by Barbara Kopshina, Penn State Dubois Library

Ever wonder what it would be like to eat fire or lay on a bed of nails? If you are curious, just ask Michael Kattner of Penn State Hazleton. During his spare time, Michael performs such feats under the stage name “Professor Fountain.” First, he became involved with magic though the ‘Allied Arts’ such as escape artists, which led to him attending the Sideshow School training program at Coney Island. On Michael’s first day, he learned how to eat fire! During this training, Michael had the opportunity to work with Todd Robbins, an American magician, actor and author who is known for his off-Broadway shows, “Monday Night Magic” and “Play Dead”.

Michael then attended Oddity U, an intensive sideshow training program, which bills itself as “the Harvard of Sideshow Schools.” There he studied under Harley Newman. Oddity U gives people a chance to learn about modern-day, sideshow performances including human blockhead, walking barefoot on broken glass and having concrete blocks smashed onto you while on a bed of nails! Now moving more into the world of magic, Michael is currently serving as president of Ring 30 (Wilkes-Barre, Pa) of The International Brotherhood of Magicians, the world’s largest organization dedicated to the magical arts. Their mission is to offer opportunities for fellow magicians to network and hone their magic skills.

Through magic and stunts, Michael strives to inspire others to overcome challenges and accomplish their dreams. To this end, he also advocates for creativity and learning. One way Michael promotes learning is through his role as a regional coordinator of National History Day (www.nhd.org). This is a year-long program and competition for students in grades 6-12. Students create exhibits, websites, documentaries, performances, or research papers relating to an annual theme. Through this competition, these students learn valuable literacy skills and the importance of libraries and primary sources. Michael also feels strongly about promoting creativity. This summer, he presented a workshop for Northeast Chapter of PaLA (Pennsylvania Library Association) titled “Creativity: Its Work, Not Lighting” and received a University Libraries Microgrant for a workshop “Storytelling Skills for More Effective Communication” in Fall 2013.

Michael has worked at the Penn State Hazleton Campus Library for 19 years. He currently works as an information resources and services support specialist. In August 2014, he completed the Master of Library and Information Science program through the University of Pittsburgh. His plans are to continue to inspire others through his work, both as Michael Kattner, librarian AND Professor Fountain, magician.