This weekend marks one of the largest-scale Late Night Penn State lineups of the semester, featuring ballroom dancing, massage therapy and free billiards. But perhaps the most compelling attraction will be renowned hypnotist Tom Deluca, who will perform at 10 p.m. tomorrow in HUB Alumni Hall.

This will be Deluca's third visit to Late Night Penn State, although he is not an easy act to book, said John Harlow, assistant director of student activities.

"He's requested for repeat visits almost everywhere he goes," Harlow said.

Deluca said that even though he also does a lot of corporate shows, he really enjoys doing shows for college kids, because they are open and imaginative.

"I like the freedom with a college audience ... You can give them crazier suggestions," Deluca said, referring to the 20 or so volunteers from the audience.

"[The show is] not about a lot of music and lights," he said. "The key is that they're convinced [the hypnotism is real], and that they have fun."

There are always plenty of skeptics in the audience, he said, and part of the fun is winning them over.

Deluca's style of hypnotis gives participants an idea and lets their "imaginations run wild," at which point the students often end up doing "silly things."

Steve Biddle, a certified hypnotherapist at Tranquility Park Self-Empowerment, Inc., 204 E. Calder Way, said the reason individuals do these "silly things" has more to do with their eagerness to perform than actual mind control.

"With onstage hypnosis, people convince themselves they are hypnotized and are willing to put on a show," Biddle said. "If you want to be hypnotized, you will be."

Although Biddle specializes in the therapeutic aspect of hypnotherapy, he said he could probably do stage hypnosis "pretty easily."

"There's no magic to hypnosis," he said. "It's pretty straightforward."

Biddle added that the benefit of seeing a hypnosis show is sheer entertainment value.

"They're funny," he said. "Invariably, [the hypnotist] is a good showman."

Deluca's showmanship is indeed celebrated, as he was named Campus Entertainer of the Year in 2003 by the National Association for Campus Activities.

"If students have never seen a hypnotist before, this is the cream of the crop," Harlow said.

Deluca assured that his college shows are "warm and fuzzwithout being sappy."

"When you hypnotize kids, they drop their façade and you see who they really are," he said, adding that at the end of the hour-and-a-half performance, the audience will feel as if they know some of the hypnotized subjects personally.