I Hate Hecklers!

May 3, 2008
858
0
I was performing Pressure to my English teacher this previous week and right before the phone went in the balloon, one of the most annoying girls ever needed her minute of attention for the day and decided to run up under the balloon to an exposed angle right as I performed the trick. Now this wouldn't mind me too much if she just said something along the lines of "Ohhhhh. So that's how it's done" however she actually had to tell the entire class how the trick is done. This is a perfect example of how when a spectator learn how to do a trick it ruins the magic because the teacher went from "How did you do that. That's awesome!" to "Oh.............Well that's just cheating."

So my question is:

What type of thing can you do or say if someone does something like this and tries to guess the trick and gets it right.
 
I was performing Pressure to my English teacher this previous week and right before the phone went in the balloon, one of the most annoying girls ever needed her minute of attention for the day and decided to run up under the balloon to an exposed angle right as I performed the trick. Now this wouldn't mind me too much if she just said something along the lines of "Ohhhhh. So that's how it's done" however she actually had to tell the entire class how the trick is done. This is a perfect example of how when a spectator learn how to do a trick it ruins the magic because the teacher went from "How did you do that. That's awesome!" to "Oh.............Well that's just cheating."

So my question is:

What type of thing can you do or say if someone does something like this and tries to guess the trick and gets it right.

You need to control your audience better. You'll learn to spot potential problems and learn how to not put yourself in compromising situations. That just comes with trial and error. If you absolutely NEED to use a heckler line one of my favorites is "You know, I've read the script and you don't have any speaking parts."
 
May 3, 2008
1,146
4
Hong Kong
There are countless countless threads on hecklers.
SERIOUSLY TRY THE SEARCH TOOL FOR ONCE!
Im not gonna input in here, but I am not one of those "you need to handle them with care and be nice" magicians. I say "they piss you off, piss them off. They deserve it"
If I were you, when she ran behind you, take the balloon and do one of 2 things
1. Smack her with it and tell her to go back.
2. Let the air out and the raspberry noise in her face and tell her to go back.
3. This is the "nice" method. Keep moving back. If she keeps following you, then ask her what she is doing. If she tells you, then tell her you wont do it until she moves.

And finally,
why did you let her look from behind, thats just bad audience control. Although it cant be helped if you surrounded, but it doesnt seem that way at the moment. You shouldnt let people figure it out. Spread the effect interms of amazement, not method.
 
Jun 10, 2008
1,277
0
You little stalker!
You need better audience management.

Should a spectator try to explain a trick the best thing to do is ignore them. The main reason they do is because they're attention hogs and they want people to know that they were the one smart enough to figure your tricks out. Now what i usually do, if ignoring them doesn't work, is to simply disagree with them. Even if they are correct about the method, just say "No, that's not how i do it". At that point, most of them will shut up, cuz they lost the battle. But some really stubborn ones will keep going and ask me to prove that i'm not cheating. In which case i'll say something like "I'm sorry but since some members of the audience insist on being a b*tch, i'll end my show here. Thank you all for your time" Then the other spectators will get mad at the heckler and they will take care of the heckler themselves.
 
Jan 1, 2009
2,241
3
Back in Time
Sounds like more like you needed to cover your angles and tell her to sit or go over "there" to get a better view. If she kept trying to look at the wrong area, just move your body around or perform it while walking away from her.
 
If I were you, when she ran behind you, take the balloon and do one of 2 things
1. Smack her with it and tell her to go back.
2. Let the air out and the raspberry noise in her face and tell her to go back.
3. This is the "nice" method. Keep moving back. If she keeps following you, then ask her what she is doing. If she tells you, then tell her you wont do it until she moves.

For the first two, it really depends on the personally of the magician. Only rarely can someone even do that, and the audience would see this as a comedic effect. Most of the time, it would simply turn them off, and would ruin your performance entirely.

Anyways, along with audience management, I think even before you perform, you should observe your surroundings, and use them to your advantage, like moving subtly to where most angles are eliminated or controlled.
 
May 3, 2008
1,146
4
Hong Kong
For the first two, it really depends on the personally of the magician. Only rarely can someone even do that, and the audience would see this as a comedic effect. Most of the time, it would simply turn them off, and would ruin your performance entirely.

Anyways, along with audience management, I think even before you perform, you should observe your surroundings, and use them to your advantage, like moving subtly to where most angles are eliminated or controlled.

haha
yea
i get what you mean.
Im the only magician I know who handles hecklers like that.
I dont see the point of peace and stuff. Ah well, works well for me. Havent gotten killed yet.
I think the problem here was that he didnt handle his audience well. Im pretty sure the girl would have just listened if he told her to move.
 
Sep 15, 2007
1,127
0
30
www.myspace.com
It Just takes an "eye" to spot "Trouble Makers" that will ruin your show. I can almost automatically tell when I greet someone on how they are going to act so I can switch My Act Around... It is just something that comes with experience, good luck is all I can tell you until you can just tell.
 
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