Our Board of Advisors

We value every member of our Executive Board and benefit from their expertise, leadership, compassion, and generosity. Our Board of Advisors are advocates of our training methodology and gather once a year to exchange ideas and share insights.
Thank you for all that you do.

Dr Rachel Morley
Dr Rachel Morley

Chair / Script Advisor

Dr Rachel Morley is Director of Academic Program for Communication, Screen Media and Creative Industries in the School of Humanities and Communication Arts at Western Sydney University. She is also a member of the Writing and Society Research Centre and the Digital Humanities Research Group. 

Rachel teaches at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in creative writing, networked writing cultures, and media studies. She has received numerous awards for her contributions to student learning including two Western Sydney University Citations for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning (2013 and 2014), a Vice Chancellor’s Excellence Award for Postgraduate Training and Supervision (highly commended, 2014), a Vice Chancellor’s Excellence Award for Learning and Teaching (2015), and a Vice Chancellor’s Professional Development Scholarship (2015).

Full Biography

Siobhan Keaton
Siobhan Keaton

Marketing / Branding & Strategic Growth

What is the most valuable gift you can give a young actor? Siobhan Keaton believes it’s the ability to practice their art. With a background in adolescent education and brand building Siobhan Keaton knows the art of storytelling has become an imperative in the digital age. Siobhan says “We live in the great screen-age where we spend more time on devices, suffer from information overload and our attention spans are short. For Australia’s youth, what will separate those who are successful will be the ability to be great storytellers, to capture people’s attention, create interest and inspire others. That’s why the most valuable gift you can give a young actor is the time and space to practice their art.” 

“Storytelling encourages creativity, innovation and problem solving. The ability for a young actor to practice this through The Young Actors Assembly drives their personal confidence, allowing them to communicate more effectively and express themselves more freely. This leads to a better human, and ultimately a better culture for us all.”

Siobhan has a reputation as an inspiring mentor, she has taught visual art at secondary school level and now works in marketing re-invigorating blue chip brands, managing multimillion-dollar advertising budgets and leading high-performance teams. She joined the Young Actors Assembly Board of Advisors to help young actors access excellent educators and invaluable hands-on learning experiences.   

Gary Freitas
Gary Freitas

Film Production Partner / Founder of Lumapixel

Gary is a qualified helicopter aerial cinematographer, creative director and founder of Lumapixel,  a film production company servicing an ever expanding macro and micro based marketplace that includes TV,  social media, websites, thought leadership and  internal communication, events, drone content, recruitment, training and education, music video as well as the rise-and-rise of animated video in the corporate space. ​A directing veteran of over 5,000 TV commercials and brand videos, Gary  believes stories are our best connection to the past but also a mirror unto our future. For 18 years he’s excelled in innovative ideation accompanied with realising commercial outcomes for clients through beautifully crafted stories and films. 

Young Actors Assembly acknowledges the original storytellers, the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as the nation's first inhabitants and the traditional custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.