How to Handle a Heckler
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ก.ย. 2024
- Hecklers are what make stand up unique, and also terrifying. In this video, we cover some basic strats to silence, befriend or out-wit a heckler, without resorting to murder.
For educational purposes only. You can donate or support the channel at:
www.patreon.com/comedywithouterrors
Andrew Conway Document - www.juggling.or...
Patton Oswalt, 'A Closed Letter to Myself About Heckling Thievery and Rape Jokes - genius.com/Pat...
Jerry Seinfeld, Heckle Therapist - wagingnonviole...
"The best swordsman in the world doesn't need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before"
Great video! One of the best comebacks I ever heard was, "Excuse me sir - what do you do for a living? Yeah, well I don't go to your office and shit on your desk, do I?" How about, "Ok - ladies and gentlemen - please raise your hands - how many in here paid your twenty bucks to listen to this asshole?" Actually, it was Kevin Nealon who did this in a much nicer fashion - something along the lines of, "Sir, 125 people paid their good money to come see this show, please don't deprive them of it." As a former teacher, I found one of the best ways to stop a disruptive student was to simply continue with my lesson, but walk over and stand next to him or her.
I once saw Jim Jefferies live in Glasgow, on the evening of a UK general election. He very briefly touched on the topic, went to move on but someone in the crowd shouted out "Scoootland!" What followed was five full minutes of Jim berating the heckler by inventing a life story for him where the guy's constantly interrupting everyone around him, and concludes with him on his deathbed dying of cancer, he's lying there with his family, and says he has one big regret in his life. His family asks him "...was it the "Scoootland" thing at that show?" "....Yes." Then he dies. It was incredible to witness. Perfect example of the technique of giving the heckler far more attention than they wanted
Every time you post a video I'm hyped. They're consistently fantastic.
Yep. :)
Got Heckled tonight. This was really helpful. Thanks!
i heckled you that night, very helpful for me too!
One of my favourite approaches I've ever seen was Tom Wrigglesworth at the Comedy Store in Manchester. Someone heckled but fluffed one word and Tom turned it into an entire routine about how this guy had been rehearsing the heckle all day, practising in the mirror, getting ready for his big moment and then messed it up. He was totally sincere and heartfelt towards the guy, as if he was rooting for him to do well and not screw up his one chance. The fact that it was some generic "you're sh*t" heckle made it all the better. It was brilliant and kind and funny and completely shut down anyone else from heckling, which is no small feat considering that the Manchester Store on a weekend can be a bit lively (as that clip of Jim Jeffries getting punched can attest to). It's always stuck with me as such a great way to deal with the situation.
Really enjoy all your videos and it's always a treat when a new one drops.
Stewart Lee's technique is a brilliant one for a comedian who has a difficult, nuanced act to get through (while at the same time having to maintain the image of a more popular entertainer who's let themselves go, of course)
I feel like the advice not given here (maybe implied?) is stay in character. Stewart Lee reacts like Stewart Lee. Dropping your persona would be terrible- unless you're suddenly switching for comedic effect, like Steven Wright suddenly screaming at someone.
@@mankytoes
Easy for Stewart Lee. Lol. Part of his stage persona is contempt for the audience, so when the audience act contemptuous, all he has to do is lean into "Stewart Lee".
I'm always amazed at the fact that I'm absolutely gripped throughout the entirety of every single vid that you post. Thanks for uploading and keep up the great work!
Insightful, compelling and beautifully balanced - that was the fastest 35min TH-cam vid I've ever watched! Great work sir
Incredible editing, incredible research, just awe-inspiring.
I love how this guy talks to us as if we are all comedians. Im a painte and decorator, dont include me in your "we"
Hey, guys, there’s a civilian in the house! Get the bouncers!
I am
I'm a heckler
Its pretty clear that you are not a comedian, but a heckler.
@@belzi87 whats brown and sticky?
This channel is a GEM. Excellent dissection and analysis of the worst thing about comedy shows. Love the slue of examples you gave for each type of rebuttal.
Jerrod Carmicheals new special is interesting for this , by the end it is very much a conversation and yet in that context it works.
True, but it wasn't really heckling. That was just people reacting to Jerrod's story (and a Q&A that Bo Burnham edited together seamlessly with the show). Source is me since I was at the Rothaniel taping!
The comedian Simon Evans recently said on a podcast that in his early career he did a gig at the legendary ‘Tunnel Club’ which was owned by cult comic Malcolm Hardee and was a venue infamous for hecklers.
Anyway when he got to the mic a razor sharp heckler noticed he had very small eyes and simply asked “where are your eyes” and it got such a huge laugh the audience erupted in applause, even Evans acknowledged it was a great heckle, so much so that he now begins every show by saying to the audience - “one question you may have is whilst this is all very well, where are his eyes?” which gets a laugh every time.
That for me is a great example of someone using a heckle to there own advantage further down their careers!
(Oh and also what’s hilarious is years later that same heckler turns out to be a cab driver and he recognised Evans when he got in the back of his taxi and they bonded over that same heckle 😂)
Watched this one again. Why it doesn’t has a billion views is beyond me. Insightful, well crafted and brilliantly produced. I hope you’ll post something again.
Fantastic video, keeping it entertaining and insightful the whole way through. You deserve 100x the views!
Excellent video, love all the images and examples you put with a well written script. I almost want to do stand up again to test out some of the ideas to combat the hecklers.
Top shelf stuff again, mate.
Thank TH-cam's algorithm for my view. Ive repeatedly scrolled past your video in my feed, simply didnt feel interested yet the algorithm never gave up. Over a period of weeks, it's persistently kept recommending this video for me. So relentless. Ive finally given in and it was worth it. thank you 🙏
Legit best youtube channel out there
It makes me sad that this video has so few views. This is an excellent video and I’m so glad that this channel exists
This is good. I have social anxiety, I heard someone say do something that frightened the hell out of you, performing stand up comedy (and I'm coming up with jokes ) is frightening, but unlike when I ride a dangerous ride, I feel my chances to live are higher. Get the audience on my side interesting, Jimmy Carr or Bill Burr how they deal with hecklers is funny. When I go to a comedy club, I go preparing to laugh, if I don't find a comedian or his or her joke funny, I just don't laugh, I don't go and say your act sucks, I'm going to go watch some comedians who destroy hecklers to see how a bunch of them do it, so when I go to open mic night, I try to see how it's done. I'm of the mindset easily offended people should never go to comedy clubs
Great video mate. It's interesting to see all the different responses from comedians. It must be very annoying!
Bill Burr is a heckler God.
I remember his comeback to a woman when talking about beating women and making it another part of the set, and who can forget getting Philadelphia back on side by insulting them for 15 minutes
We’re talking about hitting women, sweetheart!
@@christiananderson6761
"And I think u just added another reason. RIGHT DOWN THE FUCKIN MIDDLE!!" 😂
Bill shitting in Philly was amazing. There's a transcript of in somewhere in the internet, it's still just as funny written down. Lol.
Appreciate the use of Stormzy in the background mate
Now I'm afraid to comment until the video is over
Watched this for the 3rd time know. your channel is criminally underrated. And I'll be forever grateful to you for introducing me to Stewart Lee
The chicken screaming was hilarious honestly.
just found your page, incredible concept for a channel, can’t wait to delve in and learn more about an industry that i’m not familiar with outside of being an audience member :)
top tier content, one of the best directors/channels on youtube
As was pointed out in the video, sometimes it is difficult for some audience members to keep from blurting out an interjection from time to time, especially when the comedian onstage is considered to be “up to the challenge”, and yes, I myself have on occasion been known to “lose blather control” at such moments.
One such occasion was at a Bill Hicks show I attended around 1991 (seated in the front row as was my usual habit). Bill was in top form, well into his post-abuse “recovery” phase and was “reminiscing” over just how out of control his drinking and drugging had gotten at its nadir, and I reflexively yelled out a derisive “Oh God, I was at one of those shows!” Instantly Bill spun around to face me and with a twinkle in his eye shot back “I was a lot funnier than tonight, wasn’t I?” and got a huge laugh. Wisely, I didn’t push my luck by trying to out-funny him with a response to his (obviously rhetorical) question, and instead returned to my proper role as one of those lucky people silently basking in Hicks’ presence.
One more anecdote: I don’t know if you can truly call this a “heckle” but it was definitely a case of an audience member (yeah, me again) endeavoring to “make his mark” on a show, but in this case I think it it was more than understandable on my part; tell me if you agree or if you think I’m just being an egotistical douchebro:
A few years ago at SXSW, there was a free “Drunk History Club Crawl” held at a venue on Austin’s Sixth Street, featuring Sean Patton and Mark Normand. Pretty much right off the bat they revealed that they had not actually prepared... well, *anything* and called off the ‘crawl’ part of the show, then started floundering trying to come up with ways to entertain the crowd. Those in attendance were very congenial about the whole thing, as it was still early, they were only mildly intoxicated, and everyone was quite aware that they hadn’t paid to be there - but still, the “show” was pretty much going nowhere.
Well, this was my home turf and I knew a zillion funny stories about the area and so I started writing stuff down on napkins and waving my notes at them, yelling “Here, check this out!” After an awkward start that threatened to leave me looking like a total jerk, someone from SXSW apparently told the guys I was cool, and so they read out one of my bits about the time Johnny Depp lived in a loft over the “Weirdo Museum” across the street while he was in town recording an album of ABBA and Daniel Johnston covers with the Butthole Surfers. It got a good response, and that kinda kick-started things and before long everybody was having a great time - and whenever there was a lull they’d be yelling out “Has Lieck got another note for us yet? Pass that sucker up!”
They ended up declaring me “the official Drunk History Fact Checker” which of course is an achievement that I’m quite proud of.
Kiwi accent. I like to imagine Guy Montgomery moonlights as a comedy video essayist and this is his channel.
Excellent video, as always. More subscribers are coming, keep it up.
Every one of your videos is amazing! Great content! Would love to see an analysis of Mike Birbiglia and his shaggy dog story kind of stand up.
Saw Jim Jefferies a few years back in Cape Cod. When he began a story about how he’s lactose intolerant, and therefore can’t eat things like cheese or cake, one drunk man screeched out from the crowd “CHEESECAKE!” And I shit you not, Jim Jefferies went on like a 20 minute tirade, it was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. He retold the entire life story of this complete stranger from birth to death, all based around him having one moment where he shouts “CHEESECAKE” at a comedy show, it fucking killed.
To my knowledge nobody took a video- I’ve looked around for it and can’t seem to find it. The bit was so funny I was almost convinced Jefferies had planted that guy just to do this 20 minute pre-planned bit but I’ve never seen him do that again so I think he really may have made it up on the spot.
Someone mentioned a similar situation with Jefferies where he did the "ur life story" thing after someone shouted "Scotland". The heckler probably isn't planted, most likely Jefferies keeps this bit in his back pocket especially for that type of heckler.
1st time viewer, loved the editing/production
My friend, you absolutely crushed this one, and I'm happy I found your channel and subscribed. ✌
13:33 Maslow's Hierarchy of Heckling.
Being heckled might be painful, but I promise you it isn't as painful as being the friend of a type one heckler as he constantly gets told off. It was a very high audience participation show and we were sat on the stage, this was Trevor Lock at Edinburgh Fringe last year, and my mate just wasn't understanding when he needed to be quiet, despite Trevor explaining carefully to him three times. You know when something is so embarrassing your stomach actually hurts?
Not really a stand up comedian but I enjoy comedy as an art and enjoy learning
Can't wait to check this out later, figured I'd help with an early comment though ;)
Clicked on this video hoping to see Stew and wasn't disappointed. His handling of hecklers is one of a kind, not only hilarious but also so seamlessly unified with his onstage persona it could almost be written into the script. Also, an eskimo face from the 90s has let itself go.
Awesome Video, as always. It really shows how much effort you put into those.
8:49 Steve Harvey looks like he’s wearing a Steve Harvey mask.
Just made my first patreon contribution to any creator. You're doing god's work! Bless ye!
how have you not gone viral yet
You deal with them by having Talent and improvisational skills. A truly good comedian isn't relying on a script for his act to work. Most comedians now days are just failed actors playing comedians because they can actually get on stage at a club.
Heckler: "I once saw a donkey on the highway in Morocco!"
Mustapha el Atrassi: "For real?... He must have thought the exact same thing."
Great video. Best channel at the moment. Keep it up 🤟
great work on the video
Brilliant!!! Much much much appreciated!
This whole video could have been Patrice dealing with hecklers and I wouldn’t have been upset
Fantastic work!
So going the Bill burr route and roasting an entire city is not an option??
Brilliant. Absolute quality
Loving these!
Wonderful video, bravo.
great video!
Brilliant video very informative. I’m curious, do you have any of your sets on the internet?
My girlfriend heckles me all the time in bed, so this was very useful information.
Never thought I'd hear xtc functions on the low in this video 😂😂😂
Amazing quality content. Just wow.
This is the best account to exist
I’m about to heckle you. “Jesus Christ dude, took you long enough to get to the heckling”.
Another great video
All throughout the first 3/4ths of the video I was thinking "God, what if the comedian just really earnestly asked the heckler if they're okay?" and then you touched on that! (Non-Violent Self Defense - 26:24, if anyone wants timestamp.)
Excellent video as always! Loving every single one.
Absolutely excellent, loved it. And what I was thinking throughout was "if stand ups don't want the audience to interrupt then STOP TALKING TO THEM". I went to see Dara O'Briain at Wolverhampton early in one of his tours where he was still bedding in his material. He spent about 20 minutes of his hour set talking to an Ambulance driver in the front row. My wife turned to me during the performance and said 'I've not paid twenty quid to see some Ambulance driver talk about his job, get on with it Dara.'
I can see why so many audience members think it's ok to join in! As Stewart Lee would say 'I haven't noticed anything about your lives'
Okay, exactly as it was with your previous video, I have to approach TH-cam support, to find out how do I Like a video two times
Stopped paying attention when the Stormzy beat came on. Great video, but nothings gonna split my attention with that.
I’m just gonna comment because algorithm
Joe Rogan with hair is so funny. He’s a man that should always have been bald
That tricked mentioned by Titus, I've done that by instinct when a relative shames me into staying at a concert I didn't want to go to. They usually try to get front row seats, and I can't help being a buzz killer.
I was waiting for Ol’ Billy!
Flight of the Conchords too!😩♥️
Here is a title for you. The forging of Stewart Lee. (Maybe wait till he is 80)
Top stuff. Loved the Carlin edit #flamethrower
Did anyone found the Andrew Conway document? Can't find it anywhere
www.juggling.org/~conway/juggler/MAL.TXT
Great video
Hahahahaha that Mr. Meeseeks heckler, hahahaha 😂😂
"discombobulate"
Any way of linking the German setup punchline podcast here Josh? Was a great listen and sure the comedy without errors fans would be interested. All the love.
Saw Stewart Lee recently in Glasgow and I still can't work out if he intended a heckle or not. Since it happened during a bit where he was repeating something, the next time he repeated it he acted as if he wanted the same heckle to happen again. Then on the next time around when someone (not even sure it was the same person) did it again, he got annoyed that they didn't do it all three times and "there's no rule of comedy that says you do it once, then don't, then do it the third time"
He's a genius.
I can tell you what’s the *absolute* worst breed of heckler. They’re a subset of type two: the drunken friend (or “friend”) of the comedian. At the premiere of Bill Hicks’ film Ninja Bachelor Party in Austin, a large group of Hicks’ Houston regulars were seated at the very front and got very drunk, and they very nearly put Bill Hicks down for the count - literally!
Early on in the show, Bill made the fatal mistake of pointing out that he knew these people and that they had made a special trip to be there that night, leaving the rest of the audience feeling a camaraderie with them. His live set that night went just fine for the most part, but as they got more intoxicated, his “fan club” got bolder and started feeling more entitled to take an active role in the proceeding. After endless calls of “Do Elmer Dinkley!” and “Talk about your dad!” which Bill politely turned aside, pointing out that he didn’t really do that material any more, he finally lost at and did a very physical off-the-cuff bit about doing anything to please his audience that culminated with him violently slamming his body to the ground, with only an awkward silence greeting him as he lay there in terrible pain.
Furious, he painfully struggled back up to a standing position at the mic and screamed “Next time I’m about to f*cking break my g*dd*mn back doing a bit for you and you’re not even going to chuckle, *please* call out and say ‘Hey, Bill, don’t hurt yourself over nothing - we’re not going to laugh and it won’t be worth it!’ Okay?!?”
And yeah, you *know* he had to deal with these people coming up, patting him on the back and slurring “Great show, pal!” at the end of the night...
I would love to see a full video on Christopher Titus :>
Every show Lee does includes (real or made up) heckles from previous performances. It's an unambiguous invitation to heckle. He wants it.
1:51 "Man try say he's better than me
Tell my man, shut up"
Great video :)
Just wondering if I can apply any of these techniques to my boss as they're constantly heckling me, with things like "what time do you call this?" and " I don't pay you to sit and eat"
i liked the it crowd reference
Really, the comedian Stewart Lee should ask who brought the heckler.
Bill Burr is so great at dealing with hecklers because he’s been heckled so damn much. He came from such a rough pedigree and really earned his stripes.
35 minute video and not one clip, not one line of dialogue, not one SECOND devoted to Bill Burr's nuke-'em-from-orbit scorched earth method of dealing with hecklers in Philadelphia circa 2006 smh
I hope I help keep you sane.
Drew Lynch deals with hecklers extremely well
Incredible
Or you can do what Ross Noble does, and structure your entire act around heckles.
In NZ kiwis think they know everything and multi love em selves it's both good and bad mixed. Together. But comediens leave for Australia immediately.
hey you do comedy? clips? btw great content
Drew lynch. He is one of the best crowd workers I have seen. Just mentioned him because he isn't as know
Didn't Moshe Kasher have a bit with a heckler/plant? How did that go again?
I just realized you used game footage from Inside