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New children's entertainment program raises the bar

A new program at Centennial College promises to raise Canada's already prominent profile in the children's entertainment business.

DAVID CHILTON -- Special to the Toronto Sun

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Horowitz: Centennial College

Called Children's Entertainment: Writing, Production and Management, the 45-week post-graduate program can't help but boost the country's already enviable reputation, say two of the figures who were intimately involved in setting it up.

Nate Horowitz, dean of the School of Communications, Media and Design at Centennial, says he had lunch with his friend Joan Lambur a couple of years ago and it was out of their mealtime conversation the program was born.

"I always wanted to do something in children's entertainment," Horowitz says. "In this program we're trying to keep the quality that Canada is known for worldwide."

To help him in the early going, Horowitz assembled an advisory group of 12 that included writers, producers, toy and games makers as well as representation from Nickelodeon in the U.S.

In the group was Joan Lambur, president of On-Screen Entertainment at Lenz Entertainment in Toronto.

Lambur, who's been in the children's entertainment business for 14 years, and attended Centennial herself "5,000 years ago," says the program covers the entire spectrum of childhood entertainment rather than concentrating on a specific industry. She sees the program's future graduates everywhere, whether it's TV, production, toys and games or anything else, both at home and abroad.

How soon they get there, however, depends on the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities at Queen's Park. Horowitz is hoping he gets final approval for the program quickly because he'd like to enrol his first class for a January 2009 start.

"We have to nail this (approval) down because we have quite a bit of interest out there," Horowitz says. The program's Facebook entry is already creating some buzz and even without that final green light from the ministry nine hopefuls have applied for admission.

The first class, whenever it starts, will accept between 20 and 25 students, Horowitz says. Applicants need a degree or diploma or eight university credits and relevant work experience. They will also need to pass a creative writing test, crafting either a short story or a manuscript, Horowitz says.

In the first semester of the three-semester program, students will take classes in child development, integrated media, project development and pitches, and how to make them, as well as a survey course on children's classics and "one solid writing course," Horowitz says.

The program, which is unique in Canada -- and the world as far as Horowitz knows -- will also require students to work one or two days a week to complete a 15-week unpaid internship in their third semester. Horowitz puts the tuition fee in the $7,000 to $8,000 range.

That's not cheap. But Lambur is enthusiastic about the opportunities for graduates. She says the domestic market can absorb them so there won't be a glut of talent, and moving abroad or down to the U.S. will be a real possibility.

"Students won't know everything as the hunt for that first job, but they will be able to contribute right out of the gate," she says.