Tom DeLuca, a Corporate Hypnotist, will be bringing his performance to New Trier this Saturday, Dec. 1st.
DeLuca’s career started with the encouragement of his clinical psychology professor; DeLuca was taken under the wing of this professor and trained in clinical hypnotism for issues such as smoking and weight loss. A few years later, another opportunity arose: “I stumbled upon a guy who ran a Sheraton inn, in the town I was living in, and he talked to me about doing a performance in his night club,” said DeLuca. “I started doing those shows when I was in school, and it morphed into the kind of shows I do now.”
Senior Girls Adviser Chair, Cindee Scott, said the show “is hilariously funny.” Tom DeLuca has been on all sorts of national television shows and recently performed at Notre Dame. After his performance at New Trier, he will be heading off to the University of Michigan. Moreover, he has a celebrity client list, for who he performs shows and other activities.
DeLuca has been performing for audiences of all ages and backgrounds for more than thirty years. And when it comes to these performances, the audience makes up a huge part of the show. DeLuca said, “There’s a huge difference between a corporate and student audience. Getting people to volunteer in a business setting is much more difficult because they are in front of their peers and they’re concerned. If you want them to be more than interesting, I have to to adapt to who the people are on stage and what their personalities are like.”
New Trier has been enjoying DeLuca’s show every year since 2001. Senior Boys Adviser Chair, Chris Pearson said, “He started coming to New Trier as a part of the senior class service project in 2001 to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. Tom was very well received from the beginning and it became a tradition here at New Trier.”
One of the biggest selling points of DeLuca’s show is the appeal that comes with seeing your friends and peers on stage. DeLuca said, “I think you get to see people as they really are. I’m not trying to embarrass them, but you get to see what these people are really like, and you identify with them. You say, ‘oh my god I know that girl or guy’ and it’s kind of warm and fuzzy in a weird way. You get to see people without their defenses up and that’s real magic. I guess it’s that you get to see the little edges you don’t normally see.
Seniors are the only students chosen to be on stage with DeLuca, and many go that extra mile in the hope of having an experience of a lifetime. Scott said, “The seniors get very excited about it. Some have ‘pick me’ signs and they all sit in the front row hoping to be selected, but we encourage all students to come no matter what grade.”
This year, there has been a new development in regards to those coveted spots on stage. The senior boy and girl advisories who purchase the most tickets will be guaranteed a spot on stage, since each will be able to nominate one lucky advisee to join DeLuca on stage.
The performance is more than a chance to see your peers fall under DeLuca’s trance, for it also supports a great cause. Habitat for Humanity benefits from each ticket sold.
Some are still in question of whether or not the hypnotism is for real, but Scott is sure it is exactly as it appears. She said, “Every year people ask me is it real and I always say it is. If you come you’ll see that it’s very real. And for those people that are hypnotized and put on the crazy performances, you can tell they’re truly hypnotized.