Thanks to #MeToo, there’s been plenty of online discourse about the way women are treated in Hollywood and beyond. However, there hasn’t been as much public in-person discussion, which The Writers Guild and Stephens College MFA are hoping to rectify with Empires of Their Own: An Industry Town Hall. Scheduled for January 12, the town hall will invite its panelists to “talk about entrepreneurship in Hollywood through the female lens.”
“While the immediacy of social media is offering a speed of change only dreamed about a decade ago, it can also leave us feeling isolated and at sensory overload before breakfast,” the event’s webpage observes. “We would like to offer our community a chance to gather and process together.”
Empires of Their Own will be moderated by performer and “How I Wrote That” podcast host Khanisha Foster. The town hall’s panelists are writer and “Brown Girls” co-creator Fatimah Ashgar, EP Carol Barbee (“UnREAL,” “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce”), SAG-AFTRA prez and actress Gabrielle Carteris, and EP/writer David Slack (“Person of Interest”).
But Empires of Their Own’s conversation won’t be limited to Foster and the four panelists. In true town hall fashion, community members’ questions will drive the discussion — and anyone can participate. The Writers Guild and Stephens College will be collecting questions via email until January 10. If you’d like to submit a question, please write to howiwrotethat@gmail.com with the subject line “Town Hall Questions.”
Empires of Their Own: An Industry Town Hall will be held at WGF/WGA Headquarters in Los Angeles on January 12 from 7:30–9:00PM. If you’re interested in purchasing event tickets, please visit The Writers Guild Foundation’s website.
