Hypnotist Tom DeLuca made his usual New Student Week stop at Northwestern on Sunday night, performing twice at Cahn Auditorium. In his act, he invites people on stage, relaxes them and tells them to do ridiculous things.
Highlights from his 8:30 p.m. show, which brought the audience to its feet several times, are below.
Photography by Tom Giratikanon / North by Northwestern. |
Was it fake?
“I think it’s real,” said Weinberg freshmen Max Harris, who after the show compared DeLuca to Jesus.
Roland Smith, also a Weinberg freshman, argued that if it had been fake, at least one volunteer would have hesitated or been nervous during DeLuca’s commands.
“I would never have done that,” Smith said.
Not all were convinced by what they had seen, including Weinberg freshman Daniel Silva-Pinto. He said enjoyed the show but was still skeptical about hypnosis.
Participant Ryan Nunn, a Communication freshman, said he remembered little of his time on stage, but felt good afterward.
“It was relaxing,” he said.
Before the act got going, DeLuca told him and the other volunteers to breathe deeply and count backwards from 300 by threes, he said.
Nunn earned the nickname “Polo” after the show, as audience members called out what was on his shirt to congratulate him on his dance routine, which drew loud cheers and a long standing ovation.