Hypnotist and mentalist Mat LaVore visited Southern New Hampshire University to perform his Magic and Mystery show on Wednesday, Feb. 24. This event was put on by Center of Activities and Programming Events (CAPE) Late Night and occurred in the second floor of the Dining Center at 8 p.m. Catering was provided for the event and included mozzarella sticks, chicken tenders, and a generous array of dipping sauces.
LaVore kicked off the show with a quick mind trick with the entire audience to get everyone involved. Soon after, LaVore gathered four volunteers to the stage for personal mind readings. Each volunteer was to think of a different subject.
The first volunteer was instructed to think of the name of someone special to her. The second volunteer flipped to a random page of the book “The Davinci Code” and memorized the first word on the page. The third a volunteer was told to think of a specific time including the hour and minutes. Lastly, the fourth volunteer had to pick any city within America.
LaVore correctly revealed what each volunteer was thinking of through the use of a whiteboard, a dictionary, an audience member’s watch, and a map of America.
Mat LaVore paid homage to Harry Houdini by replicating the East Indian Needle Trick. After swallowing roughly two feet of thread, LaVore put over ten needles in his mouth and swallowed them as well. A volunteer from the audience confirmed that no needles or thread remained in LaVore’s mouth. Then, he pulled the thread from his mouth with each of the needles threaded on.
For the finale, Mat LaVore truly astounded the audience by putting nine audience members to sleep. Within this group of select audience members, LaVore was able to make people forget their own names, act like the temperature of the room was increasing and decreasing, and even believe that they were immobile.
Volunteer and freshman Meghan Hynes said, “It was an overall riveting experience. I really couldn’t believe it!”Hynes received a mind reading from LaVore and was hypnotized to sleep.
CAPE Late Night Chair and sophomore Justin Terlisner said, “I thought tonight’s event went great; [Mat LaVore] had a blend of hypnotism, mentalism, and magic that you don’t see very often and I’m glad everyone came and enjoyed it.”
The message of LaVore’s show was to convey the power of the mind. After the show, Mat LaVore said, “[The main message from tonight’s performance] was kind of what I said at the end [of the show]; people kind of get wrapped up in everyday life stuff… Find something that amazes you and die for whatever it is that gives you wonder and passion.”
