Scripting her success

Zsa-Zsa Bowie Wilson,

Clare Atkins is infectiously happy and it may have something to do with the $10,000 cheque she recently received.

The 26 year-old Sydney-based scriptwriter has won a Realise Your Dream scholarship from British Council Australia that will take her to the UK for a work experience placement with renowned script writer Jimmy McGovern. McGovern is the owner of Granada Media, one of the UK’s largest television production companies. Atkins describes McGovern as the top person in his field globally. “I just can’t wait to get over there,” she said.

“It’s been a long journey to get to Realise Your Dream and if I’d applied last year I don’t think I would have won. This year was my last chance,” Atkins said. Scholarship applicants must be aged between 19 and 26.

A year ago Atkins left behind a paid career as a script writer in the world of commercial television to create an ambitious scriptwriting venture with the help of like-minded partner, Sabour Bradley.

“I met Sabour at
Home & Away
and I kept in touch with him. Together we came up with the idea to work with Sydney-based multicultural youths and run scriptwriting workshops to give them the skills to tell their life stories in a TV format,” Atkins said.

The two script writers worked for nothing to get their project ‘Represent’ off the ground, although they have recently secured an Australia Council grant. The duo designed Represent to give young people from diverse ethnic backgrounds a voice. Atkins said some of those featured come from impoverished homes and are doing it pretty tough.

The result is a package of six, half-hour “dramas” (Atkins doesn’t like the tag ‘doco drama’) that Atkins and Bradley hope a television network will pick up and screen. “We’re in negotiations at the moment and it seems that SBS are interested in the concept,” she said. Atkins said the young people who participated in the project will share in the proceeds of any resulting sale.

While Atkins put paid work on hold to complete Represent she did not stop planning her next career move. Her dream was to work in the UK so she used her professional network to line up the work experience placement with Grenada Media. The only problem left was funding her trip to the UK. “Working voluntarily for the last year means that I had no money to go anywhere let alone the UK,” Atkins explained. The solution was winning the British Council scholarship.

Visit http://www.realiseyourdream.org.au/  to read more about the scholarship program.

By Zsa-Zsa Bowie Wilson, careerone.com.au.