Jana Sinyor (Being Erica, Dark Oracle) is one of the speakers at the upcoming Toronto Screenwriting Conference on March 31 and April 1. She tells TV, eh? about her unconventional path to screenwriting, her learning curve on Being Erica, and the project she has in development with ABC now.
First, tell me about the Toronto Screenwriting Conference –- what do you hope to convey there, and what do you hope to get out of it? What role do conferences like this play in career development?
I plan to show up and have an interesting panel discussion with a bunch of people I respect. I hope it will be a lot of fun.
As for what role conferences play in career development, for me, they were extremely important. I remember attending Nuts And Bolts — a weekend conference put on by WIFT-T when I was just starting out — and then later I went to a screenwriting weekend conference that was put together by the WGC. Both events were very important in that they connected me with people I would later work with. I learned a lot from the panels, talked to lots of different people — and felt that attending helped me better focus, better zero in on what I wanted to do and what steps I was going to take to get there.
From Omar Mosleh of My Town Crier:
- Growing up through her Degrassi role
For North York actor Melinda Shankar, it was an easy decision to move to Toronto from Ottawa to kick-start her career at the age of 16. The star of shows such as MuchMusic’s Degrassi: The Next Generation and YTV’s How To Be Indie knew she had to move to the big smoke to realize her dreams. Read more.
From Katie Daubs of the Toronto Star:
- Degrassi’s Wheels: The lost years of Neil Hope
In early November 2007, Neil Hope walked into Cheapies Records & Tapes for the last time. The former star of Degrassi Jr. High was a frequent visitor to the Hamilton music store. Sometimes, he’d have his PlayStation 2 in hand, selling it for cash only to buy it back a few weeks later. Read more.
From the National Post:
- The Stars of Degrassi: Where are they now?
After we got wind of the death of Degrassi actor Neil Hope, who played Wheels on the show’s three incarnations, it got us wondering what the original CBC cast has been up to since their debut on the series nearly three decades ago. Melody Lau and Luis-Enrique Arrazola combed the depths of the Internet to find out just what your favourite Canadian teen drama stars have been doing the past two decades. Read more.
From the Toronto Star:
- Degrassi star ‘Wheels’ reported dead, five years after he died
Degrassi fans are mourning the death of Neil Hope, who played the character Derek “Wheels” Wheeler on the long-running show, as the news broke Thursday the teen star had died in 2007. Reports suggest Hope died at age 35 on Nov. 25, 2007, of natural causes in Hamilton. His death was only made public today. Read more.
