Savannah College of Art and Design's inaugural aTVfest television festival honors Phylicia Rashad for Outstanding Television Achievement Feb. 14 in Atlanta

Announces panel, workshop schedule Feb. 14-16

ATLANTA, Jan. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of its inaugural aTVfest television festival, the Savannah College of Art and Design will honor veteran stage and screen performer Phylicia Rashad with the Outstanding Achievement in Television Award, Saturday, Feb. 16, at Opera, 1150 Crescent Ave., Atlanta, Georgia.

The event is the culmination of aTVfest's three-day schedule of informative and entertaining panels, discussions, workshops and screenings, held Feb. 14-16, at SCAD Atlanta, 1600 Peachtree St. NW, and at locations throughout Midtown Atlanta. 

Rashad is most widely known to television audiences for her roles as Claire Huxtable on "The Cosby Show" and as Ruth Lucas on the CBS sitcom "Cosby," for which she received NAACP Image Awards for "Best Actress in a Comedy Series." She has also been nominated for two Emmy Awards and has received two People's Choice Awards.  She was recently seen on the small screen in the remake of "Steel Magnolias." A respected stage actress, Rashad won Tony and Drama Desk awards for her performance in "A Raisin in the Sun," a role she later reprised on television, earning an Emmy nomination. Other Broadway credits include "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "Jelly's Last Jam," "Into the Woods," "Dreamgirls," "The Wiz" and "Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death." Rashad's feature film credits include "Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored," "Free of Eden" with Sydney Poitier, "Just Wright" with Queen Latifah, "Frankie & Alice" with Halle Berry and "For Colored Girls."

Industry Panels

aTVfest brings together a diverse group of industry professionals including directors, producers, writers, casting directors, marketing experts and visual effects specialists to participate in panel and question-and-answer discussions on a variety of topics about the television and digital industry.

Among the top television industry professionals hosting panels are:

John Hill, senior producer, Bravo;
Freddy James, senior vice president of program development, HGTV and DIY networks;
Stephen Nathan, executive producer, "BONES";
Art David, vice president of animation and creative services, Turner Studios;
Eric Robles, creator and executive producer, Nickelodeon's "Fanboy and Chum Chum";
Katharina Eggmann, director of primetime casting, CBS Television.

Panels and workshops include:

"Breaking into TV: The Writers Room," a panel with writers and literary managers about what it takes to write for television today;
"How to Pitch a Series," an interactive workshop about the essential elements of a TV series pitch;
"Channeling Integrated Media," a discussion on how social media and platforms such as Facebook and YouTube impact the television business;
"Forget the Show, Watch the Titles!," a panel with today's leading title sequencing companies about creating main title sequencing;
"Building the Brand: HGTV and DIY," a talk about creating and maintaining a brand;
"The Reality of Unscripted Television: Breaking into the Business," a panel with reality show producers about all aspects of the reality television business, from producing to editing.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit aTVfest.com.

About aTVfest

Hosted by SCAD, aTVfest is an international event focused on design, creativity and innovation in television and media production. The festival brings together professionals from all spheres of content production, including broadcast, cable, Web, social media, music videos and advertising to discuss current industry trends and showcase the best work in each field.  

Panel discussions, workshops, award presentations and special screenings will occur daily. Award presentations and nightly premieres will be followed by exclusive receptions that facilitate networking and development opportunities for sponsors and attendees.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit aTVfest.com.

SCAD: The University for Creative Careers

The Savannah College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution conferring bachelor's and master's degrees at distinctive locations and online to prepare talented students for professional careers. SCAD offers degrees in more than 40 majors. Visit scad.edu.

For more SCAD news, follow #SCAD •  @scaddotedu on Twitter •  @scaddotedu on Instagram •  youtube.com/aboutscad •  facebook.com/scad.edu.

SOURCE Savannah College of Art and Design