Crowd work is an important, yet controversial weapon in every comedian's arsenal. A technique that was once the most effective way to shut down hecklers and create a unique moment in the show has been given a black eye by first year open mic'ers and journeyman hacks, and it seems like a lot of what comedy has become is a series of desperate attempts to go viral on TikTok. This change was arguably caused by the success of Matt Rife, who has built a following on TikTok so large that he's turned his crowd work clips into millions of dollars and a Netflix special. While Rife absolutely has world class crowd work and undoubtedly incredible star power, I think there are a handful of comics who actually use the tool better, and they should get some recognition for that. Here are 5 comedians who have better crowd work than Matt Rife.
1. Mark Normand
There's a lot in comedy that Mark Normand does better than other people, and for me he has some of the most underrated crowd work in the game. Part of his brilliance is that he rarely seeks out an audience interaction the way Matt Rife and others hunt for it, and simply shuts down hecklers in the most clever and effective way possible. Normand takes an old school approach with a lot of his joke writing, and his approach to crowd work is no different, being better technically than most comics who attempt it.
2. Jeff Arcuri
A lot of bad crowd work starts with a comedian fishing for personal details like someone's job 0r relationship status, and Jeff Arcuri does the same thing. However, what Arcuri does differently is he maintains his jokes per minute (JPMs) by hitting the audience with a quip or two after every question. Instead of waiting for the big punch at the end of a list of questions, Jeff's crowd work style is structured the same way a joke would be, with a lot of little punches right before the payoff.
3. Jessica Kirson
No one does the same style of comedy as Jessica Kirson, and that goes for her crowd work as well. Kirson will have a full blown conversation with someone in the crowd, then turn her back to the crowd and have a full blown conversation with herself about the crowd work she just did. I can't think of any other comics who could pull that off, and it's a genius mechanic that makes her crowd work fresh and different from everyone else's.
Here's a YouTube Short of some of her crowd work:
4. Ian Bagg
What sets Ian Bagg apart from everyone else is that he is an absolute savage when it comes to messing with the crowd, in a sort of nice Canadian way. There are countless clips and videos on YouTube of Bagg shutting down hecklers and even going after mild mannered audience members as well, in a way that could possibly be over the line if it wasn't coming from such a genuine silly goose. I highly recommend checking out his stand-up if you've never seen it, and his crowd work special is available now on his YouTube channel.
5. Mark Simmons
