Conrad Koch Comedian
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Category:
Entertainment
Location:
South Africa
Preferred Language:
English
Tags:
Comedy,Communication,Conflict Management,Entertainment,Inspiration,MC,motivation,Performer,Presenter,Stand up comedian,TV & Radio
Profile:
Guest Speaker Conrad Koch is an internationally acclaimed South African comedy ventriloquist.
The CBC in Canada said “my face hurt from laughing so hard”, describing Conrad’s work as “absolutely delightful and technically brilliant”, “Koch throws away more laugh lines than many shows have in the first place”.
OUTinPerth described his show as an “utter delight”, “a cutting satire of modern society” and that “there was not a dry eye left in the house, young or old alike.”
Starting out at the College of Magic in Cape Town, Conrad combines hilarious comedy with world-class puppetry, and has won numerous awards, including Entertainer of the Year award, a Standard Bank Ovation Award from the National Arts Festival, The Times Comic’s Pen Award, has been nominated for the Comic’s Choice Comedian of the Year, Comedy G and Flying Solo awards and is a double International EMMY nominated comedian.
He has worked all over the world, been featured on local and international television, Comedy Central, Comedy Network, etc, and is a frequent guest at some of South Africa’s biggest comedy events.
His most famous character, the puppet political analyst, Mr. Chester Missing, has been a highlight on South African TV for years both on the hit show Late Night News with Loyiso Gola and on his own hugely popular weekly satirical news show, Almost News with Chester Missing. The use of a puppet to get political players to let down their guards was lauded as completely unique. In fact Chester Missing has been asked by the likes of City Press, Natal Witness, Reuters, the BBC, the Mail and Guardian, etc, to comment on political affairs. The first puppet in history to win a court case (after going to court with a famous South African racist), Chester has even written a book, was named one of New African Magazine’s Most Influential Africans, and with Conrad was the first recipient of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation’s Anti-Racism Award.
Conrad’s hit one-man shows have received standing ovations around South Africa and globally. He has performed at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and the Montreux Comedy Festival in Switzerland. Internationally he has had repeat 5 star rave reviews in both Canada and Australia, selling out almost his entire run in Canada.
Conrad has studied psychology, and is a social anthropologist – he has a master’s degree in the subject from WITS University (Cum Laude), focusing on corporate and African culture. He has had extensive experience implementing culture change programmes for the likes of FNB, Goldfields, Sun International, SAA, etc.
Conrad has audiences in stitches by talking to himself through a variety of extremely eccentric characters. Self-ridicule has never been this fun. Meet Mr. Chester Missing, satirical political analyst, Hilton, an ostrich made from two feather dusters and a slipper, and DJ Hoodie, a puppet made from a hoodie who actually DJs, and a neurotic mosquito, called Mosquito. The show is highly interactive – audience members hilariously become the puppets.
“Intelligent, unhinged ventriloquism at its very best” The Star
“Reviews will use descriptive words like ‘pioneering’, ‘master-class’, and ‘mini renaissance’ but it really is that outstanding” The Citizen
“quite breathtaking: delightfully entertaining, intellectually stimulating and technically brilliant.” The Cape Times
“Brings the roof down” The Independent, London
“Delicious…hilarious ventriloquised repartee” The Argus
“Hilarious.” Mail & Guardian
“I almost cried with laughter” The Herald
“You were truly hilarious and I hugely enjoyed the show! A million thanks for keeping it all together with such skill and professionalism.” Bonang Mohale, Chairman of Shell SA
“Thanks so much for being part of our event – we have had such fantastic feedback from the event and without you it would have just been death by PowerPoint. Your ears must have been burning all day, because StorTech cannot stop talking about you.” StorTech
“I’ve had an incredible amount of positive feedback on our session. You were awesome; many thanks.” Dr. Brian Armstrong, Senior Managing Executive: Telkom Business
The CBC in Canada said “my face hurt from laughing so hard”, describing Conrad’s work as “absolutely delightful and technically brilliant”, “Koch throws away more laugh lines than many shows have in the first place”.
OUTinPerth described his show as an “utter delight”, “a cutting satire of modern society” and that “there was not a dry eye left in the house, young or old alike.”
Starting out at the College of Magic in Cape Town, Conrad combines hilarious comedy with world-class puppetry, and has won numerous awards, including Entertainer of the Year award, a Standard Bank Ovation Award from the National Arts Festival, The Times Comic’s Pen Award, has been nominated for the Comic’s Choice Comedian of the Year, Comedy G and Flying Solo awards and is a double International EMMY nominated comedian.
He has worked all over the world, been featured on local and international television, Comedy Central, Comedy Network, etc, and is a frequent guest at some of South Africa’s biggest comedy events.
His most famous character, the puppet political analyst, Mr. Chester Missing, has been a highlight on South African TV for years both on the hit show Late Night News with Loyiso Gola and on his own hugely popular weekly satirical news show, Almost News with Chester Missing. The use of a puppet to get political players to let down their guards was lauded as completely unique. In fact Chester Missing has been asked by the likes of City Press, Natal Witness, Reuters, the BBC, the Mail and Guardian, etc, to comment on political affairs. The first puppet in history to win a court case (after going to court with a famous South African racist), Chester has even written a book, was named one of New African Magazine’s Most Influential Africans, and with Conrad was the first recipient of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation’s Anti-Racism Award.
Conrad’s hit one-man shows have received standing ovations around South Africa and globally. He has performed at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and the Montreux Comedy Festival in Switzerland. Internationally he has had repeat 5 star rave reviews in both Canada and Australia, selling out almost his entire run in Canada.
Conrad has studied psychology, and is a social anthropologist – he has a master’s degree in the subject from WITS University (Cum Laude), focusing on corporate and African culture. He has had extensive experience implementing culture change programmes for the likes of FNB, Goldfields, Sun International, SAA, etc.
Conrad has audiences in stitches by talking to himself through a variety of extremely eccentric characters. Self-ridicule has never been this fun. Meet Mr. Chester Missing, satirical political analyst, Hilton, an ostrich made from two feather dusters and a slipper, and DJ Hoodie, a puppet made from a hoodie who actually DJs, and a neurotic mosquito, called Mosquito. The show is highly interactive – audience members hilariously become the puppets.
“Intelligent, unhinged ventriloquism at its very best” The Star
“Reviews will use descriptive words like ‘pioneering’, ‘master-class’, and ‘mini renaissance’ but it really is that outstanding” The Citizen
“quite breathtaking: delightfully entertaining, intellectually stimulating and technically brilliant.” The Cape Times
“Brings the roof down” The Independent, London
“Delicious…hilarious ventriloquised repartee” The Argus
“Hilarious.” Mail & Guardian
“I almost cried with laughter” The Herald
“You were truly hilarious and I hugely enjoyed the show! A million thanks for keeping it all together with such skill and professionalism.” Bonang Mohale, Chairman of Shell SA
“Thanks so much for being part of our event – we have had such fantastic feedback from the event and without you it would have just been death by PowerPoint. Your ears must have been burning all day, because StorTech cannot stop talking about you.” StorTech
“I’ve had an incredible amount of positive feedback on our session. You were awesome; many thanks.” Dr. Brian Armstrong, Senior Managing Executive: Telkom Business
Guest Speaker Conrad Koch is an internationally acclaimed South African comedy ventriloquist.
The CBC in Canada said “my face hurt from laughing so hard”, describing Conrad’s work as “absolutely delightful and technically brilliant”, “Koch throws away more laugh lines than many shows have in the first place”.
OUTinPerth described his show as an “utter delight”, “a cutting satire of modern society” and
The CBC in Canada said “my face hurt from laughing so hard”, describing Conrad’s work as “absolutely delightful and technically brilliant”, “Koch throws away more laugh lines than many shows have in the first place”.
OUTinPerth described his show as an “utter delight”, “a cutting satire of modern society” and
Synopsis:
PRESENTATIONS by Conrad Koch
HOW TO END RACISM - Racism. It divides teams. It destroys brands. It hurts business. CHESTER MISSING has the answers
Racism. Half your team take it too seriously, the other half don’t take it seriously enough. It could divide your teams, lose your focus and break your business. But there is hope. And it comes in the form of a puppet. Chester Missing can end racism. His sidekick, Conrad Koch, is a globally acclaimed political satirist and ventriloquist, with a Master’s Degree in organizational culture and extensive experience using humour to broach sensitive issues and help you bring about organizational change.
Chester Missing is the puppet who has had the country on the edge of their seats in his no-holdsbarred TV interviews with politicians and his social analysis. Together they are both double Emmy nominated social commentators and the first recipients of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation’s Anti-Racism award.
Their powerfully engaging, informative and hilarious hour keynote ‘How to End Racism by Chester Missing’ confronts racism in business and individuals, and helps build more inclusive and effective corporate cultures. They use humour and stage-craft to help your team engage with one of the most pressing issues in South Africa today, to create a more united organization and country, without glossing over the harder realities.
Chester pushes Conrad to confront his own prejudice, and shows us how we all have blind spots, and can all do better to examine the nuanced ways privilege, culture and our historic legacy meet. It’s interactive, with the audience being asked to consider how they could do better at getting along with their fellow South Africans.
‘How to End Racism by Chester Missing’ will bring your team together by motivating each person in your organization to build on the maxim, ‘start with yourself’, while considering the value of the differences between us.
• More openness to talk about racism, prejudice and key South African issues that often bubble under the surface and cause tension in your team.
• Understanding of how racism impacts all of us: black, white and everyone in between.
• Developing empathy and …
• Better teamwork …
• More robust trust and knowledge networks…
• Organizational culture in sync with a broader South Africa.
• Lowers staff turnover.
• Increases commitment.
Benefits to your team:
Making Laughter Work
Making Laughter Work
Conrad's edu-taining talk, “Making Laughter Work” (on techniques to make the office a more pleasant, playful and productive environment), has received standing ovations around the country. This fun-filled interactive talk focuses specifically on creating a client-focused culture, where diversity, customer-centricity and corporate citizenship are lived, rather than just spoken about!
Conrad has audiences in stitches, by talking to himself through a variety of extremely eccentric characters. Self ridicule has never been this fun! Meet Ronnie (the precocious monster), Chester (the 51% BEE partner), and Hilary (a bad attitude ostrich).
They cover everything from politics to skin disease (Both funny ‘till you scratch deeper.), and are topped only by Conrad taking two members of the audience and making them the stars, your very own Boy Band. Conrad will provide the voices, they provide the moves.
“Brings the roof down” The Independent, London
“Delicious…hilarious ventriloquised repartee” The Argus
“Absolute pleasure” Mail & Guardian
“Hilarious.” Mail & Guardian
“Taking ventriloquism beyond anything in the UK or America” Sunday Times, London
Conrad’s shows can last anything from five to fifty minutes, depending on the client’s needs. His material is clean and geared towards a thinking adult audience, and can be adapted or even rewritten for the situation – Conrad can literally make anything talk.
Conrad’s shows can last anything from five to fifty minutes, depending on the client’s needs. His material is clean and geared towards a thinking adult audience, and can be adapted or even rewritten for the situation – Conrad can literally make anything talk.
PRESENTATIONS by Conrad Koch
HOW TO END RACISM - Racism. It divides teams. It destroys brands.
Ryder:
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Conrad will provide his own Shure headset microphone and receiver.
Client to provide.
Raised stage.
Professional lighting and sound – capable of delivering 100db of sound throughout the venue.
Hand held microphone and a stand as a backup.
Conrad also require someone to play some music occasionally during the set which he provides on a flash drive or iPod, and he has a puppet who plays music from an iPad, which he plugs into a cable on stage, so client to provide a suitable feed to the stage please (he has iPad connector).
Conrad will provide his own Shure headset microphone and receiver.
Client to provide.
Raised stage.
Professional lighting and sound – capable of delivering 100db of sound throughout the venue.
Hand held microphone and a stand as a backup.
Conrad also require someone to play some music occasionally during the set which he provides on a flash drive or iPod, and he has a puppet who plays music from an iPad, which he plugs into a cable on stage, so client to provide a suitable feed to the stage please (he has iPad connector).
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Conrad will provide his own Shure headset microphone and receiver.
Client to provide.
Raised stage.
Professional lig
Conrad will provide his own Shure headset microphone and receiver.
Client to provide.
Raised stage.
Professional lig
Add to enquiry box