Exclusive: Sony Pictures Entertainment, Amazon MGM Studios and NBCUniversal have come aboard as sponsors of this year’s Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program. The Writers Guild Foundation initiative aims to provide TV writers who are Bipoc, Lgbtqia+, writers with disabilities, and writers over the age of 50, with tools, education and opportunity to become writers’ assistant and script coordinators in the industry.
The deal means that along with financial support, the companies will be considering this year’s program graduates and alumni for available staffing slots on their series.
The program, originally launched in 2021 by writers and producers Tanya Saracho (Vida), Mike Royce (One Day at a Time) and Liz Hsiao Lan Alper (Day of the Dead), features a 12-week course taught by instructors and script coordinators Debbie Ezer (The Good Doctor) and Clay Lapari (Community). By the end, participants’ experience level is equivalent to working as a writers’ assistant...
The deal means that along with financial support, the companies will be considering this year’s program graduates and alumni for available staffing slots on their series.
The program, originally launched in 2021 by writers and producers Tanya Saracho (Vida), Mike Royce (One Day at a Time) and Liz Hsiao Lan Alper (Day of the Dead), features a 12-week course taught by instructors and script coordinators Debbie Ezer (The Good Doctor) and Clay Lapari (Community). By the end, participants’ experience level is equivalent to working as a writers’ assistant...
- 12/7/2023
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: The Writers Guild Foundation has announced the participants for the 2023 session of the Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program.
Out of the nearly 2,100 applications received, 18 candidates were selected: Archana Shinde, Ashley Obinwanne, Del Potter, Filipa Ioannou, J. Gabriel Ware, Jazmyn Edmonds, Jon-Alexander Genson, Khadijah Iman, Kyle Harris, Maaman Rezaee, Madonna Diaz-Refugia, Rodrigo Carvalhedo, Saira Umar, Samuel Christopher Spitale, Stephanie Leke, Stephen Ra-Choi, Xuan Mai and Yeon Jin Lee.
Applications were reviewed by a committee of over 30 television creators, executive producers, showrunners, and writers who previously worked as writers’ assistants and script coordinators, including program founders Tanya Saracho (Vida), Mike Royce (One Day at a Time) and Liz Hsiao Lan Alper (Day of the Dead), along with showrunners Gloria Calderon Kellett (With Love), Sera Gamble (You), Glen Mazzara (The Rookie), Latoya Morgan (Duster) and Steven Canals (Pose).
The 12-week course begins in mid-August and will be taught by instructors Debbie Ezer...
Out of the nearly 2,100 applications received, 18 candidates were selected: Archana Shinde, Ashley Obinwanne, Del Potter, Filipa Ioannou, J. Gabriel Ware, Jazmyn Edmonds, Jon-Alexander Genson, Khadijah Iman, Kyle Harris, Maaman Rezaee, Madonna Diaz-Refugia, Rodrigo Carvalhedo, Saira Umar, Samuel Christopher Spitale, Stephanie Leke, Stephen Ra-Choi, Xuan Mai and Yeon Jin Lee.
Applications were reviewed by a committee of over 30 television creators, executive producers, showrunners, and writers who previously worked as writers’ assistants and script coordinators, including program founders Tanya Saracho (Vida), Mike Royce (One Day at a Time) and Liz Hsiao Lan Alper (Day of the Dead), along with showrunners Gloria Calderon Kellett (With Love), Sera Gamble (You), Glen Mazzara (The Rookie), Latoya Morgan (Duster) and Steven Canals (Pose).
The 12-week course begins in mid-August and will be taught by instructors Debbie Ezer...
- 7/31/2023
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: The Writers Guild Foundation has revealed the participants for the 2022 session of the Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program.
The program’s mission is to provide writers who are Bipoc, LGBTQ+, writers with disabilities, and writers over the age of 50, with tools and education to become writers’ assistants and script coordinators, ultimately resulting in meaningful employment opportunities.
Out of the 1,205 applications received, 16 candidates were selected: Anpa’o Locke, Christian Mejia, Da Eun Kim, Diarra McCormick, Isabel Meza-Roquebert, Jewel Powell, Lydia Caradine, Malaika Jules, Michelle Driscoll, Olivia Woodward, Peter Lee, Rachel Yang, Reed Tsuda, Renee Ross, Shanice Williamson, and Sherin Shetty.
The 12-week course, set to kick off in late August, will be taught by instructors Debbie Ezer (The Good Doctor) and Clay Lapari (Community), who have extensive experience as writers’ assistants and script coordinators for television. The program is sponsored by Warner Bros. Television.
Applications were reviewed by a committee of television creators,...
The program’s mission is to provide writers who are Bipoc, LGBTQ+, writers with disabilities, and writers over the age of 50, with tools and education to become writers’ assistants and script coordinators, ultimately resulting in meaningful employment opportunities.
Out of the 1,205 applications received, 16 candidates were selected: Anpa’o Locke, Christian Mejia, Da Eun Kim, Diarra McCormick, Isabel Meza-Roquebert, Jewel Powell, Lydia Caradine, Malaika Jules, Michelle Driscoll, Olivia Woodward, Peter Lee, Rachel Yang, Reed Tsuda, Renee Ross, Shanice Williamson, and Sherin Shetty.
The 12-week course, set to kick off in late August, will be taught by instructors Debbie Ezer (The Good Doctor) and Clay Lapari (Community), who have extensive experience as writers’ assistants and script coordinators for television. The program is sponsored by Warner Bros. Television.
Applications were reviewed by a committee of television creators,...
- 8/18/2022
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: The Writers Guild Foundation has set the application window for the next cycle of their Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program. Submissions to the 2022 Fall session will be accepted between May 5 and June 6, 2022.
Overall, 16 applicants will be chosen for the upcoming cycle, which begins in mid-August. Those accepted will participate in an updated 12-week session taught by instructors Debbie Ezer (The Good Doctor) and Clay Lapari (Community), who have extensive experience as writers’ assistants and script coordinators for TV. The program will continue to be hosted virtually and will feature a variety of showrunner lecturers to discuss what they look for in support staff.
Last year, Tanya Saracho (Vida), Mike Royce (One Day at a Time), and Liz Hsiao Lan Alper (Day of the Dead), along with the Writers Guild Foundation, partnered to launch this first-of-its-kind initiative to support the full inclusion and employment of underrepresented groups in the television industry.
Overall, 16 applicants will be chosen for the upcoming cycle, which begins in mid-August. Those accepted will participate in an updated 12-week session taught by instructors Debbie Ezer (The Good Doctor) and Clay Lapari (Community), who have extensive experience as writers’ assistants and script coordinators for TV. The program will continue to be hosted virtually and will feature a variety of showrunner lecturers to discuss what they look for in support staff.
Last year, Tanya Saracho (Vida), Mike Royce (One Day at a Time), and Liz Hsiao Lan Alper (Day of the Dead), along with the Writers Guild Foundation, partnered to launch this first-of-its-kind initiative to support the full inclusion and employment of underrepresented groups in the television industry.
- 4/25/2022
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
TV writers/producers Tanya Saracho (Vida), Mike Royce (One Day at a Time), and Liz Hsiao Lan Alper (Day of the Dead), along with the Writers Guild Foundation, have announced graduates of the inaugural class of the Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program.
Launched in March by Saracho, Royce and Alper in partnership with Wgf, the program’s mission is to provide writers who are Bipoc, LGBTQ+, writers with disabilities, and writers over the age of 50, with tools and education to become a writers’ assistant and script coordinator, ultimately resulting in meaningful employment opportunities.
Forty-eight participants were chosen out of over 2,200 applications which were reviewed by a committee of TV writers and showrunners, many of whom previously worked in support staff roles. The 48 participants are being split into two eight-week virtual sessions.
This summer’s first session, consisting of 24 participants, was led by instructors Debbie Ezer (The Good Doctor) and...
Launched in March by Saracho, Royce and Alper in partnership with Wgf, the program’s mission is to provide writers who are Bipoc, LGBTQ+, writers with disabilities, and writers over the age of 50, with tools and education to become a writers’ assistant and script coordinator, ultimately resulting in meaningful employment opportunities.
Forty-eight participants were chosen out of over 2,200 applications which were reviewed by a committee of TV writers and showrunners, many of whom previously worked in support staff roles. The 48 participants are being split into two eight-week virtual sessions.
This summer’s first session, consisting of 24 participants, was led by instructors Debbie Ezer (The Good Doctor) and...
- 9/10/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
After a crazy season of twists and turns, Disney+’s WandaVision netted 23 Emmy nominations including for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and three nominations in the Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category. Elizabeth Olsen stars as Wanda Maximoff, with Paul Bettany as Vision, in what served as first Marvel streaming series on Disney+. In a surreal, Twilight Zone-style trip through classic sitcoms, Wanda and Vision live in an idyllic town called Westview; both Olsen and Bettany received Emmy nominations in the lead acting categories for their performances
Here, the Emmy-nominated writers of the scripts — series creator Jac Schaeffer, Laura Donney, Chuck Hayward and Peter Cameron — answers some questions about their work on the series finale as part of Deadline’s It Starts on the Page, a series showcasing scripts from this year’s Emmy-nominated programs and the writers who brought them to life.
***
“Filmed...
Here, the Emmy-nominated writers of the scripts — series creator Jac Schaeffer, Laura Donney, Chuck Hayward and Peter Cameron — answers some questions about their work on the series finale as part of Deadline’s It Starts on the Page, a series showcasing scripts from this year’s Emmy-nominated programs and the writers who brought them to life.
***
“Filmed...
- 8/23/2021
- by Ryan Fleming
- Deadline Film + TV
“Vida” showrunner Tanya Saracho, “One Day at a Time” co-showrunner Mike Royce and TV writer and #PayUpHollywood co-founder Liz Hsiao Lan Alper are launching a program to support underrepresented groups in the television industry and provide them with the skill set to become writers’ assistants and script coordinators.
The initiative has partnered with the Writers Guild Foundation to offer tools and education to scribes who identify as Bipoc, LGBTQ+, disabled writers or writers over the age of 50 to step into these support staff roles that have traditionally been a gateway to the world of TV writing. Program graduates will be included on a list of trained writers’ assistants and script coordinators that will then be shared with studios, networks and showrunners in order to broaden the pool of potential eligible hires and amplify underrepresented groups.
“This idea originated when we found ourselves sharing our frustration at how writer’s assistant...
The initiative has partnered with the Writers Guild Foundation to offer tools and education to scribes who identify as Bipoc, LGBTQ+, disabled writers or writers over the age of 50 to step into these support staff roles that have traditionally been a gateway to the world of TV writing. Program graduates will be included on a list of trained writers’ assistants and script coordinators that will then be shared with studios, networks and showrunners in order to broaden the pool of potential eligible hires and amplify underrepresented groups.
“This idea originated when we found ourselves sharing our frustration at how writer’s assistant...
- 3/24/2021
- by Elaine Low
- Variety Film + TV
Tanya Saracho (Vida), Mike Royce (One Day at a Time), and Liz Hsiao Lan Alper (Day of the Dead) continue to do the work to bring more equity and inclusion to Hollywood — something that it seems to have trouble with as of late (we’re looking at you HFPA). The trio has partnered with the Writers Guild Foundation to launch the Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program, a first-of-its-kind initiative to support the full inclusion and employment of underrepresented groups in the television industry.
The inaugural program has a mission is to provide writers who are Bipoc, LGBTQ+, writers with disabilities, and writers over the age of 50, with tools and education to become a writers’ assistant and script coordinator, ultimately resulting in meaningful employment opportunities.
Historically, these positions have historically been an invaluable way to learn the writing process first-hand, with the ultimate goal of getting a writing job. Graduates...
The inaugural program has a mission is to provide writers who are Bipoc, LGBTQ+, writers with disabilities, and writers over the age of 50, with tools and education to become a writers’ assistant and script coordinator, ultimately resulting in meaningful employment opportunities.
Historically, these positions have historically been an invaluable way to learn the writing process first-hand, with the ultimate goal of getting a writing job. Graduates...
- 3/24/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
The ever-elastic "Community" is doing a solid job of adjusting to its new surroundings over at Yahoo Screen, and to the introduction of Paget Brewster and Keith David as the newest faces around the study room table. (Here are my reviews of the season so far; new episodes go live at midnight Pacific every Monday night/Tuesday morning.) You can see the creative team playing around with length (this week's episode clocked in at close to 31 minutes, and all have been significantly longer than the NBC episodes), and with new character combinations (it's been fun watching David's Elroy react to Britta in all her Britta-ness, for instance), and if it doesn't feel quite like previous seasons, each season never really felt like the one before it to begin with. In this exclusive behind-the-scenes video (embedded at the top of this post), "Community" writers Clay Lapari and Alex Rubens talk about...
- 4/1/2015
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Hitfix
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