⭐ REGISTER NOW ⭐ Transom Traveling Workshop 2025: Catalina, California
Now THIS looks VERY COOL.
Transom is beyond thrilled to be again offering our week-long Transom Traveling Workshop on audio storytelling. Ten beginning-level students will get a week of intensive training on beautiful Catalina Island, off the Southern California coast. The Transom Workshops started in 2011. Our alumni have gone on to work at NPR, public radio members stations across the country, nearly every major podcast company, and as award-winning independent producers.
Read on to learn more about scholarships!
Class and Cost
The fee for the week is either $2,810 or $2,410 depending on housing, and includes:
Training by David Weinberg with support from teaching assistant Ariella Markowitz.
Use of quality field-recording equipment. (Or bring your own if you like.)
Ferry service to and from the island.
Seven nights of housing.
Three group meals.
A student membership with AIR.
Workshop participants should arrive on Sunday, March 23. The workshop will start with a group meal on Sunday evening. For the rest of the week, students will be immersed in field recording, interviewing, digital editing, script writing, and narration. By the end of the week, each participant will have produced a short profile of a creative person living on Catalina. We finish with a listening party open to the community.
Dates and Deadlines
Workshop and Scholarship applications open December 12, 2024
Workshop and Scholarship applications due January 17, 2025 (11:59 p.m. EST)
Applicants notified of selection decisions January 31, 2025
Enrollment confirmation February 7, 2025
Tuition/housing costs due in full February 14, 2025
The Selection Process
Selection is competitive. We want creative, dedicated newcomers seeking a strong set of entry-level skills. Previous experience isn’t needed, but helps: preference goes to those who’ve tried audio storytelling before. Ten people will be selected to participate.
Housing on the Island
Housing is provided in two adjacent rented island homes: 316CA Upper and 316 CA Lower.
Four participants will have single rooms in the rented house, and six will share rooms. Please indicate your preference on your application; room choice will be determined in a first-come-first-serve system and we will accommodate as best we can.
Tuition, three meals, and a single room in the house: $2,810
Tuition, three meals, and a shared room in the house: $2,410
*Note: Accommodations are included in the cost of the tuition regardless of whether or not you choose to stay in the housing we’re providing.
Traveling Workshop Scholarship
We are also pleased to offer scholarships for this workshop. Our goal is to make Traveling Workshops a realistic option for people who would otherwise be unable to attend due to cost. Seed money for our Traveling Workshop Scholarship came from a graduate, appreciative of the opportunity, who generously wanted to help open the door for others with fewer financial resources. Additional funds come from This American Life, as well as other graduates and individuals who believe in the quality of the training we provide and in the importance of diversifying the public media workforce.
Scholarships will be offered based on financial need, with a focus on diverse voices, people of color, and those who have been historically underrepresented as makers of public media. The workshop admissions committee reviews applications and only after applicants are accepted into the workshop are scholarship applications reviewed and awarded. For now, Scholarship funds are available only to people living in the U.S. and to workshops happening in the U.S.
Scholarship applicants are required to complete both a workshop application and a scholarship application. Both are due January 17, 2025 by midnight EST. NOTE: Please complete and submit your application to the workshop first.
From Previous Participants
“I fell even more in love with radio than I was before! I can never go back. I’m forever hooked!” – Catalina participant, 2018
“I came into the week wanting to pursue audio production, and I feel that I have a lot of great energy, tools, ideas, and contacts coming out. Thank you so much to everyone involved in organizing it! I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity.” – Catalina participant, 2016