Jonty Hendry
Chief Executive
Jonty takes care of how BATS runs and grows and brings all the tools to fly BATS to the future. He is the former Artistic Director of Dunedin’s Fortune Theatre and was previously Head of Acting and an Associate Director of Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School. Jonty is a strong advocate for the arts who is regularly called on for his skills in governance, moderation and advisory.
[email protected]
021 655 128
Dennis Eir Lim
Box Office Coordinator
Dennis was born and raised in the western Sydney suburb of Cabramatta West, Australia with a whānau who emigrated from Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime. He has a Master of Fine Arts in theatre, studied music and live-sound as a singer and is working on several projects in addition to his role as an assistant in the programming, marketing, and front of house spaces. He is passionate about healthy work practices and believes that moderation in the creative workspace makes for sustainable careers. Dennis loves musicals, is a trained baritone, edits podcasts/videos/photos and has all the gold kart pieces in Mario Kart 8.
Carrie Thiel
Creative Producer
Carrie's career has spanned live theatre and digital performance, dance, music and stunts. She values the relationships she has built in a variety of arenas including digital visual arts, mixed reality and video production. She sees interdisciplinary, experimental and collaborative work as essential to the evolution of our industry and a reflection of social context and current times.
Alesha Ahdar
Programmer
Kia ora e te whānau!
Alesha here, having a Nick Jonas - Camp Rock 2 moment to introduce myself (IYKYK). I've been with BATS for the past 6 months as the Programming Intern under Toi Māori Aotearoa, and am stoked to now be stepping into the BATS Programmer role! Woo!
I grew up in the bustling metropolis of Te Awamutu. My whakapapa traces back to Ngāti Maniapoto, Te Arawa, Tapuika, Mulifanua & Fugalei - if this makes us cuzzies then kia ora & hows mum?? Oh, and 1 sugar, oat milk & tea bag in pls.. hahaha.
Creatively I've been a king-dabbler, trying my hand at producing, advising, writing, directing, editing & performance in theatre, film & TV. I've loved assisting in the programming of this year's Winter & Spring seasons, and I am looking forward to everyone coming to BATS & soaking up all of the talent!
Lyndee-Jane Rutherford
Partnerships Manager
“It’s like coming home”, Lyndee-Jane says of her new role as Partnerships Manager at BATS. She brings with her thirty years experience in the theatre and TV industry and nearly ten years on the board at Circa Theatre. Her love of theatre and theatre artists has brought her back to BATS after working in the emergency services. She looks forward to creating new relationships and expanding on the connections she has.
Michaella Simpson
Front of House Manager
Tainui | Ngāti Māhanga | Rarotonga
Residential army brat and ex-box office babe, Michaella is a theatre practitioner and writer who keeps things running smoothly for our FOH staff, volunteer ushers, and audiences. While a late entry into the theatre scene, Michaella has worked on a handful of shows within Pōneke and enjoys the artistic community to be found here. A fun fact about her is that - while she grew up in Taihape, the 'Gumboot Capital of the World' - she doesn't actually own a pair of gumboots herself.
Maeve O'Connell
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Maeve studied Creative Media Production at Massey University and previously worked as the Marketing Coordinator for CubaDupa and New Zealand Fringe Festival. Maeve began working at Meow the Live Music Venue as a bartender and worked her way up in the music/theatre industry from there.
Maeve loves taking photos and collaborating with the creativity community here in Pōneke.
Stevie Greeks
Marketing and Communications Manager
Ngāti Whātua | Ngapuhi | Ngāti Kahungungu
Stevie Greeks is a writer from Te Matau-a-Māui who currently resides in Te Whanganui-a-tara. She has completed a Master of Creative Writing with a focus on creative non-fiction and fiction writing. She is relatively new to the theatre scene, but is a passionate arts advocate. Stevie will make sure that our whānau, near and far, is in the know of all things BATS.
Pearl Kennedy
Archivist
Pearl has called BATS home for several years now. Having left her previous position as Front of House Manager to return to her studies at Victoria University, she is stoked to be staying on in this new role. As Archivist, Pearl is undertaking a project to preserve a slice of Pōneke’s theatre history and celebrate the work BATS has housed over the last three decades.
Kristin Burns
Operations Manager
Kristin has called some excellent venues 'home' around the world including The Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh, Adelaide's Garden of Unearthly Delights, Auckland's Q Theatre and The Classic Comedy Club. She's worked a variety of roles in a plethora of events and brings this incredible experience to assist with 'behind the scenes' operations in the BATS office. She also gets to be a bit creative and plan fun things to help keep the building humming along between shows.
Hāmi Hawkins
Technical and Facilities Manager
Hāmi has been part of the BATS whānau for a few years now as a House Tech. We are beyond stoked to be welcoming this highly skilled, big hearted man to work with us.
"I'm a Wellington boy, born and raised in Paekakariki on the coast. I've been doing technical things of all varieties for about 13 years now, usually focusing in lighting design as that is my main passion creatively. I did a brief stint studying at Toi, before spending the last 8+ years freelancing for many different companies around Wellington as well as some national tours. I've been a house tech here at BATS for the past few years and have always found it to be my artistic home, so having this opportunity to give back to the place that has given me so much is something I'm stoked to be able to do."
Front of House Team
Our FOH team are a multi-talented bunch who you will see working at both the Box Office and bar:
- Michiel van Echten
- Molly Friis
- Salomé Neely
- Mycah Keall
- Blu Marqueses
- Emma Barrett
- Rebekah de Roo
- Dennis Eir Lim
- Izzy Hadlow
House Techs
Hooray for our house techs! These guys are serious technical lifesavers.
- Alex Greig
- Darryn Woods
- Isadora Lao
- Tane Hipango
- Lucas Neal
- Sam Tippet
- Benny Jennings
- Bekky Boyce
- Niamh Campbell-Ward
- Jacob Banks
- Marshal Rankin
- Grace Newton
- Russ King
- Zoë Higgins
The BATS Theatre Board
Our volunteer board members are awesome BATS advocates and provide a brilliant range of skills and experience that keep us flying steady.
If you'd like to contact the BATS Board about strategic or governance issues you can send an email to [email protected]. Correspondence is discussed monthly at board meetings.
For urgent matters or issues relating to the day-to-day running of BATS, please contact the theatre office on (04) 802 4176 or email Chief Executive Jonty Hendry on [email protected].
Our Board Members.
- Cathie Sheat (Chair )
- Bri Simpson (Intern 2020)
- Tessa Waters
- Edward Watson
- Ali Montague
- Jo Carr
- Sarah Hutchings
- Rangimoana Taylor (Kaumatua)
- Prabha Ravi
- Te Aorewa (Intern 2020, Co-opted onto board the to support in 2021 to support development of our Intercultural Policy)
