September 08 :: Heckler's

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Jun 9, 2008
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God I hate heckelers...

1. Yes many times!
2. When I was early in magic I had a bad habit of performing tricks way before I perfected them. I always got i just saw what you did or you just did... so I'm used to that. Every once in awhile you get the real a**holes who just wont let up. Call you names! Or whom I refer to as "Ike" (stands for I Know Everything)
3. I think a lot of it has to do with society when it comes to people trying to figure something out. We are taught when we are young that it's bad to be wrong or not understand something (i.e.- bad grades on a test in school) We have to remember what or job is. We are in the business of changing someones reality. Sometimes when you do that people react very strange. Laugh, cry, get scared. When it comes to Ike he just doesn't like to be made a fool of or needs the attention. He has some self confidence issue.
4. Dealing with the heckler that saw something is easy. Usually a quick shh and a wink are good enough. Like its our little secret. Now on to Ike. I usually walk away. I've learned that confronting him only fuels the fire. I have verbally beat down a few but have never felt good about it. Neither has the rest of the audience. Every now and again I'll stop the performance and say something to the effect of "listen I understand if you don't want to watch but we're trying to have a good time here. Otherwise it'll be tomorrow afternoon before I finish this card trick." Let him know that he's not being fun and make a joke about it and he sometimes calms down.
 

Michael Kras

{dg} poet laureate / theory11
Sep 12, 2007
1,268
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www.magicanada.myfastforum.org
Hang on, the police got involved in a little fight between elementary kids? I understand that you were quite within your rights to be upset, but what the heck did the police do? That just seems like something the 84 year old teacher should be dealing with, not the police force...

Oh, well, maybe I am misunderstanding the situation...I hope so...

-PTG


You misunderstand me. I just mean, my friend who is also a police officer got involved in the situation and scared the kid senseless.
 
Sep 15, 2008
52
0
Read the #1 reply for hecklers thread I posted in the card magic forum. You guys all will definately want to use it.
 
I got into a fight with a heckler for making some VERY innappriate comment to my then girlfriend. The only thing I love as much as magic is martial arts. I used everthing I knew on the guy and I regret it all now. I simply tell the whole crowd, or 2 people if I'm not that popular, that I'm like a musican, I'm gonna mess up every once in a while, You don't shout at them when they miss a chord or muffle a note, so why ruin the magic for everyone when I'm not really magical, I'm an entertainer, and Thats all I claim to be. Nothing more. That usually gets them to stop. If not, I'll bring them up and make them the star of the show. D+M has a trick called role play that works really nicely. Just don't hit them or break their wrist, the police don't like that very much.
 
This months topic is on something that each and every one of us will experience sooner or later: being heckled. I have a couple of interesting stories and my own personal solution to being heckled, but before I share those with you - I have a couple of questions:

1) Have you every been heckled during a performance?

2) If so, how did you handle it?

3) Why do you think people heckle performers?

4) What are some possible solutions to dealing with a heckler?

I'll talk to you soon!

Wayne

I just recently came across this section of the forums and found it to be an interesting place to talk shop. The topic of hecklers has always been a colorful point of discussion, and I've a few experiences to share. Just to cover all bases, I'll touch upon the best of times as well as worst of times I've dealt with hecklers in the past. For background purposes, I've been in magic for roughly 15 years now, and I work as a close-up magician pretty regularly.

1. Have you ever been heckled during a performance?
Of course. It comes with the territory of being the center of attention. It's natural for people to compete for the spotlight during festivities where friends are enjoying themselves and interacting with different personalities. It's also a good measure of where a performer truly is in his social capabilities in performing. As mentioned, I'll compare a time I was heckled when I first starting out in magic versus a time I was heckled more recently as a polished, rehearsed performer.

2. If so, how did you handle it?
a.) When I was 13, I was doing some card tricks for a small group at a family get-together. The routine I'd developed was going smoothly, and it got to the point where everyone expressed some curiosity in my ability. I became the life of the party with an audience of toddlers, teenagers, and adults watching my stuff.

Coincidentally, one of the other kids had an interest in magic too and was more experienced than I was at the time. He kept showing off as much as he could, laughing at me and openly trying to steal the show. He demanded that I let him touch and shuffle the cards I was using. Being frustrated and immature, I threw the deck at him. Everyone gasped, and an instant fight broke out. Needless to say, the morale of the party plummeted and I was locked in the spare bedroom of the house as a punishment.

b.) My proudest moment occurred during my first paid gig as a 17-year-old. I was hired to perform during cocktail hour of a New Year's Party. It was an older audience. While I was doing walkaround, someone joked about my age and lack of credibility. He kept following me around the venue watching all my performances giving his own commentary. He kept saying his kid was getting into magic and comparing our skill levels in front of other guests, essentially degrading the quality of work I was doing. I handled the situation by stopping an effect in mid-sentence, dropping the cards to my side, and blankly staring him in the face for a long while. The moment was so tense and awkward, that everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter over it, including the heckler. He immediately understood how rude he was being. He patted me on the back and whispered, "You're doing awesome," and slipped me a ten dollar bill in private. The rest of the night went off without a hitch.

3. Why do you think people heckle performers?
I think it's natural. I already explained my reasons above.

4. What are some possible solutions to dealing with a heckler?
I think the best way to deal with a heckler is to learn how to win over the majority of an audience to fight those battles for you. There have been numerous occasions where an audience was having so much fun that they didn't care for any distractions and immediately stopped them as they arose. With that said, a performer's job is to bring people together and not establish any divisions within a crowd. I recommend performing a few effects which potentially make the heckler look good among his peers, so he can enjoy the spotlight for a moment. It's important to maintain control over a performance, but you should also strive to remain flexible with the personalities you'll be faced with.

Hope this helps,

RS.
 
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