Midd falls under hypnotist's spell Performer DeLuca returns to College to amuse, embarrass

Author: Dina Magaril

After Stevie Starr's impressive regurgitating antics two weekends ago Middlebury students thought they had seen it all. This was until last Friday . when Tom DeLuca, reenowned hypnotist extraordinaire hypnotized a group of students in front of an amazed crowd in McCullough Social Space. DeLuca was invited back to perform at Middlebury after a number of successful shows, including his performance during last year's parent's weekend.

DeLuca commenced the show by asking for brave volunteers from the audience to come onto the stage. Around 30 students eagerly ascended the steps, eager to have their minds manipulated by an expert. DeLuca led a few breathing excercises with the volunteers, telling them to think of their fantasy place and to imagine the color blue. DeLuca rooted out the real converts from those who were not fully hypnotized by having his assistants-MCAB board members- test how relaxed the students were by lightly shaking their shoulders or lifting their arms.

At the end of the examination DeLuca ended up with approximately 10 students at his disposal. He had the group hypnotized into thinking they were driving a car, as one by one students put on their "invisible" seatbelts and shifted into first gear

However, it wasn't just DeLuca's expertise that delighted audience members, but also the unique reactions of each participant while being hypnotized. Patch Culbertson '08.5 was convinced that his best friend was an apple that DeLuca was holding. Culbertson proceeded to pet the apple and hold it lovingly, until he was hypnotized into believing he was deliriously hungry. After a wave of panic crossed his face Culbertson turned away from the crowd and bit into the apple. Will McDonough '07, was hypnotized into spitting out pick up lines, including the never failing "are these your pants?'

DeLuca joked around with the volunteers, using the Middlebury mascot in one of his mind games. Sophomore Kris Wilson was told that he was Middlebury's most enthusiastic cheerleader and told to yell out Middlebury cheers. The catch was that Wilson was hypnotized into forgetting the panthers mascot. When asked to recite a cheer Wilson yelled out cheers like "the Middlebury worms," accompanying the cheer with a wiggle of his arm, followed by the alterntate mascot of "really good sports people."

One of the students hypnotized by DeLuca, Ward Wolff '08, described the feeling of being hypnotized as a state of total calmness. "It wsa the most relaxed I had ever felt," said Wolff, "I recognized that things were going on around me, but everything just made perfect sense." Wolff wsa hypnotized into believing he was at a dance club and he recalls dancing at upon recital of the trigger world 'Chicago.' Though Wolff did not remeber everything he did he sid he would never have done what his friends recalled to him had he been in a normal state of consciousness.

Wolff also a participant of a group of volunteers who were told that the audience was naked. "[DeLuca] works his way into our subconscious so that even though we see [the audience] with clothes on, we now associate that with being naked and everything that it implies in our heads, being grossed out, embarrassed, etc," said Wolff. Most volunteers agreed that you had to want to be hypnotized in order for the hypnosis to work. In addition to stunning collegiate audiences DeLuca has a corporate hypnosis show, providing a type of "motivational hypnosis" to fit the specific needs of the organization he is working with.