Corporate Entertainment in Wellington
Comedy magician, mentalist and MC for conferences, association events, client functions and gala dinners
Wellington runs on conferences. Association AGMs and sector conferences, industry bodies bringing members in from every corner of the country, multi day programmes where the dinner is the one night people actually get to talk to each other properly.
That dinner carries a lot of weight. Delegates have sat through sessions all day, half the room only knows the people from their own region, and everyone is a bit talked out. Get the evening right and the rest of the conference feels different, because people spend the next two days talking to each other rather than checking their phones between sessions.
Brendan Dooley is a comedy magician, mentalist and MC who works conferences, association events, gala dinners, client networking functions and end of year events across Wellington, heading down a handful of times a year. 1,500+ shows in 15+ countries behind him, including headlining at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood and on luxury cruise lines worldwide.
What a Wellington booking can look like
Cocktail magic and mindreading. Working the room up close and personal during arrival drinks or between courses. World class modern magic and insane mindreading, happening inches away in guests’ own hands and right inside their heads! Casual conversations turn into mini spectacles, names get learned and remembered along the way, and delegates who have only spoken to their own table end up in a huddle with people they have never met. Everyone walks away with an impossible personal story attached to your event.
Conference MC Wellington. Stepping in as your main man on the ground, keeping the event flowing and the energy high from the first welcome to the final thank you. Having met your people through the room earlier, the hosting comes from someone who knows who is who, introducing your key players properly, making your members and sponsors feel like rockstars and steering the night where it needs to go, with backup plans from B to Z for whatever the evening throws up!
The Signature Show. Now we bring together the ultimate joint experience! A feature set built from material you will not see anywhere else, blending modern magic, quick witted comedy, insane mindreading, cheeky pickpocketing and dexterous stunts into a fully interactive experience that will not be soon forgotten. It features material regularly performed as a headliner at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood and on luxury cruise lines worldwide, and because half the room has already met him, the whole night lands as one shared experience rather than entertainment tacked on the end.
Most conference dinners use more than one of these, often all three across a single night. Nothing is run against a clock, so the evening gets shaped around your programme rather than the other way around.
Built for conference programmes
Association and membership audiences. A room of members is not a room of colleagues. People arrive from different organisations, different regions and wildly different roles, often with nothing in common beyond the industry. Material that relies on inside knowledge falls flat in that room. Comedy and magic land because the reaction is shared, and because everyone is experiencing it at the same time.
The dinner has a job to do. On a multi day programme the social night is where the networking actually happens, where sponsors get value and where people decide whether they are coming back next year. An evening built around connection rather than a slot filled with entertainment is what makes that work.
Rooms of every shape. A museum space, a waterfront function room, a hotel ballroom and a full theatre all need different things from an entertainer. Having worked most of the city’s venues, the planning call covers exactly what your room needs.
Sponsors and speakers handled properly. Acknowledgements, introductions and thank yous done with energy rather than read off a card, so the people who paid for the night feel it.
Backup plans from B to Z. Programmes run late, speakers go long, AV drops out. An experienced act absorbs all of it without anyone in the room noticing!
Client networking functions
A client function is a harder room than it looks. Your guests know they have been invited by a company that wants their business, most of them do not know each other, and the default is everyone talking to the person they arrived with until it is polite to leave.
Cocktail magic solves that in the most natural way possible. It gives your team an easy reason to bring people together, it turns a stiff drinks function into something people are genuinely enjoying, and it hands everyone in the room a shared moment to talk about rather than small talk about parking.
The part clients notice afterwards is that their guests remember the night. Weeks later there is still something to reference in a follow up email, which is more than most functions manage!
It works the same way for end of year functions, where the job is a team feeling properly looked after rather than another night in a function room.
What clients say
“We are beyond happy with Brendan’s service at our end of year function. He was engaging, approachable, professional and left an imprint on all that attended. In all my years of organising end of year events and corporate functions I’ve never received this level of positive feedback. Our team were talking about Brendan’s magic for weeks. His show wasn’t only engaging, it felt personal. He remembered people’s names from earlier in the night when he mingled with the crowd, which made them feel special, and his banter through the show was on point. 100% book him and prepare to be WOWED!”
Kiwi Property
“Phenomenal. Without Brendan, these two back-to-back conferences and award nights would not have been the roaring successes that they were! His humour, organisational skills and insane magic kept the event flowing and the audience engaged. The event went from a little unsure to connected, enthused and absolutely together. One attendee even grabbed the mic for an impromptu thank you followed by a standing ovation! We’ve already locked him in for next year in Australia before the event had even ended. Don’t hesitate, just hire him!”
Mike Pero Group
“Brendan is world class, memorable and so connecting! From the communication in the lead up to the delivery, he was the ultimate professional. I hung up from my first phone call with him and thought, he gets it, this is our guy to lead our event on the night. He delivered and then so much more. I have never had such amazing feedback from an event and I have been in the events industry for 20+ years. Our board members commented how much he felt like he was part of our team!”
Rotorua Hospice
“Brendan’s performance at the Gala Award Dinner brought our guests together by creating a shared experience full of laughter, surprise and engagement. His captivating magic and witty humour broke the ice, allowing everyone to relax, connect and enjoy the evening more deeply. He was incredibly engaging, wonderful on stage, and connected brilliantly with all of our conference attendees. We feel so lucky to have had him with us and he will be back!”
Stonewood Homes
“Brendan was so easy to deal with and delivered on every level. Professional, fun and brought something really different to the night. His magic and energy stood out immediately, instantly engaging people. It just made the whole event feel more connected.”
Private VIP dinner
Wellington venues and event types
Association and sector conferences. AGMs and member events. Awards nights and gala dinners. Client networking functions, product launches and end of year parties.
Venues worked include Te Papa, The Boatshed, Te Wharewaka, the Opera House, the James Cook and TSB Arena, just to name a few. Everything from an intimate function on the waterfront through to a full theatre or arena room, so the night is built around the room you have rather than a set routine.