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Martin Githinji, popularly known as Daddie Marto spoke about the dark side of being a master of ceremony at weddings and why he prefers corporate gigs.
Marto, known for his skits and acting, said in an interview at Pulse Studio, that being an MC at weddings, one is likely to get caught up in family politics or be overwhelmed by expectations from all the interests represented at the wedding.
The award winning creative described weddings as very emotive occasions, and those emotions are likely to affect many things, including the ceremony's program.
“Weddings have feelings and it is very hard to control feelings, especially when they are entitled to their feelings because it is their event,” Marto said.
He gave an example of a situation that would put an MC on a collision course with the couple and members of the family.
“When the uncle wants to speak but the groom doesn’t want him to speak, yet it is the uncle who called you for the job, you get into a conflict,” he explained.
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He further added that with formal events and corporate gigs, the instructions are clear and there are no competing high-stakes interests.
“I mostly focus on corporate events. With corporate events, it is clear-cut. So this is the brief, these are the people to talk to, the people not to touch, these are the topics not to engage in, this is the limit of your jokes, you can test as much as possible but just know you are talking to this calibre of people,” he spoke.
Watch an exclusive interview with Daddie Marto below
Origin of 'Daddie Marto' nickname
Marto said he got his nickname long before he became a father, due to the close relationship he had with his sister.
The actor said despite the huge age difference between them they were very close siblings and enjoyed each other's company.
People who saw them together assumed he was her father and because he was also young, many found it peculiar that he had a child of that age.
Because it attracted the curiosity of many ladies, he went with the flow and pretended his sister was his child.
“So the short story is I have a small sister with whom I have an age difference of 18 years. When I was in campus, I used to enjoy spending time with her on Sundays in school pale KU (Kenyatta University)," he recalled.
Marto was confused about how the female students were fascinated by a university student with a child.
To sell the narrative his sister would also respond to enquiring ladies that “Daddie ni Marto”, hence the name was birthed.