6th Annual Native American TV Writers Lab Application – CLOSED

6th Annual Native American TV Writers Lab Application – CLOSED

The 6th Annual NATIVE AMERICAN TV WRITERS LAB call for applications is now closed. The lab is sponsored by A+E Networks, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Cherokee Nation Film Office, Kung Fu Monkey Productions and Snowpants Productions.

The NATIVE AMERICAN TV WRITERS LAB is a five week intensive scriptwriters program that prepares Native Americans for writing careers at major television networks. The lab takes place mid – April through late May of 2021 and offers 7 Native American writers an opportunity to participate. Each participant will complete an original pilot during the five week program and receive feedback from peers and an experienced writing instructor.

Past participants include Shelley Dennis (Choctaw) who is currently staffed on Netflix’s Spirit Rangers, John Timothy (Muskogee Creek) who was a staff writer on Amazon’s Leverage and Tom Hanada (Cherokee) who completed a project for Will Smith’s Westbrook Entertainment.

During the lab, fellows meet with executives from NBC, Bad Robot, Netflix, and several of our industry sponsors. Scripts from the lab are read by several of our network and studio partners as well as being included in the Native Writes database.

The Native American TV Writers lab will culminate in a pitch workshop during the 15th Annual LA SKINS FEST in November, 2021.  Each Native writer will pitch their scripts to creatives executives from numerous production entities. Past executives have come from Bad Robot, ABC, NBC, Warner Bros. and literary agencies.

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About the Program

The NATIVE AMERICAN TV WRITERS LAB was created in accordance with the Barcid Foundation’s mission to improve media portrayals of Native Americans and to increase the number of Native Americans employed in all facets of the media industry.

The NATIVE AMERICAN TV WRITERS LAB is designed to familiarize participants with the format, characters and storyline structure of television. The five week, total immersion workshop will be mentored and guided by an experienced writer with industry credits. The lab will be conducted in Los Angeles, CA with a maximum of 7 writers accepted.

The five-week lab will consist of group discussions, one on one meetings and workshops. One of the main components to be introduced is the writers room. This is an opportunity to have each participant’s script offered up in a professional capacity as a new television script. All of the writers will participate in offering ideas, suggestions, and thoughts on making each script a strong piece. The goal is that the writers garner the skills necessary to obtain employment in the industry.

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