About the Meteor

The Meteor is the Waikato’s most versatile space.

We are Hamilton’s home of New Zealand theatre. The Waikato’s most exciting, accessible and affordable Performing Arts venue!

Our Vision is to enhance the performing arts in Hamilton and New Zealand by providing a vibrant and thriving venue for theatre, music, dance, poetry, exhibitions, workshops, comedy, improv…and much, much more. The diversity is awe-inspiring!

The Meteor theatre is operated by the One Victoria Trust, which exists to foster, develop, and encourage all forms of creative and performing art, in a manner that benefits the community.

In our city. By our city. For our city.

The Meteor is accessible and affordable and exists to support the new and the established, the professional and the community, and the mainstream and the experimental.

So any person or group may use this lovely building, and you’ll pay an amount designed to facilitate your endeavours AND keep us operational, via a mix of low base fees and the sharing of successful ‘door takes’.

The Meteor Story

The Meteor Theatre has been a part of the Hamilton cultural landscape since it was first built in 1900 as an aerated water bottling factory by local bottler and brewer C.L Innes and Company (of Waikato Breweries). The Innes Tartan building stood strong until the 1960s when Waikato Breweries was sold to Lion.

After that, the building that became The Meteor underwent several transformations. Of its many iterations over the years, there’s none more iconic than when it became Skateworld from the 1970s until the 1980s. Skateworld remains a fond memory for many Hamiltonians, not only as a skating rink, but also as a music venue as well.

In the 1980s, interest in the performing arts in Hamilton rose as new groups were born and new spaces were created and, in 1996, the Hamilton City Council purchased the building and converted it into a black box-style theatre and, thus The Meteor Theatre was born.
From then, The Meteor became occupied by artists and companies looking to create an inclusive and accessible arts community. In 2007, part of the interior was renovated to create an open mezzanine office area for proposed creative industry initiatives, becoming Soda (now the Creative Cluster).

However, as costs rose and usage declined, the Hamilton City Council looked at 1 Victoria Street as a potential asset to be sold. Seeing the detriment that this would do to the creative community, a group of like-minded members of the arts community came together and, in 2012, the One Victoria Trust was established.

On the 1st of February 2014, the Hamilton City Council gifted The Meteor Theatre to the Trust. Part of the deed of gift for this venue to the One Victoria Trust was the need for earthquake strengthening. With the help of the community of users and local philanthropists and grants (as well as the support of the Council) The Meteor was able to raise the $1.1million needed to ensure that this space remains a functional and robust venue for our community.
In 2016, The Meteor Theatre closed its doors for six months as it underwent renovations and earthquake strengthening and, in May 2017, reopened as a fully accessible space.

Today, The Meteor Theatre remains Hamilton’s home of New Zealand theatre. From emerging local creators to national and international acts, The Meteor remains a place for the community to share creative experiences.

Trustees

Chair – Charlotte Chuen

Charlotte is a founding trustee of the One Victoria Trust since August 2013.   A commercial lawyer and director at DTI Lawyers Limited, outside of work Charlotte is passionate about the arts and in particular theatre in Hamilton; acting, directing and producing a range of plays and musicals.   She is a current trustee of D V Bryant Trust and BOLD Theatre Trust and has also enjoyed previous governance roles with Hamilton Arts Trust, Hamilton Performing Arts Trust, Creative Waikato, Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival, Curiously Cut Productions, Hamilton Playbox Repertory Society and Riverlea Theatre & Arts Centre.

Deputy Chair – Tracey Wood

Tracey has a long history with the Meteor having been involved in its creation as a performance space more than 20 years ago when she managed the Hamilton Community Arts Council. During this time, she was also involved in the establishment of the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival, FUEL Festival, Indigo Multicultural Festival, redevelopment of the Artspost building, Fringe Festival and the Riff Raff Trust.

She currently works in her ‘happy place’ in events and engagement for Hamilton City Council with community at the heart of her mahi. Outside of work Tracey supports the arts as an avid audience member and when time allows, is backstage in a stage management or producer role.

Tracey notes that none of this would be possible without the support of her family who have been voluntold (like volunteering but less free will) for more events, shows and activities than she can count.

Secretary – Ross MacLeod

Ross MacLeod has been writing, directing and producing theatre in Hamilton for the last decade. While his focus is often smaller scale original works, he has directed productions ranging from musicals to Shakespeare. He has seen The Meteor space come a long way since his first show there in 1999, but a theatre is more than just a building and he is keen to pass on any support he can offer to new writers and performers wishing to use that theatre. He was also a board member of the Hamilton Community Arts Council.

Treasurer – Liam Egan

Liam is a qualified accountant currently working at PwC in financial advisory services. He brings commercial experience across manufacturing, entertainment, and construction industries.
Having spent time out of the Waikato studying in Otago and working in London, Liam returned home to Hamilton in 2021 and is passionate about the potential of the city and The Meteor’s place in the community.

Dave Smith

Courteney Mayall

Courteney has been involved in the Hamilton theatre scene since 2007. She is a professional creative working in a range of fields both locally and internationally. While performing is her main focus, she also has numerous credits including roles as director, producer, writer, production designer, alongside backstage work in hair and makeup. Courteney has always loved the Meteor Theatre and has been actively involved with the annual July school holiday shows including writing and directing ‘Destination: Earth’ and ‘Kingdom of Night’. In a governance capacity alongside being a trustee on the One Victoria Trust, she is the current Chair of The Place Charitable Trust.

Nick Bourchier

Dave Taylor

Paul Barnett

Paul Barnett joined the Trust in October 2024.  A born and bred Hamiltonian he has spent most of his career in the construction industry operating his own Project Management and Property Management company for over 25 years.  He has been involved in many organisations helping them to lift their profile and property portfolio.

Hannah Mooney

The Meteor is at the heart of Hannah’s passion for engaging in and producing locally created theatre. Born into a creative family, Hannah has been involved in the Hamilton Theatre scene from an early age and first took to the stage at The Meteor in 2012. She has since been involved in many creative projects on and off stage. 
 
Hannah’s passion lies in producing shows and she’s been lucky enough to work on some incredible creative projects at The Meteor. By day Hannah works in the event industry marketing everything from international sports, concerts, and expos in Kirikiriroa. 
 
Hannah previously worked as the Audience Builder at the Meteor from 2017 – 2021 and is thrilled to be on the OVT in a governance capacity. 
 
Outside of work and the OVT Hannah hosts a weekly arts podcast on Free FM called ‘That’s the Ticket’ and enjoys interviewing creators of Meteor events and beyond about upcoming projects and initiatives.

Staff

Cian Parker – General Manager

Cian is an award-winning performer, writer and producer, bringing both a creative and strategic perspective. She was the recipient of the Ngā Manu Pīrere Award at the 2019 Te Waka Toi Awards. In 2019, Cian premiered “Sorry for Your Loss”, which later led to producing and touring her projects both locally and internationally, along with winning the ‘New Playwright Award’ at the Wellington Theatre Awards in 2021. That same year, she received The Springboard Award from the Arts Foundation (2021), recognizing her innovative potential within the arts industry. Cian has worked as a Company Producer for Equal Voices Arts, managing operations of an innovation grant from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, a project to champion accessible arts experiences for all. Additionally, Parker has guest lectured in theatre studies at University of Waikato and local colleges, as well as produced works in a range of festivals and venues across Aotearoa and overseas.

Guy Coker – Technical and Operations Manager

Guy always loves a good bit of problem solving. With many years of industry experience, he’s always up for a challenge. Since the age of 8 he has been playing guitar along with other instruments including bass and drums. Playing in a couple of bands was his gateway into the industry. At a very young age Guy began working with companies such as Drury Lane & ACLX.  Once Guy was old enough, he got a casual technician role at H3 and began taking on more freelance work. This has included working as a Stage Manager/Backline Tech for bands like Katchafire, Kora and Sons of Zion. After working on a multitude of different events be it in a Pub, Theatre, Festival or Stadium he was hooked.  When Guy saw the opportunity to join the awesome team at the Meteor in 2017 he jumped at the chance. He loves working with everyone who comes into the space. Whether it be a community, corporate, or professional event Guy is always ready to make it happen.

Karena Hall – Operations Coordinator

Karena loves all things creative. She loves to immerse herself through creative projects and help bring them to life. Having worked at Disney World, as an Attractions Host, and at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki as the Visitor Experience Manager, Karena comes with a wealth of knowledge in working with local, national and international artists. In these previous roles, she worked to create outstanding experiences for manuhiri from all over the motu and the globe.

Karena comes with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Classical Studies from Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington. When Karena is not facilitating arts experiences for the public, she is often found enjoying live music, spending time with whānau and trying new food.

James Smith – Technician

James gets called a Swiss-army knife of a person often, and it’s a claim not without merit. Having been around the community since birth, James has learnt and developed skills in a range of theatrical capacities. After attaining a Master of Arts with First Class Honours in Theatre Studies at the University of Waikato, James has worked as: an nationally and internationally touring ASM, the Creative Director of their company Infinite Monkey with whom they took their one-person show to Wellington in 2022, and countless other technical, production, and performing roles around the local theatre community. 

They began volunteering here at The Meteor in 2018, and soon became everyone’s favourite, and a popular face among many attendees of the venue, officially joining the team in 2022

Vision

Our Vision

The Meteor Theatre is operated by the One Victoria Trust, which exists to foster, develop, and encourage all forms of creative and performing art, in a manner that benefits the community.

On the 1st February 2014, the keys to the Meteor Theatre were formally handed over to the One Victoria Trust. Over the next three years community support for the venue to operate as a fully functioning theatre flowed through the space. Key Performance Indicators set by Hamilton City Council were smashed as thousands of people came through the doors to use the theatre. As the 3-year trial period of community operation came to an end, the One Victoria Trust had achieved all the HCC conditions on the Deed of Gift and the theatre officially passed into OVT ownership.

In 2017 the building was upgraded and earthquake strengthened. In 2018 the venue won the Hamilton CBD Award for ‘Best CBD Experience’. New local production companies began to emerge, as did new festivals, and new local stories. Improved facilities, an increase to seating capacity, and superb staff saw the venue come into demand by touring NZ companies.

Then, of course 2020 hit a fatal blow to the whole world, and the creative sector was only one of those to suffer severe impacts through closure and cancellations. The One Victoria Trust is indebted to all those who stepped up to support our local creative industry. Our thanks goes out to local Council, Community Funders, Creative NZ, and all the wonderful people who continued to support the mahi of the Meteor Theatre.

One of the ongoing strengths of the Meteor has been its ability to flex and adapt its Black Box theatre space. Perhaps at no other time in history did the perfect size of the Meteor come into play when the time came to re-open the theatre doors. Gathering size, spacing restrictions, and sign-in protocols were challenges for our theatre staff there is no doubt. Fears of whether the audience would come were put aside as shows performed to sold-out nights. We have been lucky. Many countries have not fared so well.

It has been seven years, and the Meteor now steps up from the enormous learnings of childhood, into adolescence. It is time to re-focus and cement our place in not only the local landscape of performance venues, but on a national platform. We have faced, and risen to, significant challenges in the past seven years and now we turn our efforts to a new 3-year strategic plan. With three new trustees on board, we have revisited our Vision, Mission and Values. We have identified goals in four focus areas.

We are looking to the future. As this strategic plan comes to an end in 2023 we know that a new regional theatre will be opening its doors. This will bring a new focus to Kirikiriroa, and a significant boost to creative activity in the Waikato region. We are already forming our place in this journey.

As always, this is an exciting time for the Meteor as we look to nurture, host, and celebrate our relationships with creators, audiences, and external partners. Community wellbeing and social connectedness has been raised to new levels of awareness around the world. The arts continue to help us to define and express ourselves, as well as engage with each other in our communities. By continuing to provide a space where the community can engage with various art forms, both as audience and participants, we allow all our users to increase their own capacity for life.

We are but the guardians of this space. We welcome you to join the journey.

Adrienne Clothier
Chair – The One Victoria Trust Board

Our Purpose

  • Build and support the culture and creativity of our community, artistic and audience, in all forms of creative and performing art.
  • Develop upon the legacy of the space and the various groups that have inhabited it whilst remaining forward thinking, with values and philosophy that respect the past, present and future.
  • Operate a safe, affordable but sustainable space with a culture of accessibility and innovative support.
  • Provide opportunities for development and presentation of unique and diverse performances.
  • Respect and engage with the community and adapt to any change in their needs.
  • Maintain a financial sustainability that facilitates the above purposes.
  • Endeavour to impact the wider community and culture of Hamilton both for the current and future generations.

Our Structure

The One Victoria Trust, hereinafter referred to as The Trust, comprises a board made up of a minimum 7, maximum 13 Trustees, including representatives from each of the following community groups:
  • Legal
  • Financial
  • Local Community
  • Creative Representation
  • Technical
  • Marketing
  • Youth
  • Diversity
  • Sponsorship and Funding
  • Strategic
  • Hospitality
  • Institutions
  • Business Leaders
A Quorum of 5 is required for Board meetings.
Simple majority required to pass resolutions.
The Trust will:
  • Abide by the terms and conditions given in the Deed of Charitable Trust of The One Victoria Trust Board Incorporated.
  • Employ staff to fill particular roles.
  • Form sub-committees in areas agreed upon by The Trust.
  • Pay on-going operational costs include electricity, heating, insurance, telephones and internet, administration costs, cleaning, bar licences, etc.

Our Operation

Programming

  • The Theatre building will be artistically programmed.
  • While the building is ‘open’ to all, the right to say ‘No’ is reserved.
  • The building will not be a home for any resident group; the artist(s) vacate once a project is completed.

User Accessibility

  • Any person or group may ‘apply’ to use the building.
  • The programming of the building to be so structured that ‘new’ users or ‘alternative’ projects are given opportunity alongside ‘established artists’, and this to be actively promoted.
  • The right to decline a person or group or project is reserved.
  • The building may be used for more than one purpose or more than one performance on any one day.
  • Use of the building implies and assumes trust, informed by a responsible and professional work ethic. That trust may be abused and thereby lost, and the right to use the building removed.
  • Each project – an identified person in the project – is issued with an entrance code which enables people to work whenever they wish, within the agreed time frame of the project and respecting any negotiated use of the space(s) by others.

User Affordability

  • Each user will pay a small amount for the right to use the space, observing the principle that many pay little (and thereby have access) rather than a few paying a lot (excluding the many who cannot afford a higher fee).

Procedures

  • User contracts will be used for each artist or group project.
  • While acknowledging the need for creative and innovative activity, the observation of safety protocols, following established guidelines for theatre spaces, will be required by all users.
  • Liability insurance cover may be required to protect the interests of both The Trust and the user(s).
  • A mechanism to enable users to register comments, complaints, or suggestions about the building and its facilities will be established.

 

Meet Our Sponsors

Meet the amazing organisations supporting The Meteor: