by Katelyn Smith
The University Activities Council sponsored a comedy hypnotist show that featured an array of jokes, tricks and illusions.
Students were immediately put into a trance as hypnotist Gabriel Holmes directed everyone to put their hands out and close their eyes.
“Feel your body to drift down deeper and deeper into relaxation,” Holmes said. “With each exhale, you feel it moving down your body.”
Holmes picked 20 people to take a seat on stage. Ambient music played as Holmes lulled the participants into a relaxed state.
Holmes had them drive through the countryside without ever leaving their seats. Participants immediately grabbed their imaginary steering wheels; some at 10 and two, but others were much more casual, preferring to steer with a single hand on top of the wheel.
“Baby” by Justin Bieber played and everyone sang along. Holmes tapped a hypnotized Chelsea Baldwin’s shoulders to tell her that she was Justin Bieber. There was no hesitation after that. Baldwin jumped out of her seat, inspired by the music, to sing and dance across the stage.
“I was super confident, and I definitely felt just like Justin Bieber,” said Baldwin, a sophomore studying business from Andalusia, Alabama.
American Idol was played next. Holmes told the participants they were on the show and the were the best singers before tapping a few shoulders to get those on the stage to sing. They sang their hearts out, only to be judged by another participant who believed they were Simon Cowell.
Holmes ended the singing portion by getting someone to believe they were Shrek. Their impression was hilarious, sending another participant to the floor in laughter and the crowd into an uproar.
“I thought it was interesting how some of the volunteers would just get lost in the movements,” said sophomore Eva Reese, a psychology and English double major from Houston, Texas. “The hypnotist would ask them to do another action and they’d still be pretending to drive a car.”
Holmes wiped the memories of the hypnotized and left them with one last command before waking them up with a snap of his fingers. Once lucid again and on his cue, Holmes instructed them to go into the crowd and try to convince their friends they were Australian. It worked like a charm. Immediately after he gave the cue, participants tried to follow his order.
The show ended with a lot of fun chatter and laughter.
