Last semester, members of the Freshman Class Council attended a conference for programming boards and councils in search of campus entertainment. They sorted through bands and poets, magicians and rappers, and finally settled on a man named Steve Taubman.
Taubman, a hypnotist, will entice participants under his control tonight at 9 p.m. in Dewick. If you're interested in getting a taste of what might be in store, he will also be offering a small taste of his act in the dining halls during dinner.
For the Council, the choice was an easy one. "He seemed really nice and interesting. We followed up on him and got him to come here," said Courtney Becker, secretary of the Council.
He comes armed with no gimmicks - just the tricks of the hypnotist trade that he's picked up in over 15 years of onstage magic and hypnotism. Taubman will work with select audience members to entertain and amaze, in a show where Tufts students and music will be his only props.
Oh, and, by the way...he prefers being called Dr. Taubman.
Taubman studied at the State University of New York at Albany and graduated from New York Chiropractic College in 1982 as valedictorian of his class. He then established Waterfront Chiropractic Center, and after, Williston Center for Chiropractic and Sportsmedicine. He later served as president of the Vermont Chiropractic Association, while at the same time running holistic health clinic.
In 1991 he traded in medicine for magic. Taubman began studying sleight of hand and developed a magic act, which he took to places like Los Angeles, NYC, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, and the New England area.
His success led to the establishment of The Entertainment Solution, an entertainment consulting and planning organization that develops programs primarily for corporate audiences, such as trade shows, banquets, holiday parties, and hospitality suites.
As it turns out, he had the magic touch - in 1996, Taubman finally sold his chiropractic practice in order to pursue entertainment full-time.
A year later, he studied Stage Hypnosis, and became certified as a Master of Demonstrational Hypnosis by the American Board of Hypnotherapy. Since the certification, Dr. Steve Taubman's Hypnosis Extravaganza has played for schools and corporations all over the US.
Tufts is one of many stops on an extensive college circuit that's been met with great success. But low ticket sales - largely due to the interruption of Spring Break - might make Taubman's audience tonight slightly smaller than usual.
"It's not as speedy as we were expecting," Becker said. "We're expecting to get a lot more before the show."
