This article was originally published in UCSB's ' The Current '.
If you’ve heard Octavia Spencer give an interview, you can probably tell she’s from the South. But someone who really understands her voice can tell she’s from Alabama. Reese Witherspoon on the other hand? Her voice reveals she’s from Tennessee. And a good dialogue writer knows, it’s not just the twang. It’s the culture.
A unique pilot program at UC Santa Barbara focuses on writing for diverse voices, creating a new kind of space between a Hispanic Serving Institution and an HBCU ( Historically Black Colleges and Universities ). Ten Booker T. Washington Scholars from Alabama’s Tuskegee University — an HBCU — will spend the summer at UCSB — an HSI — taking classes in screenwriting.