We’re delighted to announce the ten talented artists with disability accessing professional mentorships through our 2025 Next Level Creative Mentorship program.

Airlie, Lily Drummond, Jordyn Fulcher, Kathryn Hall, Leila Harris, Meret Hassanen, Dean Nash, Amelia Rooney, Michèle Saint-Yves and Tiffany Wong will each receive a mentorship within a leading performing arts organisation and $3000 in project funding to develop an innovative new project.

Each of the selected artists will receive up to 20 hours of one-to-one support through our partnering organisations. This exciting program will involve assessing their ideas, developing concept briefs and drafting detailed project outlines.

“We’re so excited about this new program and the valuable opportunities it provides for artists with disability,” says Accessible Arts CEO Liz Martin. “We’re delighted to be partnering with Access2Arts and leading performing arts organisations across New South Wales and South Australia to facilitate these mentorships. We can’t wait to see how each of these talented artists takes their projects to the Next Level!”

Next Level Creative Mentorship Participants

Airlie – PYT Fairfield

Airlie is a writer and actor from Dharug Land (Western Sydney), with a passion for storytelling on both stage and screen. She holds a Diploma of Theatre & Screen (Acting) and a Bachelor of Film. Airlie’s heart lies with stories that explore underrepresented voices and reflect her intersectional identity. She is currently in a playwriting mentorship with the National Institute of Dramatic Art and National Theatre of Parramatta, and her play ‘Intrusive Thoughts’ was selected for the Raw Treats development program with Subtle Nuance Theatre. Airlie also completed the YUNGSTRS writing mentorship and residency with Australian Theatre for Young People and Artology and has been shortlisted for the Katie Lees Fellowship 2025.

Lily Drummond – Windmill Theatre Company

Lily Drummond is an Adelaide raised and based writer/director whose films have received recognition and screened at festivals worldwide. Her work includes ‘With Love, Lottie’ (Emerging Filmmaker Award – Mardi Gras Film Festival 2025), ‘Illustrating Sam Newton’ (Slamdance Film Festival 2022, Audience Award – Mardi Gras Film Festival 2022), and ‘Watch Me Fly’ (Best Director – Focus on Ability Film Festival 2023, Cinequest 2023). Lily has lived experience of disability, which informs her approach to storytelling. Her work champions complex, authentic disabled and queer characters, and pushes for deeper representation in Australian film.

Jordyn Fulcher – Merrigong Theatre Company

Jordyn Fulcher is a theatre maker from south-west Sydney, Australia. They hold an Advanced Diploma in Acting (Academy of Film, Theatre and Television, 2017) and an MFA in Writing (National Institute of Dramatic Art, 2022). They were part of Sydney Theatre Company’s Emerging Writers Group (2019-2021) and Accessible Arts’ Front & Centre Program (2023). They are currently involved with Montague Basement and bAKEHOUSE’s The Laboratory. Recent credits include: ‘DRRRM Play‘ (NIDA, 2020), ‘Ex Utero’ (Sydney Theatre Company, 2021), ‘Cat Piss’ (Darlinghurst Theatre Company, 2021), ‘Eat Me’ (Sydney Theatre Company/National Institute of Dramatic Art, 2021), ‘Gross Metal Body Shit’ (National Institute of Dramatic Art/Australian National University, 2022), ‘Anomalies’ (The Old Fitz Theatre, 2024), and ‘The Ceiling Speaks’ (Backbone Theatre/Flaming Carnations, 2024).

Kathryn Hall – Gravity & Other Myths

Kathryn Hall is an award-winning performer and writer. She makes theatre exploring her lived experience with disability in an “infectiously bubbly” way (Samela Harris, The Barefoot Review). Kathryn created and performed her solo show ‘Sheltered’ (Adelaide Fringe 2022 and 2023, Undercover Artist and Melbourne Fringe Festivals in 2023). She has performed professionally with No Strings Attached since 2009 working in major productions: ‘High’ and ‘I Forgot to Remember to Forget’. Qualifications include Discover Acting at AC Arts 2024, Certificate III in Arts Administration, and Certificate III in Venues and Events.

Leila Harris – Bangarra Dance Company

Leila Harris is a composer, songwriter, musician and music producer. She combines her eclectic training and influences across classical and contemporary music to create innovative works that weave artistic disciplines. Most recently, she has been the recipient of the AIR’s Women in Music Mentorship (2023) and the Dots+Loops Composition Fellowship (2024) and in 2023, was selected by the Sydney Conservatorium of Music for a residency at the University of Southern California. Leila is interested in the power of the arts to uplift, empower, move and challenge and seeks to carve out spaces for diverse and experimental voices.

Meret Hassanen – Bell Shakespeare

Meret is a writer and producer for screen and stage. Her researcher and associate producer credits include ABC’s Compass, Catalyst, 7.30, Re-Frame and Headliners, and feature films include ‘Rhapsody of Love’, ‘Get a Life’, ‘Alright!’ and ‘Shadow’. Meret has represented ‘Shadow’ and Back to Back Theatre at festivals locally and internationally. In 2023, Meret was a recipient of Creative Australia’s Arts and Disability Initiative with an original stage play and in 2024, she participated in Australian Plays Transform’s inaugural playwriting mentorship program, Write Together, Rise Together.

Dean Nash – Penrith Performing and Visual Arts

Dean Nash is a Composer, Actor, Songwriter and emerging practitioner of Creative Access. His recent solo work and flagship CA project “Dean, Don’t Dance” (Kitchen sink festival 2024) came together after years of research into the still young methodology. Dean studied a bachelor of music at Western Sydney University (2011) is an alumni of the 2021 AFTRS talent camp for emerging writers, and was invited to participate in Hayes Theatre Companies 2024 Showlab for MT writers and composers. Dean was one of 10 writer/composers for ‘The Breaths in between – Concept musical’ (2021) developed by Eleven O’clock theatre company.
As an actor Dean has worked extensively across the mediums of theatre and film.

Amelia Rooney – State Theatre Company South Australia

Amelia is an autistic composer and writer based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a deep passion for music, film, theatre, and accessible arts. Her debut play, ‘Bimbo’ (2021-2023), received the Holden Street Theatres Fringe Award following its sold-out season in 2023. Amelia’s theatre music credits include ‘Whore’ (2024), ‘Dance Nation’ (2024-2025), and ‘First Love is the Revolution’ (2025). She has also composed for film, with ‘Crush’ (2023) and her first feature film, ‘Nightfall’ (2024). Amelia is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts (Creative Writing) and a Bachelor of Music (Sonic Arts) at the Elder Conservatorium University of Adelaide.

Michèle Saint-Yves – Australian Dance Theatre

Michèle is a Writer-Director whose ground-breaking access-embedded, neurodivergent and dementia friendly play ‘Clock For No Time’ (RUMPUS Theatre’s 2021 Season) won the SA Ruby Award 2022 for Outstanding Work: Collaboration. Her one act play ‘Knowing Me, You’ won the Judges Award for Direction at Midsumma Festival Pink Shorts 2010. Michèle has been selected and funded for many performance-based residencies the latest being Australian Plays Transform’s 2024 six month national program Write Together, Rise Together and Writers SA and Adelaide Festival Centre’s writeSPACE 2023. She is a Screen Australia certified Screen Access Coordinator and Access Coordinator for Nexus Arts.

Tiffany Wong – Belvoir St Theatre

Tiffany Wong is an autistic actor and director. She appears in the feature film ‘Five Blind Dates’ (Amazon MGM Studios & Goalpost Pictures) on Prime Video. Her stage credits include ‘Romeo & Juliet’ (Australian Shakespeare Company). Her directing credits include ‘Atlantis’ (New Theatre) and ‘Boom’ (Slanted Theatre & KXT bAKEHOUSE). Tiffany has worked as an Assistant/Associate Director at Bell Shakespeare, Sydney Theatre Company, Hayes Theatre Co, and other companies. She is the Artistic Director of Slanted Theatre, where she has supported over 160 Asian-Australian theatre-makers over four years. Tiffany was part of last year’s Equip Leadership Toolkit, which reignited her passion for the creative arts. She has been featured as an Honouree of the Asian Australian 2022, 2023, and 2024 Lists and is a proud member of Actors Equity.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body. Accessible Arts Principal Funder: Create NSW. Access2Arts Principal Funder: Government of South Australia.

ENDS

Image Description: A collage featuring the ten selected artists. Clockwise from top left: Leila Harris, Jordyn Fulcher, Amelia Rooney (photo by Finn Brunning), Dean Nash, Lily Drummond, Meret Hassanen, Kathryn Hall, Michèle Saint-Yves (photo by Sam Oster), Tiffany Wong and Airlie (photo by Rose-May Photography). In the centre, multi-coloured text on a black background reads: Next Level Creative Mentorship.