Disability<\/a> Belongs, a national disability-led nonprofit known for creating systemic change in how society views and values people with disabilities, has announced a new virtual cohort of participants for its 2026 Entertainment Lab.<\/p>\n\n\tIn its eighth year, the Lab has become a growing pipeline for disabled talent. The cohort \u2014 which includes writers, directors, producers, and those working in physical production \u2014 will engage in interactive presentations, roundtables, and skill-building workshops with top executives and talent from major studios, networks, and production companies.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe 2026 participants are Aaron Potter, Allison White, Analesa\u00a0Fisher, Brian Cohen, Brianna\u00a0Naderpour, Clare Cooney, Corey Allen Evans, Dashiell Meier, Fionnt\u00e1n Price, Frances Rubio,\u00a0Greg Jeffs, Jessiline\u00a0Berry, Karen\u00a0Jeynes, Kryzz\u00a0Gautier, Lamont Lamar, Madeleine Shelley, Mary Pat Bentel, Matthew\u00a0Yeungong\u00a0Hua, Megan Metzger,\u00a0Nathan Willis, Peter Soby,\u00a0Serena Dykman, Shani A. Moore, Simone\u00a0Brazzini, and Sophie Ostrove.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe cohort includes 10 writer\/directors, six TV writers, four screenwriters, three documentary filmmakers, one producer and one music composer. The Fellows are based in\u00a0Los Angeles, New York City, and\u00a011 additional cities across North America, as well as Cape Town, South Africa.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAs someone who started in this business with no contacts, I\u2019m passionate about helping others break in,\u201d Nathan Varni, Executive Director of Current Programming at ABC Entertainment Group and Disability Belongs Board member, said in a statement on Friday. \u201cThis Lab is cultivating the next wave of talented writers, producers, and directors who are reshaping Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tLaunched in 2019, the Entertainment Lab is one of several pipeline programs offered by Disability Belongs for disabled entertainment professionals. The 2026 Disability Belongs Lab, which runs from May to September, is supported in part by Netflix and Sony Pictures Entertainment.<\/p>\n
\n\tAlumni of the program have gone on to work with major studios and platforms, including Disney, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, premiering projects at major festivals such as\u00a0SXSW, and participating in professional development programs, including those offered by the\u00a0Sundance Institute.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cBeing an alumna of various Disability Belongs programs in the Lab back in 2020, and after that, when I started working with them as a fellow, was really my first start in consultation work in the entertainment industry,\u201d Ava X. Rigelhaupt, a program alumna, said in a statement. \u201cI learned from really some of the best people, like Lauren Appelbaum and my cohort at that time, on how to work with studios of various sizes\u2014from indie studios to Disney\u2014how to give notes, listen to their needs, and provide solutions to these different projects. I also learned how to negotiate and push back, emphasizing not just your perspective of why you would like this change, but also that there are always nuances and people who agree and disagree, research, and the disability community\u2019s need for true inclusion and representation. I learned how to advocate for that with different people, understanding what various people need and how you might be able to weave in some great stories.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\n Katie Campione<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Disability Belongs, a national disability-led nonprofit known for creating systemic change in how society views and values people with disabilities, has announced a new virtual cohort of participants for its 2026 Entertainment Lab. In its eighth year, the Lab has become a growing pipeline for disabled talent. The cohort \u2014 which includes writers, directors<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":902843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[147909,39967,1798],"tags":[147908,19112],"class_list":{"0":"post-902842","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-belongs","8":"category-disability","9":"category-entertainment","10":"tag-belongs","11":"tag-disability"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=902842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/902843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=902842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=902842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}