Andrew Rudick knows how to deal with hecklers because he used to be one — he heckled his own best friend at his first open mic.
Andrew's first mic was a music-and-comedy open mic at Baba Budan's, a long-gone divey bar on the University of Cincinnati campus. He went up, thought he killed, bombed. The second time, the friend he'd heckled threw a banana at his face on stage as payback — biggest laugh of the set.
Fifteen years and a touring career later, his honest answer on hecklers: appear calm even when you aren't ("we're both actors"), win the room before you try to shut anyone down, and remember that you have a microphone and they don't. Then Andrew tells the story where all three rules collapsed — a Cincinnati Police Department "Real Men Wear Pink" benefit at a casino, where the drunk MC heckled him through his own DJ mic and had to be separated from him by other cops. He still had 15 clean minutes left to do.
Plus: why Cincinnati is the most central city in America to tour from, what Geoff Tate taught him, Pat McGann on crowd work, how Maria Bamford pays her openers out of pocket, and the established comic whose only advice to a brand-new Andrew was "Quit" — then came back ten years later asking Andrew for advice.
Filmed at Rehab Tavern in Franklinton, Columbus, Ohio.
Comics: what's the worst gig you ever said yes to? Tell us in the comments.
🎙️ Follow Andrew Rudick: Instagram: @andrewjrudick Website: andrewrudick.com
🔗 First Mic is part of the Indie Comedy Collective: YouTube: youtube.com/@IndieComedyCollective Instagram: @indiecomedycollective
📅 Catch Andrew live: Aug 21–22 — headlining Comedy Plex (Oak Park, IL / Chicago) Aug 28 — headlining Commonwealth Comedy Club, Cincinnati (two shows) Aug 29 — headlining the Columbus Comedy Festival, 9:15 PM at Seventh Son Sept 17–20 — Asheville, NC Sept 25–26 — headlining Comedy Corner Underground, Minneapolis