Mesmerizing

Chattering from friends and a dim Student Center Ballroom set the mood for Steven Stone, comedian and hypnotist Sept. 2 as he proceeded to hypnotize several student volunteers.

Stone began the evening by welcoming the audience and providing feedback for those who wanted to go on stage and be hypnotized. Overall, students had to be willing to be hypnotized and have a wild imagination.

After students jumped up and down, cheered, and waved their arms to be called on stage, Stone filled all his seats and quickly began explaining the process of hypnosis and its positive effects to the volunteers and audience. Calming the volunteers by having them close their eyes and slowing their breathing, Stone soothed each individual into a hypnotic trance. Unfortunately, some individuals awoke throughout the experience and had to leave the stage, but those who remained in a hypnotic state provided the audience members, and even Stone, with entertainment.

Beginning with simple commands, volunteers awoke—still hypnotized—and reacted to a freezing room where their teeth clattered from shivering and they wrapped their arms around their bodies to keep warm. Some even curled into balls on their chairs and stuck their knees inside T-shirts or hoodies to stay warm. With one command Stone changed the scenario where the participants were in a warm room with no air conditioning, and with each sentence or tap to the forehead the individual got hotter and hotter. Participants were wiping their forehead with the backs of their hands or the sleeve of T-shirts; some were even fanning themselves to keep cool.

A short phrase from Stone and each person slid back into his or her chair to enjoy the refreshing breeze of cold air that came over them once the “air conditioner” was turned on them to cool off. Smiles and sounds of relief came from most of the participants as they enjoyed the coolness, right before going “back to sleep,” what Stone would do before giving the individuals a different scenario or task.

While the volunteers “slept,” Stone said they would all forget their name and how to spell it when asked. One individual, Justin Mohr, 19, freshman of Kimball, was also told that when someone forget his or her name, Mohr would yell at that individual and get angry about that person not knowing.  Mohr was also the last person Stone asked for a name from, when Mohr forget his name, the rest of the participants on stage turned on him for yelling at them, when he didn’t remember his own name.

As the evening went on Stone assigned each individual with various tasks, such as being a super star singer and singing happy birthday to an audience member, being guard to Stone’s balloons—but instead hiding the balloons in his shirt—and even some participants who mooed after a specific statement. Before Stone released the participants from their trance, he had them follow the dance of a sock monkey that Stone moved to the beat of a song.

He made sure all participants were seated in their chair and “sleeping” again, before counting down and releasing them from their hypnotic state. However, they would not be able to remember what happened until they looked in a mirror, and the first three people they shook hands with, each participant had to say “Git R Done” a saying made famous by Larry the Cable Guy. As audience members and friends of the contestants wanted to test this last command, they approached their friend and shook his or her hand only to be met with a “Git R Done” reply.

Before some participants left the Ballroom, Stone gave them one last command that they would be able to remember everything about the hypnosis, including remembering and spelling his or her name again.

One of the participants, Michaela Weverka, 19, sophomore of Callaway, did not intend to be on stage, but enjoyed the experience and even felt rested after.

“I actually went to the event to go get my friends so we could do some homework together,” Weverka said. “Then they talked me into staying.”

Justin Schwartzkopf, 19, sophomore of Gering, attended the event but didn’t plan to go on stage until Stone mentioned that an hour of being hypnotized was equivalent to eight hours of sleep. Even though he enjoyed the experience, Schwartzkopf would rather watch from the audience the next time.

“I would try it probably but I think sitting in the crowd watching everyone would be more entertaining,” Schwartzkopf said.

Audience members were well entertained for the evening and participants got to experience a rare opportunity.