Catching a freshly shot paintball in his teeth may be an easy task for magician Justin Kredible, but when he comes to State College, he will attempt any entertainer's most difficult trick: keeping an audience captivated.

As daunting as that may sound, Kredible -- whose real name is Justin Willman -- said he always enjoys performing for college students.

"If I'm having a bad day, being on stage can totally turn it around," he said. "I just love that moment when I step out in front of an audience."

Willman's next feat will be his performance at 8:30 tonight in the Paul Robeson Cultural Center's Heritage Hall.

"Magic is innately interesting to people," said Nathan Kepner (senior-secondary education), president of Penn State's Performing Magicians club. "There are these rules that we see the world operate by, and it's weird to see those rules bend."

As a magician himself, Kepner said it is nice to be able to see diversity in the types of entertainment brought to campus.

Claire DiGiacomo, entertainment chairwoman for the Student Programming Association (SPA), said SPA is trying to bring something different to campus by hosting Willman.

"Not only is he an illusionist, but he also has a nice comedic aspect to his show," she said.

Willman is no stranger to doing shows at college campuses. He's been performing at them since he was in college, and he admits that the college audience is still his favorite.

"It's been a really great niche for me," he said. "I used to do shows for kids and I loved it, but the show that I would love to see myself is one that I do for a college. I don't have to censor myself."

Willman graduated from Emerson College in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism. He's been doing magic since he was a kid, but as he puts it, you can't major in magic.

But broadcast journalism was still a good choice as a major, even if it wasn't his first, Willman said.

"It teaches you how to be in front of a camera," he said. "And I like being informed and knowing what's going on in the world, so it seemed like a good choice."

While some magicians try to cultivate mystique in the eyes of their viewers, one of the trademarks of Willman's shows is his own self-deprecating humor.

Willman said the humorous nature of his show is an extension of his personality -- he's always cracking jokes in real life.

Performances are much easier when they have a comedic slant, he said.

"Magic is one of those things -- it's, like, inherently geeky," he said. "If you go into it with that attitude, it makes the whole thing easier to swallow, and if you take yourself too seriously you just kind of open yourself up to ridicule.