Geoff Schoenberg

By Dane Secor

The first thing you notice when you walk into Geoff Schoenberg’s living room is the rich smell of leather and a stack of polished rifles leaning against his couch. When you take a closer look, you might wonder why you notice gun belts, holsters and six-shooters.

Geoff spends his summers robbing banks.

Since he was 12 years old, Geoff has been working at Frontier Town, a Western theme park in Ocean City, Md.

While some weeks he might be enforcing the law, he said, his occupation in the Old West can vary. He still has his favorite role, though.

“I like being the outlaw because you get to be goofy,” Geoff said. “You get to interact in a more entertaining way.”

Geoff said his father helped spark his interest in the shows.

“I went to this place a lot as a kid,” he said. “When we were going like 15 times a summer, I decided I wanted to work there.”

Geoff worked his way up from helping out with paddle boats to bank hold-ups, shootouts, Can-Can acts and showdowns at the O.K. Corral.

“I like interacting with the audience,” he said. “I like making people laugh.”

The senior English major said he would like to be a screenwriter one day, and participating in the shows has helped his writing.

“I’m always looking to spark an emotion when I write, or get that laugh,” Geoff said. “The performance acting really helps that.”

Geoff’s occupation with the Wild West isn’t limited to acting in shows. He also spends time doing complicated leather work, which his father also introduced to him, he said. He makes the leather he wears during the show, which includes holsters and decorated belts.
Geoff said his work as a gunslinger could have an impact on his career choice.

“I think it might,” he said. “You never know where life’s going to take you.”