A little mad: Jason Schneider's career in magic had humble beginnings, but now he's making a name for himself

Monday, February 19, 2007 8:18 PM CST

ipping coffee across the table at Starbucks, Jason Schneider seems a quiet, thoughtful man. The Union Grove resident who holds a bachelor's degree in psychology has a relaxed style that puts a person at ease.

When Schneider is hard at work, however, his actions might have a different effect. Swallowing fire and driving nails up his nose are some of the skills Schneider uses in his job. He is known as the Madman of Magic.

Schneider is a performer whose brand of magic has its roots in carnival sideshows, stunt work and circus lore.

His work is unique enough to have landed him a spot on "The Tonight Show" in November 2006. If you saw the episode where some lunatic was sandwiched between two beds of nails, while another guy rode a unicycle on top of him, throwing eggs into his mouth, you saw the Madman of Magic's major network debut. That self-proclaimed lunatic was Schneider, a 2001 graduate of Case High School.

More bizarre, please

The experience was definitely a feather in the Madman's cap. National television exposure is something most performers would do anything to get, and Schneider did have to jump through a few hoops to get there.

After graduating from Northland College in Ashland, Schneider spent six months trying to catch the attention of several television shows. He sent out promo tapes to a variety of programs, including the Martha Stewart Show.

"I offered to teach her how to lay on a bed of nails," Schneider said. The queen of home style couldn't take him up on his offer.

Neither did Jay Leno, at first. When the Madman of Magic originally contacted the Tonight Show staff they said something like "Oh, you are a magician. We don't do magic."

Explaining that his work featured a variety of entertainment, Schneider convinced them to give his stuff a look.

"They said no to the original stunt I sent in, but I asked them to give me a week to come up with something better."

The Madman went back to drawing board, in search of something more unusual, and, with the help of his partner on that stunt, Circus Boy, the nail bed sandwich was born. He and Circus Boy, a Chicago based performer whose real name is Bobby Hunt, worked together to develop the whole package, Schneider said. And this time, "The Tonight Show" was impressed.

In addition to showing off his performance skills to a nationwide television audience, Schneider's "Tonight Show" experience allowed him to meet both Jay Leno and Russell Crowe - both of whom he described as interesting and surprisingly real people. And he got to ride around the streets of Los Angeles in a limousine.

"It was surreal," he said of the whole experience.

Practice, practice,

practice

While his time in the national spotlight wasn't long, Schneider's performance on "The Tonight Show," as well as his work locally and regionally, is the culmination of years of study and training, It all started, he says, with a trip to the Kenosha Public Library - he grew up on Highway KR in Racine, and Kenosha's northside library was close to home. There, Schneider found a book titled "Dweebs, Geeks and Weirdos," which told stories of life as carnival worker.

"I read a lot as a kid and that book fascinated me," he said. "It was like real magic to me. They were doing things that were improbable, but not faked."

Schneider was always into a magic as a kid, but since his friends back then were not, he pushed it to the back burner for a while. It wasn't until his college days that he developed the self confidence to perform in front of people, he said. One of his college friends was into magic, and he encouraged Schneider's interest.

While at Northland, Schneider attended a clown camp at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, which he said is one of the few clown schools still operating in the United States. And during the summer months he performed with the Richard Cales' Sideshow/Circus (one of the last American Freak shows). Upon graduation, he signed a contract with Six Flags Great America theme park, where he performed for the next two fall and summer seasons.

All of that, and more, helped Schneider to become the zany performer he is today. Not all of his shows, however, involve off-the-wall stunts. He also does more traditional magic shows for younger audiences, including birthday parties and school programs. And he performs in a variety of settings including theaters, college campuses, fairs, festivals and corporate events. No matter who is audience is, Schneider says he tries to involve them in his work as much as possible.

Career choice

Being the Madman of Magic is a full-time job for Schneider, who says he spends some hours practicing stunts at least five days a week.

"It becomes a part of who you are," he said.

When he isn't polishing his performance skills, Schneider works with Case High School's junior varsity wrestling team as a coach. His own days on Case's wrestling team, along with his time playing softball and basketball on youth leagues in this area, helped him stay in good physical shape, something he says is important in his work today.

The Madman also said he enjoys working with animation and is currently developing an animated video for his web site. Eventually, he would like to launch an entertainment company that would feature many different types of shows, including one that is more circus-oriented.

"I'm also working on a flea circus show," he said.

Schneider is still hoping to get another chance at late night television as well, and is working on three different acts that he feels might give him that opportunity.

"Letterman's show is the one I really want to get on," he said. "I'm working on it, but I haven't perfected the acts yet."

To those folks who question why someone with a psychology degree would choose to put himself through a madman's antics to make a living, Schneider says he is very comfortable with his career choice, He feels his studies at college were appropriate for his work today. His final thesis was on the psychology used by street performers. He got an "A," by the way.

"I'm a very strong advocate for setting goals and doing what you want to do," the Madman said. "There are plenty of people out there, doing jobs they don't like. Any job you have will have down times, but I believe in pursing your dreams."

For more about the Madman of Magic, go to

http://www.madmanofmagic.com

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