Students get hypnotized during 'Cards Against Hypnosis' comedy show
Hypnotized volunteers sing heavy metal karaoke during 'Cards Against Hypnosis' on Jan. 17 in the Bovee University Center Rotunda.
Hypnotized students laughed at the funniest show they had seen, talked to their shoes and imagined audience members as their favorite celebrities Friday evening.
"Cards Against Hypnosis," an interactive comedy show hosted by David Hall, took place on Jan. 17 in the Bovee University Center Rotunda. The show was organized by Central Michigan University’s Program Board.
“I expected to see (a) run-of-the-mill, not really over-the-top… a regular hypnotist show. I went to one when I was younger, and it was nothing like that,” Detroit senior Jalen Kendrick said.
The show began with hypnotic induction. To do this, Hall lulled the participants to sleep by making them relax, but they had to be willing participants. Hall said they could not perform actions they didn't want to do. As the induction proceeded, participants’ shoulders drooped, and their heads slowly fell onto their chests.
“I felt like a cloud,” said Ann Arbor sophomore Kahshiada Kidd, one of the participants who was hypnotized.
Most of the hypnotized participants followed Hall's suggestions, and some even did more. During a karaoke skit where a participant sung a heavy metal version of the ABCs, another student joined in, and they sung it together. The singers were banging their heads, and the audience erupted into roaring laughter.
As the show came to a close, the volunteers woke up and slowly remembered what happened that night.
“I forgot a lot of things, but I remember… dancing, a dog,” Kidd said.
Hall spoke with Central Michigan Life about his thoughts after the show.
“I thought the audience (and volunteers) were fantastic tonight,” Hall said. “Sometimes you have some people go back and sit down, but we had a perfect show.”
