talkmagic.co.uk

... to replace the other thread that went ever-so slightly off-colour... because I think audience management is a great topic.

I actually love hecklers - doing the rounds in comedy clubs and even some corporate gigs, you're always likely to get a few punters who want to join in. Personally, I've always got a few put downs in the locker in case of emergency in case things get out of hand, so I can just reel them out one after the other! But, to be fair, this only usually happens in late night comedy clubs - otherwise you're far better just dealing with them with something innocuous like a few of the old faves:

"That's OK, I remember the first time I tried beer"

"I refuse to get into a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent! "

"If I had a lower IQ, I'd be enjoying this conversation"

If things start to get worse, I'll usually start with

"Save your breath, you'll need it to blow up your girlfriend later."

and then wheel the big guns out!

As I say, tried and tested... but they usually do the job.


Sean

Sorry for ruining the last thread guys, hope you can forgive me

"If I had a lower IQ, I'd be enjoying this conversation"

I'm using this one

I don't get too many, I like to think it's cos I'm a really nice guy :p

but honestly, sometimes I see people and they're making jokes at the crowd and taking the p*ss, it's asking for hecklers!

Usually if anyone does start, I just ignore or make no big deal of it, that way eventually somebody else will tell them to shut it, lol.

If anything gets particularly persistant, I'll try and involve the person in an effect, if they're impressed they seem to give it a rest afterwards

I have a question for those who work in various venues.

Do you find that you have less hecklers in a paying show where they have spent their own money, compared to a flat fee job paid by the venue ?

hit the nail right on the head there fairy.

my general retort to the spoil everybodys day type of heckler is usualy "hey I get paid to be this bad, whats youre excuse".

with the rest I don't patronise or be-little them I just say "I've only just learnt this off of u-tube, give me a break".

so, at the risk of restarting yet another war of words, I repeat

Whats the best heckel you've all had?

My favourite quote on spectator hadnling was from DB about pickpocketing.

and there is nothing, nothing like taking abuse from an arrogant, insulting spectator
who resents the shift of focus from himself to you... and knowing that when he has finished you
have his wallet and watch to calmly and politely return. That is beautiful, natural dramatic resolution which has a message of “Don’t mess with me.”

And so I put this advice to use, Well I don't suppose it was really a heckle, but It was a difficult spec. He was being a right pain trying to mess up all my tricks and then I was doing the classic relocation of a card when he threw my cards on the floor. Luckily I had the card palmed at that point for part of the effect and ealirer on I had taken what I could from his outside pockets as my finale for dealing with this irritant. Unfortunatley all I had was some keys and his buspass. Anyway, using the misdirection he had afforded me I managed to slip his card into his buspass and during the process of... 'debating' about him throwing my cards on the floor, returned the buspass- the anger providing the most convenient cover for close contact. I ineligantly chased after my cards and reassembled the pack (it was inside thank god). I purposefully positioned him where it was clear I was nowhere near him and told him he would find his card- he was the challenging type and I bet him a fiver he would be able to find it himself without me doing any funny buisness. I placed the deck on the nearby table and said: name any number between 1-52 your card will be at that number. He dealt them and I paused for tension. This was just tention building and placing as much distance as I could between me being near him and the card being found in his pocket. When I failed and had my dignity stripped and the embaressment and dejection of having to pick my cards from the floor and then outright failing I hit them with his card appearing inside his pocket. He had found his card himself and owed me a fiver. I live to perform magic like this. [/quote]

devilstick Peat wrote:Whats the best heckel you've all had?

I was doing a late night spot a few years ago and a guy (who was really nice as it turned out later!) let out the most enormous yawn that I spotted as I was doing something so I said:

"I'm sorry, am I boring you?"

His reply?

"Not yet, but you've only been on 5 minutes"

That was the best heckle I ever had


Sean

FairieSnuff wrote:I have a question for those who work in various venues.

Do you find that you have less hecklers in a paying show where they have spent their own money, compared to a flat fee job paid by the venue ?

Not really - it just depends on the type of venue, I guess. If you're at a comedy club, chance are the punters will have paid their own money but you're still as likely to be heckled

devilstick Peat wrote:so, at the risk of restarting yet another war of words, I repeat

Whats the best heckel you've all had?

I was performing a double act and a teenger aproached whilst pointing to me and said...

"Your OK but your mates not"

Kind of a heckle but very funny at the time.