Career Options
Sheridan grad, instructor win Gemini AwardAs a Gemini Award nominee, Ericka Evans remembers watching with pride as a clip from the children’s TV program she produced was shown along with other nominees at a recent awards ceremony. Stumbling up to the stage after her name was announced, however, remains a blur. |
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 [ 2006-11-15 ] |
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Sheridan grad Ericka Evans shows off the Gemini Award her TVOntario production team won for Gisele's Big Backyard.
“You always hear that it’s a thrill just to be nominated and it really was,” says Evans, head of pre-school programming at TVOntario. Along with other members of her production team — Marie McCann, Gisèle Corinthios and Pat Ellingson — she earned a Gemini in the Best Pre-School Program or Series category for Gisèle’s Big Backyard: Here, There and Everywhere.
While she cherishes the award, her greatest reward is reading letters from the show’s young fans. “It’s nice to know you’re reaching and making a difference in the lives of children and making them smile,” Evans says.
The 24-year-old Toronto resident had studied interior design for a year before deciding it wasn’t for her.
She thought about becoming a teacher or getting into children’s TV, heard about a three-year media arts program offered at Sheridan College in Oakville and hasn’t looked back.
The career choice is a natural fit for Evans. Community theatre had been a big part of her life while growing up in Sault Ste. Marie. Her mom was a stage manager and she often worked behind the scenes. Evans even had a stint working at a community TV station.
“The great thing about Sheridan’s program is that you’re exposed to different avenues,” she says. “I even took web design, which has helped me communicate with my web team, though I could never do their job. I wanted to get into children’s TV, but didn’t know where I’d end up.”
She landed a full-time internship at TVOntario during her final semester. Her responsibilities included opening and sorting fan mail and answering live call-in games. “I got to observe different kinds of TV shoots: in the field, live and pre-taped. I met a lot of people and asked a lot of questions.”
Upon graduation in 2000, Evans landed a job as production assistant. She went on to produce a touring stage show before becoming producer of The Nook, which was later replaced with Gisèle’s Big Backyard. “When I have children, I’ll want them to watch this kind of programming,” Evans says.
Sharing the spotlight is Bob Culbert, a part-time instructor in Sheridan’s media arts program. He collected the Academy Achievement Award, which recognizes individuals who shape the TV industry behind the scenes.
V-P of documentaries
He joined the CBC in 1970 and worked his way up to executive director of CBC News, Current Affairs and Newsworld before joining CTV as vice-president of documentaries. “I was lucky to cover a lot of big stories, like Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of communism,” says the North Ireland native.
Culbert has worked on numerous award-winning documentaries. At Sheridan, he teaches third-year students in portfolio development – documentary stream. “I supervise them in picking, shaping, researching and shooting a story. I function like an executive producer, while they’re at work.”
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