Tricks, illusions and hypnosis await the student body as Brian Imbus takes the stage in Cullen Auditorium Tuesday.

Imbus is returning to ACU for the third consecutive year. His performance includes a combination of mentalism and hypnosis. Mentalism involves illusions such as card tricks and mind reading.

Tom Craig, director of student activities and productions, said Imbus first came to ACU when a group of students came across his name. The students saw that he has performed at other Christian universities across the United States. He sold out his first show at ACU with more than 400 students in attendance.

“It’s a fun evening of stage entertainment,” Craig said. “It’s interactive with students, he involves students on stage with the mind games and stuff like that, and people are able to be involved and at the same time enjoy some of the parlor tricks that he’s able to pull off on stage.”

Brian Imbus said he performs 250 shows per year and about 120 of those are colleges.

“ACU is one of my favorites to visit and the crowds have been fantastic,” Imbus said. “I can’t wait to pack the house again this year.”

Though Imbus has performed at ACU three different times doing his “combo show” with both mentalism and hypnosis, he tries to make the performance new each time.

“The audience takes the reigns and leads me into it,” Imbus said. “When I come and do a show it’s really a clean slate and the audience determines what’s going to happen. I have a little bit of an idea where I want the show to go, but there are times when I choose to take it in a different direction. That’s the beauty of doing a show is that it can take so many different directions.”

In the past, Imbus performed tricks such as hypnotizing individuals into forgetting words from their vocabulary, advanced card tricks and mind reading.

Imbus’ performance takes place in Cullen Auditorium on March 1 starting at 8 p.m. The show is free and runs about two hours.