To state the obvious, crowd work - the act of comedians asking questions to people in the audience - doesn’t always end well. It’s a skill that can take years to master. That’s why I sent this clip to one of Australia’s most prolific stand-ups, Dave O’Neil, for his response. Which was:
Dave: “Jesus.”
I wanted to ask Dave if there were fundamental rules of crowd work that help you avoid getting into a pickle?
Dave: Ah…. don’t ask a question on a topic you don’t have a follow-up joke on...
Don’t engage with people who clearly don’t want to engage. In any crowd, there are always other people keen to talk.
Never give the mic to an audience member... always hang on to it, no matter what.
Never ask a woman when the baby’s due! I’ve learnt all these the hard way!
Oh, and if an audience member is getting a better response than you, always acknowledge it... Something like, ‘I hate it when the audience is funnier than me.’
AZ: Sensible. So what’s the best way to come back from a situation like the guy in the video?
Dave: There’s no way to come back! Unless you have some stroke of genius. I would get off, as that’ll hang over your set. Be good to see how he handled it.
I don’t know how the comedian handled it. Or IF he handled it. I guess we all have challenges at work. They just don’t end up on the internet.
Thanks Dave. You can book for his new Melbourne Comedy International Festival show here. And yes, he’ll be doing crowd work.
CROWD WORK GONE WRONG