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May I suggest The Disappearing Pencil Trick as the solution to all your troubles. It works a treat and I guarantee they will never heckle you again...

The Disappearing Pencil Trick

You normally drink during performances?

Not in an alcohlic sense no!!! But may have one or two brought for me, for the dutch courage lol........

The Disappearing Pencil Trick

LOLOLOL

This is going to happen now and again, learn what you can from it and let it go.

Once I was at a Comedy club to watch David Acer. There was one guy in the crowd who heckled everyone who got on that stage. Finally it was Davids turn. Before he even started he got the guy on the stage and handed him $20.00 and told the spectator that he was very sorry that he wasn't enjoying the show and here is your cover charge back plus a little bit for your time please have a safe trip home. The guy left the stage and didn't say anything else the entire night.

I'm not suggesting that is the way to go, and in your case there was no cover charge, my point is that there are lots of ways to deal with these things and they are going to creep up, live learn, let it go.

say something along the lines of

"please don't heckle me - my psychiatrist says that it's not good for my mood swings and besides, I know where you live"

Contextually, this is not quite the same, but it similar.

I have a friend who can't stand not knowing how a trick is done and when he finds out, he'll tell everyone else. He does it to appear clever. It's really annoying.

I have, in the past, tried giving him a pack of cards and challenged him to do something. This didn't work because he wasn't trying to say he as better, he was just bringing down what I was doing.

I have also tried making it how round in the bar, but they serve too quickly sometimes.

Now, I just don't perform in front of him. I also engage him in conversations about performing magic himself. He gets bored and wanders off.

If our heckler has nothing to heckle, then maybe she'll just go.

Take a break. Chill. Come back later.

I think Its even worse when someone follows you around and tells everyone what happens next!

I think hecklers are a blessing in disguise. They keep you on your toes and make you a better magician. Audience interest will be at it's height when you get a heckler. They will want to see how you handle it. If you do handle it well then your performance will actually be enhanced even more so than if there were no heckler there.

If handled properly hecklers can become your biggest boosters.

NEVER be antagonistic or show annoyance with a heckler. If you do then he has won. Endeavour to get him on your side. I do not favour the Darwin Ortiz approach of ignoring the fellow and as a last resort saying "this is what happens when cousins marry"
Crude.

It is far better to jolly him along a bit, humour him and yes even let him bully you a little. A lot of so called heckling isn't heckling anyway -it is interaction.

There are all sorts of little remarks you can use to quell a heckler without offending him or the audience. Tongue in cheek things. Humour him, laugh with him and try to turn things to your advantage. If he says "I know how it's done!" then you furrow your brow, look puzzled and say "that's strange - I know how it's done too!"

If he then tells everyone the secret and he is right you deflate him by saying "what do you want,--magic?" It gets a big laugh. If his interference makes you mess the trick up you excuse yourself by announcing "Oh, my magic never works on a Friday (or whatever day it happens to be)"

Probably the best protection against the heckler is your own competence. After all if you do your stuff well there is less opportunity for the pest to be a pest in the first place. If it is obvious that there is a master at work this will in itself tend to dissuade the heckler from acting up. Conversely if you are ill at ease and awkward you will attract the heckler.

Your attitude is all important; if you are humble when you work this will tend to be in your favour and you will experience less heckling. Conversely if you are arrogant and superior when you work as many, many performers are you will attract confrontation like a magnet and well will you deserve it.

My own personal trump card if a heckler bothers me is as a last resort a sucker trick. Hecklers always take the bait and land themselves right in it. When the audience laugh their heads off at them they will feel humbled and realised you have conned them. However you must do this with a twinkle in the eye and a smile so that although they realise that they have been had they don't take offence at it.

I have always said that magicians should spend more time learning to manipulate people than they do manipulating cards. Far more valuable.

I have written extensively about hecklers in my "Wit and Wisdom" e-book but more from a stand up act situation. However I have also written quite a bit about my theory of "defensive resentment". This has a bearing on hecklers to some degree. It is ESSENTIAL to remove the resentment that every spectator feels towards a magician.

This resentment is present to a greater or lesser degree. With some people it manifests itself by heckling and with others it doesn't show although it is there on a subconcious level.

I can tell from reading between the lines that this may be an area our "broken man" needs to work on. Your mission is not to outwit the heckler but to get him or her on your side. Not an easy thing to do but worth it in the end if you can develop this skill.

Work on it.

personally i like to get them onside by using them as an instant stooge in some simple card revelation. this usually makes them happy.

if that doesnt work then may i recommend using three tools probably already in your arsenal in a novel manner, rolls of tape, magician's rope and an electric touch. a more mafioso approach to "dissapearing" someone.

CutToTheAce wrote:if that doesnt work then may i recommend using three tools probably already in your arsenal in a novel manner, rolls of tape, magician's rope and an electric touch. a more mafioso approach to "dissapearing" someone.

Probably the best protection against the heckler is your own competence.

Comments like this make me almost buy your e-book Mark, others do quite the opposite

I don't give a stuff if you buy my e-book or not. You need my education more than I need your $15.

It is a wise man who ignores the quirks of the teacher if he wishes to learn. And 17 year olds have a lot to learn.

mark lewis wrote:I don't give a stuff if you buy my e-book or not. You need my education more than I need your $15.

It is a wise man who ignores the quirks of the teacher if he wishes to learn. And 17 year olds have a lot to learn.

You may have the wit and wisdom in the magic world, but obviously not in marketing! This winding up Mark is proving to be more fun that I could have ever imagined.

I already have The Long and Short of It, recommended personally by Martin and IM, and I would be lying to say it was anything by brilliant.
However Mark I have never said a bad word about your ability etc so this defensive attitude is really not needed.

You were offensive so I was defensive. Now do be a good boy and behave yourself.

I don't know who Martin or IM is but I do think they show good judgement.

Now stop causing so much trouble and get your money out.

Now do be a good boy and behave yourself.

Saying things like that, you may need to be the one that needs to grow up Mark.