Two Young Comedians Among HBOAccess Fellowship Winners
Sarah McChesney and Yolanda Carney were among nine writers who were selected to participate in an HBO program designed to foster emerging writing talent. Sarah is an alumni of The Groundlings and Upright Citizens Brigade who lives in Los Angeles, and she’s also a puppeteer with Jim Henson’s “Puppet Up!.” Carney is a Chicago based writer and comedian whose most recent play was the winner of the First Laugh Festival this year. She is also an active performer in the Chicago improv community and has trained at Improv Olympic and Second City. She completed a BA in Creative Writing at the University of Pennsylvania.
Seven others were chosen from diverse backgrounds to complete the nine. The winners were chosen from over 2000 submissions, and will get to participate in an advanced mentored writing program with HBO in and 8 month program that will include a week of master classes held at the HBO campus in Santa Monica, California where they will get to participate in discussions with HBO executives and showrunners.
At the end of the eight month program, HBO will hold a reception and staged reading for industry professionals as the writers are introduced to the entertainment industry.
“It all starts with the words on the page so I am particularly proud that HBO can play a role in cultivating these talented writers,” said Michael Lombardo, President, HBO Programming. “We created HBOAccess Writers Fellowship in hopes of discovering unique voices and create for them a rare learning experience where they can further hone their craft and hopefully jumpstart a career.”
Other winners include Anslem Richardson, Jude Weng, Dedi Felman, Joshua Levy and Pranthi Srinivasan, Iturri Sosa, and Wesley Taylor.
