Megan Peacock Coyle started young as a five-year-old Gretel in The Sound of Music for Waipawa Musical & Dramatic Society.

Since then she’s has a hand in acting, lighting design, tutoring, stage managing and producing. Handy background for her creative career in arts programming and venue management with Hawke’s Bay Opera House, Oamaru Opera House and Performing Arts Network NZ (PANNZ).

Megan tells us why she moved to manage Baycourt Community & Arts Centre in Tauranga, where she's on the board of Creative Bay of Plenty, with big plans to put the city on the map as an events and performance destination. Not to mention becoming the silent movie capital of NZ, proudly making the most of one of only three Wurlitzer organs in the country. 

“I was excited to see that the city was investing in making sure there was diverse work being presented to its community, I wanted to be a part of that.”

Qualifications: Masters in Theatre Arts Directing, BA major Theatre, Dip Performing Arts Acting

Tells us a bit about your background

On the stage at 5 years as Gretel in The Sound of Music for the Waipawa Musical & Dramatic Society.  Forward 35 years and am completing my Masters at Toi Whakaari NZ Drama School and Victoria University.  In those 35 years I acted, directed, lighting designed, tutored, stage managed and produced many productions and eventually ended up in the arts programming and venue management industry.  

What’s a highlight of your resume/portfolio?

Programming high profile international and national productions i.e. SOAP from Germany at the HBOH in 2011 and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa firstly at the Oamaru Opera House and this year at Baycourt.  Both concerts sold out in two days.

Creatively it would be directing the production of Red, Hot & Cole starring the wonderful Kim Willoughby as well as The Vagina Monologues starring the delightful and irrepressible Michele A’Court, in Hawke’s Bay while working at the Hawke’s Bay Opera House as Arts Programming Manager. 

Tell us about your role

I am the Manager of Baycourt Theatre in Tauranga.  I have been here 22 months now and am thoroughly enjoying it.  Tauranga is a beautiful city with so much opportunity and right now is the time to be here.  Baycourt is the only professional theatre venue for hire in Tauranga and we are extremely busy.

Tell us about Baycourt Theatre's mission and vision

Our vision is that Baycourt is the hub of performing arts in Tauranga with expertise in delivering a balanced programme of events that enriches, engages and contributes to a vibrant arts community in the city.

Our mission is:

• To celebrate and facilitate the performing arts community
• To value the past and nurture the present and future generations of artists
• To present our patrons with the very best shows on offer in a venue we can be proud of

Why did you want this role? What was a perfect fit? 

I had been the director of the Oamaru Opera House for 2 ½ years and I learnt a lot from that role in a small venue in a small town.  Baycourt offered me an opportunity to move into a much bigger area and team.  Baycourt had also just started actively programming the theatre and I was excited to see that the city was investing in making sure there was diverse work being presented to its community, I wanted to be a part of that.

What did you need to adapt or learn?

I needed to adapt to the previous style of management and take my time before implementing my style, treading carefully to impart experience and knowledge but not to make too many drastic changes too quickly.  Working more closely with council I have learnt many new process and procedures, and also how the political machine works.

What combination of people, partners and resources do you work with?

I have a very hard working team at Baycourt and they are all specialists in their areas, they are very committed to theatre in general and this helps a lot in understanding the unpredictability and flexibility that working in a theatre requires.  In this role I like to collaborate with other city organisations and community groups to ensure that arts are vibrant in the whole city.  I am on the board of Creative Bay of Plenty as well as outgoing Co-Chair of the national organisation PANNZ (Performing Arts Network of NZ).

What are some of your recent and upcoming projects?

Silent movies and the Wurlitzer organ have been a focus this year, Baycourt has one of only three of these instruments in NZ which is celebrating its 90th Anniversary this year.  We had the silent cinema City Lights by Charlie Chaplin and on October 22 we have the International Youth Silent Film Festival (IYSFF) with 41 submission from around NZ for the NZ Regional Finals.  This festival is based in Portland, Oregon, USA and has youth competing from other states in the US and Victoria and South Australia.  The competition is open for all youth in NZ under 20 years and it is a 3 min silent film set to a soundtrack composed by 23-year-old Nathan Avakian on the Wurlitzer Organ.  1st, 2nd & 3rd place films go to compete in the Grand Final in Portland in June 2017 and one of them could win the International competition.   

What’s your short and long term goals?

Short term goals are to have a diverse programme of events for Tauranga city and increase the occupancy of Baycourt to ensure vibrancy.  Currently the Tauranga City Council are working through a ‘civic heart’ project with long term goals of building a 1200 seat performance venue beside Baycourt, this is a very exciting project and if achieved would put Tauranga on the map as an events and performance destination.

What advice would you give to someone pursuing a similar creative career or pathway?

Put in the hours, try a bit of everything, work behind the bar, as an usher, in ticketing, as a techie.  Understand the national and international industry, study arts management, event management, business management, marketing. Network, develop relationships, engage with your community and know how to promote the arts and how to develop audiences, but most importantly, keep it real!

What's your number one business tip for surviving and thriving in the creative industries?

Keep it real!  Do the research/study, know who you are dealing with, admit when you are wrong, always negotiate but be honest about it, be upfront – no surprises, hidden agendas are boring and time wasting. Ultimately, be yourself at all times and take time to invest in relationships with other people.

What are the challenges and opportunities in your sector?

Funding for the arts sector and a disdainful lack of respect and understanding of the arts in our society.  The opportunity is that it is our job, as arts and culture leaders, to try and convince our communities of the value and contribution that arts plays locally and nationally, not only to the wellbeing and betterment of our society but also to the economic development of our regions and cities. 

What’s your big idea for 2016/17?

Our focus over the next 12 months is to grow our new initiatives, Kids Week and IYSFF NZ Regional Competition for 2017/18. Continue to collaborate with our performing arts community and sector and we are very excited to be involved in Tour Makers National Audience Development Strategy.  This strategy will see venues in New Zealand develop skills that enable us to turn our audience members into advocates of our venues, but also advocates of the arts in New Zealand!  We also have two incredible NZ productions coming to Baycourt by Tour Makers, Triumphs and Other Alternatives and The White Guitar, both showing in October.

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