talkmagic.co.uk

Hi Cal

I used to encounter the same problem when I started out doing card effects. I don't get it now for a variety of reasons, but one tip I would like to share is:

Start out by asking the spectator questions, such as:

"Do you play cards much?"

"Would you consider yourself to be an intuative person?"

"How are you with visualisation... holding pictures in your mind, that sort of thing?"

Or whatever.

When you ask a question, their mind will reflexively go in search of an answer, which will pull their thinking away from thinking their own thoughts and being difficult. Pick questions that are relevent to your presentation!

As you are asking the question, begin spreading the cards (or whatever you do to begin the effect), and then give them their first instruction. (which might be "just grab one out", "remember this card" "say stop at some point" or even just "watch closely").

There is another little bit of business which can be useful - give the spectator a few simple instructions before beginning (like, "stand over here, take a deep breath and just clear your mind"). How they follow these instructions will tell you a lot about whether they are likely to be complient or difficult. It is easy to build this into a presentation, and it has the bonus effect of setting up a little psychological misdirection (you must have been doing it for some reason, right?).

Anyhows, thats my tuppence worth.

James

The heckler, the smart alec, the annoying loud one.....unfortunately these are part and parcel of what we do. I have several methods for these guys and most of them are probably on here but here goes.

The smart alec: I merely believe in my ability to not be spotted doing my best stuff and let the table know that i want them to scrutinise me. I don't play the Hero or magic man but merely revert to a human who is there to entertain and amaze. i tell them that being curious and wanting to know the method are the exact traits that got me in to this in the first place. i tell them how i cried with frustration when my dad did magic i couldn't work out (which is true). It brings me into the group rather than a "them versus me" situation. I then proceed to be very clean and fair with all my moves and as i continue through the routine. it's like i am recreating the scene from my childhood his curiosity becomes my routine. Maybe even encouraging them to take up the fine art and ease their pain.

The "That's not magic, magic doesn't exist" line; I simply agree with them and then let them know gentley that Santa is also not real but still makes people smile. I just tell them that I am merely someone who has put 18 years of practise into this ten minutes you are about to see. "enjoy it for what it is" I know some people would say that this destroys the illusion of magic, to them i would say grow up and enter the real world, lol.

The heckler; This is someone hell bent on desrtoying your show and upstaging you, they have no interest in what you do. I usually engage in some friendly banter as my personality allows for that to happen in a non confrontational way, if it gets me nowhere i merely apologise to the rest of the group stating that it is not a rule in life to enjoy magic and that this person has made their choice. I politely leave their company and proceed to do an amazing and essentially envy enducing performance at the next table. The table will either ask you to return which i will do with no hatred in my heart or they will not, either way I'm a happy boy.

As for the loud one, focus on him for a couple of strong effects early on and make him or her your buddy for the evening without patronising or making it too obvious what you are doing. You can't fight that force of nature so go with it is my advice.

Hope this helps

Richard Bellars

Thanks for all your advice guys, it really helps.

I just spent the past handful of days with distant relatives for a wedding, and when I say distant I mean I barely knew who I was related to and who I wasn't. Point being: they may as well have been strangers to most of them.

I was asked to do a few tricks during the reception and gladly complide, and found this: firstly my family aren't hecklers, were pesemistic about magic, but genuinely curious. I didn't get heckled, but to 'prevent rather than cure' any potential hecklers I did (as bellars just suggested) target some stronger effects at them. Asked them to give me a number if I was counting cards, or replace a card in a deck so they found it harder to poke holes in what I was doing. It payed off, and everyone remained entertained and contented, which I was thrilled about for my first performances of more than 4 people at a time.

NEVER made the mistake of handing the deck to them, though. Always stuck to more trustworthy looking audience members to participate to that degree.

(sorry if that went a bit off topic, I am just excited.)

Cheers, Cal

Glad the forum does what it says on the tin and provided you with what you needed, good luck sir.

"Oh, come on now, Sir! To you - that's a heckle. But to me, it's abuse in the workplace."

Interesting subject...

I NEVER do magic for friends and family. I play a character for my act and presentations so this would not work for them. In the character that I do play I have rarely been troubled by hecklers - they are too scared to try!

Anyway, my butler (for the Haunted House Nights - not the one at Castle Black Hart), Gordon Astley (you can hear him on BBC Radio) had a great line he used at our corporate gigs. Following some untimely intervention by a female member of the audience, he would look directly at her, pause for a second then announce loudly, "Madame, you just missed a golden opportunity to keep your mouth shut!" This was always followed by the rest of the audience laughing at the heckler.

Most people at these gigs want to listen and be entertained and they find people who interrupt and heckle rather annoying and are glad to have them put down (as in made quiet not as in euthanasia).

Keith Hart

black hart wrote:......glad to have them put down (as in made quiet not as in euthanasia).Keith Hart

Sadly sometimes option number two here would seem appropriate though!

I'd use the word 'mandatory' rather than 'appropriate' !

Hecklers, I'm almost overjoyed to say, are no longer much of a problem for me. When I encounter a heckler, I analyze them as I perform... analyze what they are thinking, anticipating their next move, basically analyzing their specific psychological motives. Because of this, I can avoid them, for the most part.

A comedian friend of mine once gave me a nice piece of advice when it came to hecklers.

When someone shouts something out at you, don't say the first thing that comes into your head, as that's the first thing that comes into the audiences heads too. Say the second thing, it'll almost always be more original, more intelligent, and funnier.

I kinda like Ricky Jay's card throwing demo, where a minute in he says that it serves as a good warning to would-be hecklers...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=k1ZGIN0UqJE

black hart wrote:Most people at these gigs want to listen and be entertained and they find people who interrupt and heckle rather annoying and are glad to have them put down (as in made quiet not as in euthanasia).

I think that this is a very important point. Unless you have managed to alienate an audience (in which case you're knackered, heckler or no), the spectators will be on your side when someone tries to sabotage you. They want to be entertained, after all, and may well have paid to be.

When you have the stage you have quite a bit of control/power, even though you might feel completely vulnerable. Whether you choose to humiliate the hackler or try to re-engage him/her depends on your style. I'd go for the latter, but a comedy act might be better off cutting them down with acid wit.

Michael Kras wrote:Hecklers, I'm almost overjoyed to say, are no longer much of a problem for me. When I encounter a heckler, I analyze them as I perform... analyze what they are thinking, anticipating their next move, basically analyzing their specific psychological motives. Because of this, I can avoid them, for the most part.

Why is a "specific psychological motive" different from a plain ol' regular motive Mr. Kras? Honestly, you do talk cr@p sometimes, God bless you...

Oh, let him talk cr@p if he wants to. He is young after all. I well remember that when Jay Sankey was young he would write these learned articles that sounded terribly intellectual but when you read them you realised he was talking a load of tosh. I remember decades ago reading some daft stuff that Jay was saying about it being essential not to be entertaining under any circumstances. I forget his reasoning but it sounded very convincing.

I well remember Roy Walton showing me two articles side by side in some magic magazine. On one side of the page Jay was talking nonsense and on the other side of the page there was someone arguing the other side and debunking Jay. However the trouble was that the debunker was talking just as much nonsense as Jay was.

Poor Roy Walton was looking aghast at the two articles and being a very intelligent man knew he was reading rubbish on sides of the page. He couldn't believe the magazine was printing such rot.

However this was decades ago and I bet Jay has forgotten every word he wrote. And so will young Michael so let him talk tosh if he wants to.

Incidentally I have heard word that he is on his way to the secret sanctum that I mentioned before. There is a lot of bad language and profanity there that I do not approve of. I hope the poor child is not traumatized too much by it.

Farlsborough wrote:

Michael Kras wrote:Hecklers, I'm almost overjoyed to say, are no longer much of a problem for me. When I encounter a heckler, I analyze them as I perform... analyze what they are thinking, anticipating their next move, basically analyzing their specific psychological motives. Because of this, I can avoid them, for the most part.

Why is a "specific psychological motive" different from a plain ol' regular motive Mr. Kras? Honestly, you do talk cr@p sometimes, God bless you...

I was a bit over-descriptive, I apologize. In saying that, I meant "anticipating what they are thinking about as their next move in trying to 'catch me out', and acting on it to continue the 'flow' unbusted."