Dealing With Hecklers: I Fielded A Very Strange Question During My Show Last Thursday

Last Thursday, I had the privilege of headlining at Gotham Comedy Club in New York City. This was a major milestone for me because I’ve been performing at the club for years, but only in their basement room. The main stage is one of the most prestigious stages in the city, and I would jealously scan the lineups as I headed downstairs to the secondary stage, hoping that one day I’d make it up to the big leagues. Finally, on Thursday, I had the stage to myself for an entire hour, to a sold out audience, and it was absolutely fucking incredible. With one small interruption.

About halfway through the show, I finished a joke with the line “it was nice to be on the right side of the law, for once.” The crowd settled down and then a guy in the center of the theater yelled out, “parents wanted you to be a lawyer?” It was so clear, and such a strange question, that I couldn’t possibly ignore it. Usually I don’t address hecklers or interruptions because once you’re flowing, you want to stay in that zone. But the question was so… strange. I’ve alluded to my law school experiment before, but I have no idea why this guy thought this was the right time to ask this question. Also, it wasn’t your typical heckler interruption. It wasn’t rude, or persistent. He seemed genuinely curious about my life. So I didn’t want to make him feel self-conscious or embarrassed, which is what I usually do when I respond to hecklers.

But if you ever come to one of my shows, I’d prefer that you save the big, life-altering questions for when we’re sitting on your couch with a bong. Chances are I’ll open up more than I would during the middle of a massive show.