Kwaku Sintim Misa, comedian, actor, TV host and
playwright has pinned down his success in theatre to a challenge his
wife threw to him after he returned to Ghana.
KSM revealed his wife taunted him back into comedy which he appeared to
have abandoned for radio. He was recollecting highpoints of his career
on Multi TV's Tarzan's Take last Sunday.
KSM told Tarzan of his promising start in acting inspired by his sister
Ghanaian actress Joyce Anima Misa Amoah. " I used to follow her when
she was going for rehearsals at Drama studio at the University of
Ghana", he said.
Enamored by theatre, he pulled off a play by writing, producing and
acting out a solo performance in 1976 titled 'Mellow Madness'. He played
all five characters.
KSM later travelled to the United States to study for a major in acting
and directing at Trinity College in Connecticut, USA. He subsequently
earned a Master of Fine Arts in film production from New York
University.
But after returning to Ghana in 1997, the comedian and playwright ventured into radio.
"When I came back there was a bit of a break ..because of circumstances I decided to do some radio"
He hosted Talk Shop, a dialogue on controversial national issues on
Vibe FM. Despite its success, the ace comedian's wife had other ideas of
what his personal success should be.
"Two years later, my wife said you [kraa] you have forgotten all your
acting. You have now become a radio man... I don't know whether she was
taunting me to remind me that I have a craft"
But that brief dare pushed the decorated theatre man into thinking seriously about his craft.
"That inspired me to write the Saga of the Returnee, out of her daring me", he confessed.
After finishing the script in a couple of months, he produced 'the Saga
of the Returnee' and it turned out to be an instant success.
The CEO of Sapphire Ghana Limited, a media content development company
admits that to date, that play was the most successful he has ever done.
He replayed it 13 times and all sold out.
He went on to do 'Afia Siriboe', and Politically Incorrect where KSM’s
live performances use comical characters to illustrate the key social,
economic and political issues concerning Ghana.
KSM has also created what has become one Ghana’s most popular talk shows: Thank God It’s Friday (TGIF).
It was the first broadcast of its kind to fuse serious talk, education
and humor. Since its inception, the show has featured gripping stories
from entrepreneurial street vendors, dancing presidents, pioneering
scientists, leading artists, and many more exciting characters.
KSM recently won the Radio and Television Personality Television
Entertainment Show Host of the Year (2011) for his work with TGIF.