When he is not in class (and sometimes even when he is), sophomore telecommunications major Todd Schumacher writes jokes.
"If I hear or see something that is ironic or ridiculous, I take note. I carry a pen and note cards on me at all times. For a comedian, there's nothing worse than coming up with a great bit and then not being able to remember it later," Schumacher said.
Schumacher got his start as a stand-up comic at Be Here Now in fall 2010. Like some local up-and-coming comedians, he performed during the bar's Wednesday night comedy line-up, "Comedy Moshpit."
"I usually expect people's first time to be kind of rough," Jake Lentz, fellow comedian and co-promoter of "Comedy Moshpit," said. "Mine certainly was, but Todd killed his first time. I was really impressed. Ever since then he's been a consistently good comic."
Schumacher's natural affinity for stand-up comedy comes from his time spent on the stage in high school, working in theater as well as on the speech team. Most of his current comedic material is inspired by his adolescent experiences.
"A lot of my material comes [from] my childhood growing up in a very conservative, small town in Illinois," he said. "There were several hypocrisies that I found humorous and I talk about them on stage. There are a number of things that I love about my hometown, but that doesn't mean there weren't a few ridiculous things or people that were just begging to be made fun of."
It is this personal connection to his material that appeals to fans like Lentz.
"Todd's jokes have a kind of redneck perspective," Lentz said. "I really like the redneck, small-town spin on things, and I think no matter how much anyone in Muncie wants to deny it, we can all relate to that."
Schumacher is quick to note that there is a distinct difference between what would be funny to friends and peers and what would be funny to strangers. Schumacher tries to appeal to the masses.
"It's always hard to judge what a certain audience will like," he said. "I struggle with doing shows for middle aged folks because we don't have much in common. Also, I have to decide whether the majority of the crowd is politically conservative or liberal. For one, I'll make fun of Obama, and for the other, I'll joke about Glenn Beck."
Schumacher is never as worried about the audience's reaction as he is about running out of time to tell jokes. However, if he ever gives a less-than-great performance on stage, he always has a way to pull his act back together.
"If a joke I tell doesn't land well, I don't dwell on it. I especially try not to comment on how no one laughed, that just makes it awkward. The best thing to do is to just move on and tell a better joke. Later, I look back and ask myself why it didn't work. If it's an easy fix, I try it another time but if it's not worth it, I just throw it away."
Fortunately, Schumacher finds more material than he throws away.
"When I go through my day, I keep my eyes peeled for anything that might be funny," he said. "I find that everyday conversations lead to a lot of material for me. I'll be having a normal discussion about some random topic, and then I'll say something funny and not even mean to."
Schumacher remains refreshingly modest about his keen ear for comedy.
"Without seeming too pretentious, I write down what I say during conversations on my note cards," he said. "That being said, I don't want to be the comedian that is trying to be funny at all times and can't go through a conversation without trying to come up with material."
Schumacher chooses to wait and unleash the full force of his comic spirit at Be Here Now.
"Be Here Now is definitely one my favorite places to do comedy because it's such a chill environment," he said. "Also, for the most part, it has a lot of the same comedians performing every Wednesday and we are friends. We have each other's back and try to help when we can."
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