-up again.

"I was a serious hypnotherapist. I was not going to do a stage show," he said. "I almost looked down on the stage hypnotherapists.

"But the comedy business had gone down. We had three clubs left. The summers were slow. We used to have a guy who did (a hypnosis act). People kept calling and asking for it."

The former middle-school teacher had once owned 10 such clubs in the tri-state area. The first opened in Wilmington in November 1980. The Northeast/Bucks County location came along about 15 years ago at the former George Washington Motor Lodge on Route 1 in Trevose. Later, it moved into the Best Western.

MONEY TALKS

Scarpati had a quick change of heart about stage hypnosis after someone made him an offer he couldn't refuse. A female friend asked him to put on a show at a private function.

"I asked how much she was willing to pay," Scarpati said. "She said five hundred dollars. So I started studying stage hypnotism. I did my first show and I loved it."

The doctor soon realized that stage hypnotism brought all of his great passions together in one package.

"For me personally, it incorporates all my years of stand-up, acting, hypnosis and my general love for people," he said.

This is the way the act goes: Scarpati starts off by inviting 16 to 18 audience members up to the stage. He rarely has trouble with the recruiting process.

"Most of the time, they race to the stage," he said.

Little by little, the group grows more and more focused. Scarpati describes hypnosis as a highly focused mental state in which subjects can become highly susceptible to suggestion. In layman's terms, it's kind of like when you're reading a book and you're concentrating so much on the text, you become oblivious to external stimuli, like someone calling your name.

Not everyone is cut out for hypnosis, though. Some subjects simply don't work out. During the show, those folks are politely escorted off of the stage.

Most shows last between an hour and 90 minutes. By the end there could be as many as a dozen remaining volunteers or only a few.

The best part of it, according to Scarpati, is the unpredictability.

"I honestly do not know what's going to happen," he said.

For instance, during the pregnancy gag, he'll ask the subjects questions such as, "How did you get like this?"

One time, a man blamed his condition on a squirrel. Another time, a guy said Bill Clinton did it to him.

"The laughs come from the people when they do things," Scarpati said. "I keep things moving and keep things light.

"I want them to have a positive experience about what I do."

And in a frequent scenario, the stage shows help Scarpati develop leads for his clinical practice, through which he helps clients do things like quit smoking, lose weight and overcome fears, phobias, stress and anger.

"Somebody in that audience will call me up clinically," he said.

For scheduling information on Dr. Andrew Scarpati's comedy hypnosis show, call the Comedy Cabaret office at 215-676-JOKE or visit the Web site www.comedycabaret.com