Students will have the opportunity to watch friends engage in stunts when hypnotist Frederick Winters comes to NIU.

The free show will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom.

Winters will select 20 people from the audience to be hypnotized on stage.

“In the past, people have written signs saying ‘Hypnotize Me’ in order to get picked, which sometimes works,” said Alanna Pautsch, vice president of programming for the Residence Hall Association. “Then he’ll attempt to hypnotize them, and for the ones who are really under, he’ll make them do crazy stunts for about an hour and a half.”

Stunts will range in variety, Pautsch said.

“He might make them believe that they’re on a tropical beach where it’s really hot and they’ll start taking off their clothes,” Pautsch said. “Or he might have big, buff guys dancing around like ballerinas.”

Of the three years NIU has brought a hypnotist, this is the first year Winters will participate.

“He’s a younger, more hip, really fun guy,” Pautsch said. “He comes very highly recommended because U of I, UIC and Southern [Illinois University] book him year after year.”

Winters has been named the college Entertainer of the Year for 10 straight years.

The RHA decided to book Winters in an effort to ease students’ stress over finals.

“It’s been a crazy semester for a lot of people, and everybody really loves it because it is the best stress relief right before finals,” Pautsch said. “We’ve had a really good response in the past.”

Winters also will sell self-help CDs after the show.

“He’ll probably be selling things for people who want to quit smoking, so they can listen to it while they sleep,” Pautsch said. “The CDs will be $5.”

For more information, call 753-1090.