As the producer of Slice of Life Comedy at PULP, I would like to respond to the June 29 letter “Hatred is Not Comedy,” [Xpress].
We have held over 112 Slice of Life Comedy shows at PULP and rarely have we had incidents like the one at the [recent] show. The comedians who were performing at that show have performed many, many times at our Slice shows and are regulars in the local comedy scene. While audience “participation” certainly occurs at comedy shows, this heckling sometimes crosses the line and disrupts the performances at the expense of the comedians and the audience who have come to enjoy them.
On the night in question, the couple from Mississippi were continuously disruptive to several of the comedians. The host and several comics handled the situation with grace, humor and restraint, encouraging them to quiet down. They were asked by the comedians and members of the audience several times to please quiet down and let the comedians perform. Audience members even asked that they be told to leave. As the audience became more and more frustrated by the couple’s continued outbursts, the comedians used their stage time to finally ask them to leave, which they eventually did.
At no time did anything “nearly incite violence” or rise anywhere a level of “lynch-mob-like” atmosphere, and once they were gone, the show was, as always, fantastic. After the show, several longtime regular audience members thanked us for asking the disruptive couple to leave.
We wish the Mountain Xpress had contacted us to hear our side of this before publishing the letter without checking, but wanted to set the record straight even if two weeks later. …
— Michele Scheve
Producer, Slice of Life Comedy
Asheville
See my comment for the whiner with his LTE published earlier today on this day July Wed 13
I concur.