The deadline for the Producers Guild of America’s (PGA) 14th annual Power of Diversity Master Workshop has been extended, the PGA announced in a press release. Applications will now be accepted until 6 p.m. PST on Wednesday, March 22.
The Power of Diversity Workshop is “designed to foster the development of aspiring and seasoned producers who bring diverse perspectives to television, film, documentary, and digital media” the press release explains. Ten producers will be selected from a global search for the two-month program.
Selectees will participate in “master classes headlined by some of today’s top producers, as well as one-to-one mentoring with members of the Producers Guild Diversity Committee.” They will receive training on how to best pitch, package, finance, and market as well as learn about multiplatforms, new media opportunities, and other producing skills. Additionally, specific topics will be designed for participants and their individual projects.
Offered free of charge, the workshop will take place from mid-May through mid-July in Los Angeles. The PGA encourages non-guild members to apply.
Bruna Papandrea (“Big Little Lies”, “Gone Girl”), Lori McCreary (“Madam Secretary”), Shonda Rhimes (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal”), Caryn Mandabach (“Nurse Jackie”), Lindsay Doran (“Nanny McPhee, “Sense and Sensibility”), and Bonnie Arnold (“How To Train Your Dragon” franchise, “Toy Story”), are among the workshop’s past guest speakers.
Previous Diversity Workshop participants include Sarah DiLeo (“Bless Me, Ultima”), LaToya Morgan (“Turn,” “Into the Badlands,”), and Hollie Overton (“Shadowhunters,” “The Client List”).
“We are thrilled by the recent influx of more diverse projects into the marketplace and are optimistic that the industry will soon recognize that greenlighting authentic, diverse stories is also good business,” said Julie Janata and Sasheen Artis, Chairs of the PGA Diversity Workshop.
They continued, “In the workshop, we celebrate all ethnicities, all religions, all genders, all sexual orientations, all ages and levels of ability, as we empower these creative producers to bring their full passion and unique voice to the screen.”
As the 2017 Diversity Report suggests, initiatives like the Diversity Workshop are still sorely needed for women and minorities in the entertainment industry. The study from the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA concluded that — despite many recent gains — women and people of color were underrepresented “on every front in 2014–15.”
Go to the PGA Diversity Workshop website to apply or for more information.
