The number one threat to any aspiring magician. It's not messing up a trick, it's having that one person that has some kind of point to prove at your expense. It is, the heckler. Nobody likes them except for themself, so it is our responsibility as good magicians to identify the threat and handle it accordingly.
First of all, let me clarify what I mean by a heckler. It is anyone who intentionally or unintentionally attempts weather successfuly or unsuccessfuly to reveal the secrets behind your trick regardless of their motives.
Having that clarified, why should we learn how to deal with hecklers? Well, aside from the obvious answer of it's embarrassing to have our tricks revealed by some moron know-nothing, it is our duty to deal with hecklers. Let me explain, we are magicians, our job is to entertain people by showing them impossible feats. Hecklers are people who ruin this experience by showing a trick for what it is. This hurts the audience's enjoyment of the trick, and moreover it ruins the heckler's enjoyment of a trick. We are essentially protecting hecklers from themselves.
Why do we need to protect hecklers, aren't they our enemy? Hecklers can be our enemies if we allow them to be. They can also be a useful prop. But as magicians, their enjoyment of the trick is just as important as everyone else's enjoyment of the trick.
The only reason I explain why, is because it's helpful to identifying and dealing with the hecklers we face. There are 3 types of hecklers. First off are the jerks. Jerks act out of stupidity, they won't think, they never think, and what they do "think" is that heckling makes them look cool. Next class is the ignorant. The ignorant make observations that reveal a trick, and then ask about it loudly in front of everyone in worst case scenarios. The final class is the wonderers. Wonderers are the most common class. They want to know how it's done and they think it's their duty to share it because secrets are only in this world to be unveiled in their eyes.
How do I identify hecklers?
First let me start by saying this, just because you've got a heckler in the midst doesn't mean you shouldn't perform, it just means you gotta have precautions. The advice in that will be dealt with below.
Jerks are pretty easy to identify. They walk into a room, they are loud, obnoxious, and generally try and be everybody's best friend, but in one of those superior, "I'm better than you" ways. They're up on trends, and when you're performing, they'll be either looking at your hands (which is normal) or leaning over to people beside them and whispering things.
The ignorant class is harder to identify until you're performing a trick. Their eyes tend to be focus on the hands, but they'll be more easily misdirected by just you talking. This class is acctually the most helpful though, because they'll be the ones that will silently let you know you messed up with a swift reaction when they see something go awry.
Wonderer classes are probably the hardest to spot. Also the most fatal to a trick. They will do absolutely everything in their power to not look at anything else in existence except for your hands. in groups under 5 people, Never let your props get within grabbing reach of them or anyone who is within their reach.
How do I deal with jerks?
First of all, do not compete for coolness, that's their turf and if you tread on it, they are going to be that much more adamant about making you look foolish. This means there's two ways to go about performing to a jerk. Make them look better with a trick and they'll love you, otherwise, try to entertain them. They usually won't heckle if their happy. Think of it like a poker game, you have to keep them interested by raising the stakes of the game! However, if your performance is coming to a close, it's no holds barred and you can make them look as dorky as you like. Still, keep in mind that if they didn't heckle you at all and you make them look bad, you look like a jerk.
These types are best used for verbal interaction. They'll want to be a part of the show and may call out for fun. If they call out, it's like their odd way of asking to be included in the show. They're good for picking cards as well.
How do I thwart the ignorant?
Don't screw up your tricks. If they don't notice anything, they'll have nothing to say. If you notice that they notice something, be sure to add in a more spectacular element to your trick if you can so that they can't explain it. The ignorant also tend to be silent in larger groups.
If you've got rhetorical questions that you want replies to, the ignorants are probably the best ones to ask because they'll tend to answer how you want them to answer.
How fo I deal with wonderers?
Wonderers are the worst and the most complex. If you absolutely MUST deal with a wonderer, make sure to move at a fluid pace, don't leave gaps in the performance where the audience is waiting for you to do something. This is because wonderers know a lot about how tricks are performed and want to prove that knowledge to themselves and others.
If you ever hand them a prop (Lord knows it happens some times) you'll instantly know that they are a wonderer. Give them free reign and they'll analyze that prop until next tuesday. This also means, if you aren't using a gimmick and you want to prove its normality, hand it to a heckler for inspection, EVERYONE will know from their surgical examination of the prop that it is completely normal. However, if you hand them something that shouldn't be seen or has some odd quirk to it. Give them absolutely perfect instuction as to how to hold it.
This means, if you need it covered, you tell them beforehand that they're going to have to cover it, you demonstrate exactly what you want done and have them repeat. Also, make sure their arm is held straight out any time they're holding a gimmick. If their arm starts to bend or twist, use your hands to re-straighten their arm to where you want it. It's good practice for dealing with kids. Wonderers with cards are like children with hot stoves, "don't touch" move their hand, "no, don't touch" move their hand again, "I said don't touch" move the hand again "don't touch" "don't touch don't touch don't touch don't touch."
General advice for dealing with hecklers
- Know your trick. Know exactly what needs to be done, how you're going to execute the trick, every last little detail, including but not limited to: flourishes, patter, sleights, and body language.
- Be confident. Confidence goes a long way. If you believe you can do it, they'll be less likely to think they can find out the answer from your performance.
- Be real. Don't try and act like some other magician, be real with your people. Even if you've created an alter personna for performing magic, be that persona only.
- Practice. Some of the best practice comes from having a friend that knows magic. Tell him that you want to practice dealing with hecklers and so you want him to try and reveal the trick. This is good practice for being able to continue your patter while performing whatever sleight your executing and making adjustments to what they're doing to try and reveal the trick. If you can deal with a fellow magician trying to reveal a trick in private, you can handle most any heckler.
- Have an out. Heckling is less likely to take place in larger crowds, but in smaller crowds of less than 5, try and brush off any commentary with humor and if this fails, you can always pack up the trick and leave them wanting. Next time they'll hopefully have learned the true effect of heckling.
- Remember the key aspect, you are not there to serve them, you're there to entertain them. You don't give in to their every whim. And sometimes silence from you followed by another trick is the best response.
Author: Mint
