On Friday, March 1st, an Academy audience witnessed its friends be drawn into different illusions. Those students who were hypnotized and those who watched others captivated by Michael Anthony were more than impressed. Taylor True’15 says, “I guess I thought it was going to be a gimmick, but it seemed real and it was hilarious. I don’t’ think I’ve laughed that hard in my entire life!”
To kick the show off, Anthony drew several students into a sleep that only he could control. Audience members would laugh as the hypnotized students snuggled with each other. The entranced students did not realize what actions they were taking during the experience. Courtney Gittins’14 describes the confusion: “It was cool, because I had control of my body. I knew what I was doing, but I didn’t know why I was doing it.”
The show became even more interesting when Anthony transfixed individual students into being a part of some outrageous scenarios. For example, the audience laughed uncontrollably when Lee Solomon’14 was hypnotized into thinking a broom was the most beautiful woman in the world. He was dancing with it as if he had extreme emotions for “her” but was then automatically snapped to reality by the hypnotist.
Nearly everyone was in tears when Grant Hansell’13 was transfixed into thinking his name was “Cha Cha.” The hypnotist would jokingly forget Hansell’s temporarily fake name, which would upset Hansell tremendously to such an extent that he even stormed off the stage. Looking back on his experience, Hansell finds difficulty in explaining the situation: “In all honesty, I’m still really not sure what happened.”
Anthony created a hilarious show for Academy students, and it was a night that no one would who attended will forget!
Written by Libby Sirak ‘15
