Under the reflecting glow of the purple stage lights in a dimly lit room, Lamberton Hall buzzed with students waiting to learn about astrology or see if hypnosis could make them fall asleep on command.
On Thursday, University Productions invited Lehigh students to explore self-discovery through the event “Written in the Stars, ” which was sold out and met by over 60 people. It featured Chicago-native hypnotist Chris Jones, known for his appearance on “America’s Got Talent,” and astrologer Brandi Cheeseborough.
Ella Smith, ‘27, the president of University Productions, said this was the first time the organization hosted this event, and the goal was to give students a chance to meet new people.
Prior to the show, hot food and refreshments lined the tables while students socialized in small groups. Cheeseborough opened the evening with an astrology session of reading horoscopes, followed by Jones’s live hypnosis show.
Cheeseborough guided students through birth chart basics, astrological houses and her specialty, AstroMapping. She described this as a practice connecting planetary lines to physical locations on Earth.
She encouraged students to use astrology as a tool for reflection rather than prediction.
“When people learn about astrology, it can lead to self-discovery,” Cheeseborough said. “The planets don’t tell us what to do as they just create energy we can choose to work with.”
After Cheeseborough’s presentation, Jones took the stage, using humor throughout his performance. He began his hypnosis routine and within minutes, volunteer participants were sleeping, dancing and acting as the rest of the crowd watched.
When Jones snapped his fingers, the hypnotized audience members would drop their heads onto each other’s shoulders.
Yingyi Ma, ‘26, said she was smiling the whole time and couldn’t tell if the participants were pretending or actually under hypnosis.
Jones, who has performed across the country for both small and large audiences, said he first discovered hypnosis while studying sociology and psychology in college.
“I saw a hypnotist perform and chased him to the parking lot to ask how it worked,” Jones said. “The only secret is that there is no secret.”
Students sit on stage under hypnosis during hypnotist Chris Jones’ performance at University Productions’ “Written in the Stars” event in Lamberton Hall. The show combined humor, hypnosis and astrology for an evening of self-discovery. (Julie Synder/ B&W Staff)
Grace Lothian, ’26, the special events director for University Productions, said the organization wanted to host an event that blended a fun time with something most of the audience had never experienced before.
“Hypnosis and astrology both deal with the mind and energy, so it just made sense to pair them,” she said.
Lothian, who is family friends with Jones, said seeing him perform for Lehigh students was a special experience, as Jones was able to connect with the crowd and create a great atmosphere.
Throughout the night, Smith said the audience members were both amused while trying to figure out if the hypnosis was real or not, talking about it after the show ended.
By the end of the evening, Smith said she was happy University Productions achieved its goal of creating an inclusive and engaging campus event.
“This fits right into what we try to do, and that’s to build community,” Smith said. “Even if people didn’t believe in everything, they still left talking and smiling. That’s what we wanted.”