To state the obvious, the world of episodic content is trending in a major way. Following on the heels of SXSW showcasing its first Episodic program, the Sundance Institute has unveiled an expansion in its Labs program to include the first Episodic Story Lab, set to be held in Fall 2014 at
the Sundance Resort in Utah.
The Lab is interested in both comedy and drama projects, with the premise that six immersive days at the Resort will help hone the accepted writers’ development of story and character in multi-episode form.
For the inaugural year, however, the Institute is considering applicants by invitation only. An open application process is anticipated in the coming years.
Here’s some official language:
Building
on the Institute’s 30-year legacy of developing new work from storytellers with
distinctive and risk-taking stories, this new initiative addresses the need for
more opportunities for learning and mentorship of singular and diverse voices in
scripted TV and online series. In collaboration with accomplished mentors, writers
at the six-day, immersive Episodic Story Lab will work on developing stories
and characters that play out over multiple episodes and will also have the
opportunity to better understand the landscape for production and distribution
of serialized stories. Both drama and comedy writing will be supported at the Lab,
which has been organized under the leadership of Michelle Satter, Founding
Director of the Institute’s Feature Film Program.
Past Instituted-supported artists have certainly made names for themselves in the world of television. To wit: Cary Fukunaga, Lena Dunham, Louis CK, Mark
Duplass, Lisa Cholodenko, Jason Katims, Rodrigo Garcia, Todd Haynes, RJ Cutler,
Mike White, Robert Rodriguez, Ava DuVernay, Jill Soloway, Allison Anders and
Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
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