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Transcript

You Don't Heckle Joe Klocek · Comic Welcomes Heckler To The Stage

HiFi Speakers · Best Toastmaster Club In San Diego · Carmel Valley · 92130

In 1972, Songwriter Hall Of Fame Inductee, Jim Croce, announced the following four rules on his breakthrough album, You Don’t Mess Around With Jim:

  1. You don't tug on Superman's cape

  2. You don't spit into the wind

  3. You don't pull the mask off that ol’ Lone Ranger

  4. And you don't mess around with Jim

Rule #5: You don’t heckle Joe Klocek.

Most of the great comics and public speakers have one thing in common. You’ve never heard of them.

This heckler — if he only knew Joe teaches crowd work to other comics. I took his class 20 years ago. Joe calls crowd work “cheating.”

The magic of crowd work is the audience knows this is a one-time thing. Just for them. Will never be repeated. You are 100% in the room with the people. The people know it. They like it. They give you the rope you need. They know they are witness to an experiment and that ratchets up the tension.

Q: What’s going to happen?
A: Nobody knows!

Imagine Joe’s delight when that heckler unwittingly serves himself up on a platter. Then an audience member suggests bringing the heckler on stage. Joe doesn’t bring him up right away. Thinks about it, decides to go for it, then immediately takes control. Heckler, by contrast, violates the First Rule Of Holes multiple times. (When you’re in a hole stop digging.)

I have not seen Joe in a longtime. Super nice guy. Below is Joe’s most recent post. Joe is what we call a comic’s comic; meaning, a comic other comics learn from. This is a great four minutes. Same club. Fourteen years later.


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