Volume CXXXII, Number 9 November 15, 2002 f

Dale K puts the hip in hypnosis
MACAELA FLANAGAN
STAFF WRITER

Hypnotist Dale K claims the greatest form of entertainment is found within our own imaginations. But on Friday night in Morrell Lounge, the best entertainment was not necessarily exploring our subconsciouses, but witnessing fellow classmates explore theirs. Dale K put a group of Bowdoin students through everything from an entertaining spectacle full of animal impersonations to a hot air balloon rides and even confrontations with a stuffed Barney toy.

If you missed this show, you missed some of Bowdoin's own as they put on an incredible spur-of-the-moment performance. It was a successful show despite the fact the student volunteers saw nothing out of the ordinary with their antics.

Dale K began the night by informing the audience of who should and should not volunteer to be hypnotized: no pregnant women, no people with mental or physical ailments, and no one looking to prove that they are stronger than the power of hypnosis. According to him, hypnosis can work on anyone; some people just need longer to be accessed.

Asking for a raise of hands from interested candidates, he did not have to look far to fill the 15 or so chairs on the stage. He delivered a few lines involving the phrases: "take a deep breath," "I'm going to count to three," and "relax." Within moments almost everyone on the stage was in a trance. After he weeded out a few volunteers that were going to take longer for the hypnosis to set in, he was left with his core group of hypnotees. The audience was in for a treat.

This is not your typical mom and pop, G-rated hypnosis show. The rather eccentric looking Dale K ups the ante by making the performance more suitable for college kids. At one point the students were told they were going out on the most important date in their lives, and Dale K proceeded to drench them with a make believe super soaker. The volunteers that he "sprayed" became very upset.

One un-sprayed volunteer found this somewhat amusing and Dale K's answer was an imaginary supersoaker load of donkey urine in the kid's mouth. Interested in the art in blurring the line between reality and the surreal, he hypnotized these brave volunteers to believe that his word was written in stone; the hypnotized students never questioned their own bizarre actions. It might have been fun to try, but I daresay it was even more fun to watch.

Imagine being in the Union but thinking you're thousands of feet in the air in a hot air balloon. Now imagine the balloon leaks and you need to use varying parts of your body to plug them. Also, your pilot is a really old guy who can't hear you and keeps guiding the balloon higher even though you want to go down.

You feel the rays of the sun beating down on you, but then the next second you're shivering and hugging whomever is next to you, fitfully trying for that extra bit of body warmth. Now try imagining that this is actually true. The power of hypnosis was proven when Dale K made his subjects believe this was a real life situation. He transported them from the Union to the aforementioned balloon, thousands of feet in the air.

And the hot air balloon scenario is just the beginning. Imagine thinking a tiny stuffed Barney doll is telling you to shut up. Or try thinking that you have x-ray vision and need to duck when the hypnotist turns around too quickly, because you are afraid his huge penis might decapitate you. Picture yourself saying, "You can milk anything with nipples." Now visualize doing this in front of your classmates and not having the slightest idea (or concern?) that there is anything abnormal about your behavior. Scary what the mind keeps hidden, isn't it?

The hour was full of Dale K hypnotizing his subjects into hilarious antics. It's baffling to think that a few lines of hypnotic talk can turn people into believing they are Australian exotic dancers, or a trick seal straight out of Sea World. Complete with music and lots of gusto from the hypnotist himself, Dale K was the ringmaster for this spectacle of the psyche.

Yet, without his noble volunteers there would have been no show to write about. Whether your roommate was on stage, or you couldn't name a single volunteer, the show was amusing for all. Smith Union was filled with the sounds of laughter and surprise. And who says Bowdoin kids don't tap into their creative minds enough?