MY FIRST HECKLER

I had my first TRUE heckler. Not a drunk heckler or someone talking during my set but a person who was clearly angry and unhappy with me.

The crowd was very "tight" and quiet during the host and feature set before I got on, so I knew I had my work cut out for me. I started by poking fun of the crowd for being mean to the comedians and then their small city. They laughed as a group and I thought we were off to the races. Then I did some of the "hits" and they were a little quiet, which is when I usually go into the crowd and do some crowd work.

I don't know what I did to offend him but I noticed an older man "mean mugging" me within minutes of my set. As comedians, we always focus on the one person who is not having fun. I don't know why but I know we all do it. After ten minutes and the hits not working very well, I decided to talk to him and ask him a VERY benign question about his glasses. He did not answer. He just kept staring at me. So I laughed at the weirdness of not wanting to answer questions and the crowd laughed. Then he verbally attacked me and said "Why don't you say something funny, you haven't yet!" The crowd made shocked noises so I asked him why he was so mad. He warned me not to "start with him" so I then went to another person and asked the same question, when they answered right away, I poked fun at how easy a question it was to answer and how I was not trying to pick a fight. He was triggered.

We went back and forth but I was clearly thrown off my game. Not just because of the mean things he said but also because, well, the crowd was now even quieter than before. Self-doubt took over. I was trying to asses the situation to find a happy way out, even though I could easily have him kicked out. My goal was to make him laugh and confront him with "see I am funny" diffuse the situation so I did "sure fire" jokes. He was still mad and still not laughing. The crowd also was a little rattled by the whole situation.

Later he kept talking (not to me but to his table) during my set so I told him to shut up and when he refused, he was kicked out. The club and staff handled it well as they also had never experienced anything like that before either.

Seinfeld says he still thinks about a mean heckler for 30 years ago and I hope that doesn't happen to me. I don't understand how someone can be mad at a person who is trying to bring joy and laughter to the audience. Perhaps he didn't like one of my jokes about my race or something I said politically before offended him, although I didn't really do anything too controversial or political. (I know that politically we did not align)

It did provide a humbling moment for me to remember that a show can go south very quickly. The silver lining is that my camera was rolling so I will edit a clip for all to see shortly, so follow me on Instagram to see it! But, I have to admit, going back to watch it has been tough. #standup #comedy