Elected Officers
Richard O'Brien
Patron
Richard is known to most Hamiltonians as a figure in bronze standing on the site of the old Embassy Theatre building in Victoria Street.
Richard’s life in the world of entertainment began when he found work riding horses in movies in England in 1965. Since this unlikely beginning he has acted in film, theatre, television and on radio. Perhaps best known for writing the book, music and lyrics to the award winning, cult classic musical, The Rocky Horror Show, Richard is also known as the host of the incredibly successful UK Channel Four Television game show, The Crystal Maze. His critically acclaimed solo album, Absolute O’Brien, was awarded five stars by the influential Q Magazine.
As the voice of Lawrence Fletcher, the father of Phineas and Ferb in the Disney cartoon series of the same name, Richard recently attracted a new and younger audience.
Richard has been the Patron of Hamilton Operatic Society since 2009.
Paul Mitchell
President
Paul received a Hamilton City Council Civic Award in 2011 for, amongst other things, his services to Theatre in Hamilton. This followed a period of nine years when Paul was Chairman of The Board of The Hamilton Operatic Society and was executive producer of approximately 25 musical productions in this era.
Paul’s association with the society started in 1992 when he performed in the musical Evita. He performed in one major production per year until he was elected to the Board and time prohibited continued appearances on stage.
Paul’s association with the society started in 1992 when he performed in the musical Evita. He performed in one major production per year until he was elected to the Board and time prohibited continued appearances on stage.
A highlight of Paul’s time in HOS was when he was executive producer for Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show in 2005 at Founders Theatre. This also started Richard’s involvement with the Society, which is another highlight.
Paul sees his present role as President of the Society as a privilege to hold. Many people have worked for the Hamilton Operatic Society for the past 100 years and it is a pleasure to take a turn at being part of this very important part of Hamilton’s past, present and future.
Hamilton Operatic Society Board Members & Management
Fiona Bradley
Chairperson
Natalie Mora
Treasurer
Natalie is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over seven years’ experience in Enterprise Advisory Services. Growing up in the small Waikato town of Te Aroha, she found an interest for the performing arts and was involved in a number of small productions at the local Theatre. When the opportunity arose back in 2014 to be part of the Hamilton Operatic Society Board of Management she could not pass it up, and has enjoyed every moment since.
Nicole Hardy
Board Member
Nicole has been involved with Hamilton Operatic for the past 8 years, starting as a follow spot operator before being given the privilege of Stage Managing many of Hamilton Operatic Society’s shows in recent years. Nicole is a Geography teacher by day and relishes in having the opportunity to introduce the world of musical theatre to many of her students.
David Smith
Board Member
Dave has been involved in the Society since 1984. His technical experience includes Head Mechanist for shows such as, Evita, Annie, Les Misérables, Chess, Grease and Blood Brothers. Dave has been a member of the Board of Management since 2000 as a co-opted member and a elected member since 2002. Dave also was Chairman of the Board of Management from 2006 until 2008 and Executive Producer for the phenomenally successful season of Cats.
Keith Richards
Board Member
Keith is a UK qualified Chartered Accountant with over 20 years’ of experience advising business owners. He moved to New Zealand in 2013 and has a long interest in the performing arts, being a regular visitor to some of the top shows in London’s West End.
He enjoys his role at the Hamilton Operatic and is delighted to be able to give his time freely and assist the Board to help deliver high quality productions and to ensure the long term financial success of the society.
He enjoys his role at the Hamilton Operatic and is delighted to be able to give his time freely and assist the Board to help deliver high quality productions and to ensure the long term financial success of the society.
Gillian Lyon
Board Member
Gillian is very pleased to help on the HOS Board in a position to assist with shows from the idea through to the reality. Her personal goal is the encouragement of more youth involvement on, behind or front of stage and within the audience. She enjoyed drama and dance from a young age and loves that her own children have found various niches within the arts. Creating has lead her on many roads but has always centred around people. Passion in life and the courage to pursue a dream is what inspires her about others and she finds this daily in Theatre.
Christine Sidwell
Board Member
Christine’s been involved with Hamilton Operatic since 1982 – initially as a dancer, in too many productions to name. After 15 years of treading the boards, she moved into lighting board operation and then quickly into Stage Management. With hands on involvement with more than 50 HOS productions, Christine believes that she has music and theatre in her blood. The shows that were the biggest tests of her Stage Management skills were Les Miserables, Phantom and most recently Mary Poppins.
During the day, Christine is employed as a People and Performance Manager where she is involved in a senior Leadership Team as a performance coach. Recently, Christine has become involved in mental skills training for performing arts students.
Christine has previously been a co-opted Board member for the Hamilton Operatic Society and served on a number of other Boards previously..She brings strategic planning, business management and people leadership skills to the Board and looks forward to supporting the governance of the Hamilton Operatic Society
Hamish Nathan
Board Member
Hamish’s first encounter with the footlights was at the tender age of 13 as part of the chorus in the Hamilton Boys High production of West Side Story. Fast forward many years and Hamish’s love for performance arts was reignited when he became Logistics Manager for the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival. This lead to two subsequent years as Festival Director. He is now seen both in front and behind the stage in various HOP and other independent productions in Hamilton. Hamish also comes to the Board with extensive financial management and process management experience. He is keen to use these skills to contribute to a long, sustainable and successful future for this wonderful organisation.
Ehsan Yaeghoobi
Board Member
Ehsan fell in love with theatre at an early age when he found success as a tree and later as a rock on stage! He believes that watching actors play a role live, is still the purest form of entertainment. Ehsan brings over a decade of marketing, communication, and events management experience, which he has gained working in different parts of the world in various industries. He is very excited to use his skills and knowledge to help Hamilton Operatic Society grow.
Michael Lamusse
Board Member
Philippa Chesham
Business Manager/Secretary
Philippa has been involved with HOS for many years as cast, crew, orchestra and board member. Now as Business Manager, she enjoys developing and maintaining business and corporate relationships, encouraging youth development, working with HOS members and finding new opportunities for the Society.
Margot Rawlings
Wardrobe Manager
Margot has a professional background in communications and business analytics, and together with her passion for theatre, she is now turning her hand to managing the wardrobe department at Hamilton Operatic Society. When Margot first moved to Hamilton in 1994 she worked with companies such as Shavian, Slip of the Tongue, Elektra and her own Extant, in production and stage management. She is now very excited about the challenge that lies ahead in building the wardrobe into a self-sustaining business at the hub of the HOS community.
Wardrobe Staff
Hamilton Operatic Society
Maria Eaton
Advisors
Honorary Solicitor: Sandra Braithwaite, Harkness Henry
Accountant: KPMG
Auditor: Crowe Horwath
HR Consultant: Christine Sidwell
Life Members
Bobbie Alderton QSM, Ron Braithwaite, Shirley Buchanan, Aileen Downey, Val Easte, Dave Gibbs, Noel Gleeson, Francie Gray, Sandra Herbert, John Keenan,
Elaine Lucas, Brian Linehan, Paul Mitchell, Sabrina O’Brien, Richard O’Brien, Margaret Oliver, John Pak, Margaret Parkin, Russ Rimmington, Mrs W Roberts,
David Sidwell, Dave Smith, Colin Smith QSM, Marie Thompson, Jean Turk, Cheryl Turner, Jean Wilson, Kathie Young