Hypnotist Chris Jones visits MSU for Night of Maverick Mayhem
This past Saturday, the Minnesota State University, Mankato Student Events Team and Residence Hall Association hosted the Night of Maverick Mayhem in the Centennial Student Union. Several events took place that included a hypnotist, carnival games, and a viewing of the Frozen Four hockey game.
Hypnotist Chris Jones, who was featured on Season 10 of “America’s Got Talent”, was found by the SET through NACA, a job fair for magicians, comedians, and similar acts.
“I’ve been doing this for 12 years now,” said Jones. “I’ve done the 50 states and I largely do colleges and high schools.”
Jones found the art of hypnotism in college by chance and has been performing since he was 23 years old.
“I wasn’t good at anything else, and I bombed the college talent show doing magic. Everyone saw the string I was using to levitate a playing card, and I swore I was never going to do magic again,” said Jones. “Hypnosis is wonderful because there is no secret.”
Jones performed twice during the Night of Maverick Mayhem. Each of Jones’ shows are different, depending entirely on the type of audience.
“Tonight will be different because there’s two shows, and I’m expecting some young people in the first show, so I’m going to keep it PG,” said Jones. “Some people will be doubtful and skeptic, as they should be. I do my routines based on who is there and the dynamic of the people.”
At the first performance, which held a crowd of about 40 people, Jones was able to get 15 people to fall asleep, whether on stage or in the audience. He hypnotized volunteers to dance, tell the audience their superhero powers, and sleep standing up.
Two of the hypnotized participants from this show included junior Zoe Macklanburg and sophomore Sammy Higgins. Macklanburg was fully hypnotized during the show.
“I always end up hypnotized at these events. I enjoy the rest time,” said Macklanburg on the experience. “I like to do it because it’s a free nap. It feels like you are inside a dream, except it’s real.”
Higgins had a similar experience on being hypnotized, but was only partially hypnotized.
“In the beginning Chris made me feel very relaxed and got me to sleep. However, when he had us do tasks, I snapped out of it,” said Higgins.
The second show saw more people in the stands, and Jones ended it by hypnotizing the participants to believe he was Canadian rapper Drake.
Jones left a parting note to any college students who are concerned about the future.
“To those who are worried about how expensive college is or aren’t sure what they’re going to do with their lives, I’ve been doing this since I was 23, but I assure you I’m still figuring out my life,” shared Jones. “I stumbled into this success, but I find more fulfillment with my loving wife and healthy daughter.”
Write to: Syd Berggren at sydney.berggren@mnsu.edu