A recent magic podcast featured a two part interview with a comedian talking about the similarities and differences between magic and stand-up. A significant portion of the second episode was on the comedian’s approach to working with the audience or as it’s called, crowd work. Crowd work is hard and requires empathy and respect as there’s a fine line between playing with an audience member and being a jerk using them as a target. It’s challenging – especially when you’re learning how.
There’s a popular comedy magician who’s quite good at crowd work. A great deal of their social media posts are them doing crowd work and playing with the audience. It’s done with a kindness and respect that the audience can feel. I’m sure it took them quite a few years – and screw ups – to hone their skills.
The YouTubian algorithm also gave me clips of another comedy magician working with audience members. In this case, the audience members were targets. The interactions felt mean spirited. In one clip, the magician made fun of the helper’s shirt for a joke; in another, the helper said something that the magician didn’t like or seem not to like and they responded with a F-U. Definitely not playful and respectful.
I don’t know why the second magician treated their helpers like that. I don’t know their intentions nor will I hazard a guess. However there was a few differences – the most important was experience. The first performer was older by at least 15 years. They’re in their late thirties while the second was in their early twenties. When I was in my twenties, I was an idiot at times. I cringe when I think back. Thankfully there was no social media.
These observations are directly related to my previous post.Should we say something? If so, how should we say it so that they will listen?
