The Meeting & E Ipo, My Love

Kia ora! We are Tane, Gisele & Lola, three early career theatre makers currently based in Ōtautahi Christchurch.  

We are seeking funding to present the world premiere of our double-bill season of The Meeting and E Ipo, My Love in collaboration with Isaac Theatre Royal and Hagley Theatre School. We can't wait to share these exciting works with you, but first, we need your support to bring them to you in all their glory!  

Lola Houghton is an actor, artist and creator who loves to embody eccentric characters through clown, mask, and comedy. Her punchy solo show The Meeting will be her professional acting debut after going overseas in 2024 to further her training in mask and clown theatre.  

Tane Te Pakeke-Patterson (Kai Tahu, Kati Hateatea) and Gisele Proud are regular collaborators who are dedicated to creating original works. Tane is passionate about fast-paced work that entertains and brings joy, while Gisele is dedicated to exploring contemporary social issues in a way that leaves audiences feeling hopeful for the future. E Ipo, My Love is the first time that these two creatives will be performing on stage together, and they are looking forward to sharing what they describe as “the love child of their two creative styles". 

We are a part of the Hagley Theatre School Theatre Creation Course, a program that provides mentorship to early-career artists in making original works. This is led by Dr Pedro Ilgenfritz who is the director/mentor of both our shows. We are all recent graduates of Unitec's acting program, where we first trained with Pedro. We are super excited to put this training into action and share our new works with you! 

 We are raising money to help cover the costs of our double bill season. This funding campaign will support us in:  

• The hiring costs of the Gloucester Room in the Isaac Theatre Royal. 
• The purchasing of costumes, props, and set pieces. 
• Professional filming and photography of the two shows. 
• Covering the 10% commission fee from Boosted.

We are looking to get the shows professionally filmed to provide for funding applications in the future as we would love to tour these shows.  

The three of us have the honour of being the first participants of the Six Month Theatre Creation Course as part of the Hagley Theatre School led by Pedro Ilgenfritz, as well as securing a residency with Isaac Theatre Royal to bring you this exciting double bill in the fantastic Gloucester Room! 

The night will begin with The Meeting by Lola Houghton & Pedro Ilgenfritz, where a top secret, future-defining meeting is about to take place. Three personal assistants struggle to make the necessary arrangements. Subversive and snappy, the circus of civil affairs in Aotearoa is brought to life with humour and vitality in this farcical one-woman political satire. Lola transforms into seven characters, running circles around each other in an hour of zany, action-packed chaos!  

After a brief intermission, we then invite you to watch E Ipo, My Love by Gisele Proud & Tane Te Pakeke-Patterson, an honest, heartfelt and at times hilarious look at what it is to be a Māori and Pākehā couple in Aotearoa New Zealand. Inspired by historical accounts, interviews with couples, and their own experiences of being together, Tane and Gisele pull back the curtain on bicultural relationships in a nation with “one of the best race relations in the world”. From first contact to final moments and one night stands to life long pairings, E Ipo, My Love invites you to navigate both the uncomfortable and the uplifting alongside a young couple who are still trying to figure it out for themselves.   

 Being given the chance to be mentored and work with these two organisations is a real privilege. By allowing early-career artists like us to present works on a professional stage, we’re able to step into the next stage of our creative careers and establish ourselves in the arts industry within Aotearoa. 

We believe that New Zealand audiences should be able to see theatre that represents the realities of today. We are dedicated to delivering dynamic, exciting and entertaining theatre that we know audiences will love. We believe that people in Aotearoa deserve to see their stories on stage and have access to a diverse arts scene on their doorstep.  

By supporting our campaign you are supporting young NZ theatre makers and the overall arts scene in Aotearoa. There are many challenges to making original work as an early career artist and so we would love for you to support your local artists so that they can continue to tell stories that explore and shed light on modern life in Aotearoa. 

 We would be incredibly grateful if you can help us reach our goal, even a donation of $5 helps heaps. Boosted is an all or nothing platform so if we don't reach our final goal, we miss out and the money is returned to you.  

 So, if you are able to donate we would be very grateful for your support and please send our way any friends or whānau who might be keen to help us out too! 

The Meeting & E Ipo, My Love perform at Isaac Theatre Royal in the Gloucester Room, Ōtautahi from June 26-28 2025. 

We’d love to see you there. 

Ngā mihi for your help! 

Mauri ora, 

Tane, Gisele and Lola