KERRE MCIVOR
A NATURAL ON THE MIC, KERRE’S LOVE OF EMCEEING IS NOT UP FOR DEBATE
It’s a funny old job, public speaking. I’ve been doing it since I was 18 and playing the part of the dumb blonde in a touring troupe of speakers that starred Gary McCormick and Jim Hopkins. We would put on comedic debates in memorial halls around the country.
They were hugely popular back in the day. Gary and Jim were the anchors – I was an interchangeable bit player. Sometimes I’d be speaking alongside A.K. Grant, or pitted against the formidable Ginette McDonald. David McPhail and Jon Gadsby would join us when their filming schedules allowed.
These debates were so much fun, and a fantastic way to hone the craft of live radio. You had a vague idea of what you were going to say, but no idea what other speakers were going to throw at you, so you had to be ready with a riposte or one-liner.
It was a great apprenticeship for me and I’ll always be grateful to those clever, kind men (and Ginette) for teaching me about performance and writing and life in general. I lost my appetite for them after I hurt a friend and a colleague deeply during a televised debate, but I still enjoy emceeing.
An event that requires an emcee is generally a celebration of excellence and the focus is on the award winners or conference goers.
I’m amazed I’m still emceeing at 55. I’ve been around forever.
Surely anyone who wanted to hire me would have done so by now. But no. Every February the emails start coming in from agencies asking me about my availability on certain dates.
These requests don’t mean I have the job. Being free on that date just means the agent can go back and offer the client a range of ready and willing individuals. Once the client’s decided, the agent comes back to you and confirms the job or tells you the date can be released. You never take it personally. The client might have had a woman last year and want a man this year. They might want someone from the telly.
The organiser might have heard I was terrible. You don’t know.
When I was asked if I would be free to interview author Margaret Atwood on stage earlier this year, I couldn’t say yes quickly enough. I love her novels. I’ve read her for years.
Although I wanted to do it, I wouldn’t have chosen me. I would have wanted somebody less… mainstream, shall we say. Not so loud. And that’s what happened. Another person was chosen and I quite understood.
I’m delighted I was chosen to interview five amazing New Zealand women at an event during the Horse of the Year in Hastings. Five incredible women with diverse backgrounds linked by their success, positivity and desire to do good in the world. That was a good one.
The dental hygienists didn’t want me at their conference in Dunedin.
They went with another speaker. I would have liked to work with them.
I think they would have been as much fun as my gynaecological nurses were when I spoke at their conference.
I don’t know why I assume that – maybe because those jobs must surely require a sense of humour. And I could have considered it a top and tail – celebrating both ends of the body.
I do have my Highlands racing car drivers in Dunedin later in the month. That will be a cracker.
Slowly, my calendar is filling up with dates and events that will take me all over the country this year. My sparkly, special occasion black-tie gowns are dry-cleaned and ready to go, and my gorgeous make-up artists throughout the country are on speed dial.
It’s set to be another year of helping New Zealanders celebrate success and I’m going to make the most of every occasion. Because one year, the phone won’t ring, the requests won’t come in and the gowns will be left to gather dust in the corner of the wardrobe.
And by crikey, I’ll miss it.