Rod Parnell (Chair)

Rod Parnall was formerly a manager with the Department of Education and Training with responsibilities for Arts education amongst other areas. He was trained as a Drama and Media teacher and taught at secondary and tertiary levels. He was responsible for the development and implementation of VCE Drama and Theatre Studies both as writer, Chief Examiner and State Reviewer for both and the development and management of K—10 arts curriculum for Victoria. He currently advises on pre-production film scripts among other related arts activities and volunteers his spare time with refugee support.

Betty Walters

Betty, a retired junior school headmistress, knew both Betty and Joan Rayner personally in their later years and gained a direct appreciation of their lifetime works. Betty has been active in the Box Hill community having served for twelve years on Box Hill City Council, including a term as Mayor, Commissioner of the Board of Works, and Chair of the inner eastern region of the Family and Community Services committee. She also served nine years on the Board of Box Hill Hospital, later as Senior Vice-President. Betty has a particular interest in theatre for children. During her teaching years she focused on enriching students’ learning experiences by arranging incursions from touring companies and excursions to circus, dance, theatre and musical productions. She is thrilled to now be involved with ACTF. Betty’s great joy since retiring is time spent with her three young grandsons.

Freya Carkeek

Freya works as in-house counsel for a large company, focused on the application of the law to help enable Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) objectives. She fondly remembers the confidence-building experience of performing as a schoolgirl in plays and musicals in the original Performing Arts Centre at Huntingtower School, built to commemorate the inspiring contributions of Joan Rayner AM and Betty Rayner AM. Freya sees the performing arts as one of the valuable tools a society has to reflect and grow and is delighted to support ACTF’s work with Regional Arts Victoria to give young people access to the joys and horizons unlocked by theatre.

Jo Porter

A theatre producer and consultant in not-for-profit and commercial theatre, Jo was the Co-Producer of Victoria’s inaugural Regional Centre for Culture (2018) and has worked with independent artists as a producer and in mentorship roles. Other roles in Australia, UK and USA have included: CEO of the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre, Executive Producer of Malthouse Theatre, General Manager of a range of commercial theatre productions and head of creative development at Richard Frankel Productions in New York and Head of Business Development at Really Useful Group in London. A former Chair of Back to Back Theatre, Jo is the current Chair of Chamber Made.

Richard Sallis

Richard Sallis (B.Ed, M.Ed, PhD) is a senior lecturer in drama/theatre education and the Chair of the Theatre Board at The University of Melbourne. He has a long history of involvement in theatre for and with young people and is currently on the Board of the Arena Theatre Company. He is a former President of Drama Australia and the current Director of Publications, for IDEA (the international drama/theatre educators’ association). He is also a playwright, actor and director. His latest play Greatest Love of All (Bird, McConville, Sallis) was performed in Melbourne in late 2018.

Kate Taylor Ellis

Kate Taylor Ellis is an Acting Coach, Writer, and a Drama Education Innovator. She also facilitates conversations for the City of her beloved Melbourne/ Naarm. Guiding her work is the principle that great pleasure can be extracted from detail. That sensory rapture can be cultivated in the everyday. That deeper levels of intimacy with self, other and environment can be achieved through the art of listening. Kate has presented at world Drama conferences in Iceland and Aotearoa (NZ), as well as in her home city of Naarm (Melbourne). She has facilitated the Positive Start and Blended Arts Drama Initiatives in 2022 for Drama Victoria and the DET, and in 2023 will facilitate the Next Stage Program. She is an Acting Coach for 16th Street Actors Studio and TAFTA, and through her private business as an acting coach has also worked with Hamilton and Harry Potter cast members. Kate teaches at Melbourne University and has created community programs for such cultural laboratories as MPavilion, The Abbotsford Convent & the Victorian Arts Education Festival. Her writing can be found in various publications. 

ORIGINAL TRUSTEES

Joan Helen Rayner AM – Founder 1993
Donald Wilson Mackay
Anthony Alfred Lenten
David George Weil
Shirley Beryl Paine