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Nelvana: We Love Your Pitch! Now What...
Sat, Nov 12th
2:00PM - 3:00PM
Reference Library: Novella Room
You came up with an idea for a show, spend countless hours developing it and crafting the perfect script & vision to pitch it. You’ve relentlessly rehearsed for the big pitch – memorizing every line, anticipating any question. The pitch comes, and they love it! ... Now what?!
Join Nelvana’s development team for an informative discussion on life after pitching – what to expect once your concept has been optioned and the steps it takes to turn your great pitch into a great show!
Cara Bleskie, Senior Development Manager, Nelvana
Since 2016, Cara Bleskie has been an instrumental member of Nelvana’s development department. Cara is dedicated to identifying and fostering the growth of up-and-coming creative talent and partnerships. She is a founder of the Nelvana U program and helped launch the Talent Incubator: Black Write Edition.
Marc Hartlen, Associate Development Executive, Nelvana
Marc Hartlen is part of the development team at Nelvana. Before joining Nelvana he spent over a decade in the performing arts, appearing at Yuk Yuks comedy clubs across Canada, festivals including Pop Montreal and the Atlantic Fringe Festival, as well as being heard on The Edge 102.1 and Sirius XM’s Laugh Attack. He is an alumnus of Centennial College’s Children’s Media post-graduate program.
Shannon Bishop, Development Executive, Nelvana
Shannon Bishop is responsible for creatively guiding projects in active development in her role as development executive for original scripted children’s programming at Nelvana. Based in Toronto, Shannon is focused on developing content within the preschool and animated series portfolio. Prior to Nelvana, Shannon worked at eOne as manager of creative affairs focusing on a slate of preschool and fashion & lifestyle brands.
Quinn Doherty, Shorts Lead, TAAFI
A graduate of Centennial College’s Children’s Media Program, Quinn has spent many years volunteering at TAAFI and has joined as official STAAFI in 2021. He has a great love of animation and in particular the writing and production side of the industry while also keeping his visual arts skills strong. When he isn’t assisting the social media or organizing community game nights you can find him pondering life’s great questions or watching silly internet videos, y’know one of the two.