( ENSPIRE Entertainment ) Mentorship Program Created by Mike Gauyo Sets Career Path for Black Writers in the Hollywood Industry
ENSPIRE Contributor: Ava Girardi
Mike Gauyo, Hollywood’s up-and-coming writer and creator, is making a strong impact by making Hollywood more inclusive for people of color while also having a successful career as a writer for series such as “Insecure” and Netflix’s “Ginny & Georgia”. Gauyo is also known for his AMC Networks’ ALLBLK series, Send Help, where he stands as the co-creator, co-showrunner, and executive producer. Growing up in Haiti, Gauyo had to navigate this new world as a Black, Queer, and Haitian and was motivated to work hard and make his way up from a production assistant to a co-creator. Recently, Gauyo partnered up with Stage 32, Culture Creative Entertainment, Writ Large, and Final Draft to create a mentorship writing program, known as Black Boy Writes & Black Girl Writes, to search for Black writers across the globe to build a career in Hollywood.
Along with Stage 32, Gauyo has created this program to search for Black writers, which received 829 applications from 21 different countries. Specifically, the program provides pre-WGA writers with the resources they need to become screenwriters in the entertainment business. Ashley Aronson, who is Gauyo’s Chief of Programming, runs the Mentorship Initiative. This initiative’s primary goal is to focus more attention on the need to improve narratives around Black people after it was found by the NAACP Report, ‘The Black Executive’, that there is an “absence of Black control of media.” The program eventually took fourteen writers from New York, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and the United Kingdom. Gauyo describes more about why he was motivated to start this program and his goal of pursuing it with Stage 32.
“I launched this program in hopes of creating a space for Black Writers to have access towards a career in writing that otherwise may have felt out of their reach,” said Black Boy Write Media Founder, Mike Gauyo, “I’m happy to partner with Richard Botto and Stage32, who are helping to facilitate that mission, my agency and management firm, Culture Creative Entertainment and Writ Large, respectively, who have agreed to provide invaluable resources, as well as Final Draft, the premier software for screenwriters, for sponsoring and being day one supporters of the program.”
Richard Botto, who is the founder and CEO who launched Stage 32 in 2011, uses his platform to train film and TV creatives globally to become professionals in the entertainment industry. He discussed his exciting partnership with Gauyo to give opportunities to Black individuals around the world to have their talent seen.
“We believe in giving access and opportunity to undiscovered, diverse talent and are thrilled with the outpouring of entries we received from the Stage 32 community for the Black Boy Writes Black Girl Writes Mentorship Initiative,” said Richard Botto, Stage 32 CEO. “The winning writers are simply amazing and I’m looking forward to working with Mike Gauyo and his team to provide the proper training and access to give this talented group the opportunity to move their career forward to the next level.”
During this program, mentees partake in many activities to gain professional experiences. Some of these include pitch sessions with experts in the industry, writer roundtables with writers and leaders in the industry, writing workshops, meetings to prepare for fellowships and staffing, and training with Stage 32’s Next Level Education webinars and pitch sessions.
From Haiti to Hollywood, Gauyo is making a strong impact across the globe for writers by pairing up with Stage 32 to provide the mentorship they need to become successful in the production industry. Through Black Boy Writes & Black Girl Writes, Gauyo is creating a pathway for Hollywood to broaden its horizons and become more inclusive of people of color. The industry is lacking Black people and all the talent they offer and, according to the NAACP ‘The Black Executive’ Report, this can be “harming the African American community.” Along with Batto, Gauyo is making it possible to inspire individuals with the same interests to take on the same career path as him.
If you want to learn more about Mike Gauyo and his mission, you can visit his Instagram and the Black Boy Writes website.
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