If you would have told me a few weeks ago that I would soon be writing a review for a hypnotist show… ok, I probably would have believed you, but I’d still be a little confused. Here’s the thing: I’m a skeptic at heart. Perhaps that’s why things like hypnotist shows or psychics are really intriguing to me; I want it to be true. I want to be proven wrong. So, I came into “Cards Against Hypnosis” with an open mind.

In the very beginning of the show, the hypnotist, David Hall, performed a “warm-up exercise” with the intent to prepare the audience for the interactive experience they were about to engage in. Hall explained to the audience that anyone who was not entirely open to the possibility of suggestion had no hope in being hypnotized successfully. “I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to,” he said, elaborating that audience members must act on his commands through their own ambition. While this statement certainly strips hypnotism of many ethical qualms, it also strips the performance of value. If the only audience members qualified for participation in the show are those that will do anything you suggest regardless of their conscious state, they never have to undergo hypnosis in the first place.

While the reasoning behind strategies for achieving a successful hypnotic state was fallacious, the entertainment value of the performance was redeeming. The structure was engaging, following the design of the popular game “Cards Against Humanity.” Hall used the audience members to help make decisions throughout the show and featured their peers as the main act. His utilization of the student body fostered a comradery between the featured students and their peers, allowing them to create a shared experience.  Though I maintain a dubious attitude toward hypnotism, if there ever were an element of the performance that made me question my stance it would be the commitment of the student volunteers. Almost every person reacted convincingly to Hall’s requests, obliging in a glazed hypnotic stupor. There were several occasions where their dedication to the role was convincing enough that I nearly began to question if these actions were something of their own volition.  I think that is a hallmark of a good performance: to make the audience question what they know, if even for a moment.