Resources & Workshops Connecting Industry Trailblazers to Independent Artists
The SeriesFest Vanguard Program, presented in partnership with Canva, is a professional development initiative spotlighting bold voices who are shaping the future of television. Each free workshop features an in-depth conversation with a trailblazing industry expert, offering real-world advice on breaking into the industry—plus creative tutorials led by a Canva Verified Expert to help you brainstorm, design, and share your own story.
New to Canva, or looking to refresh your skills ahead of the Vanguard and Ambassador workshops? Check out the Canva for Entertainment Professionals Design School course—a series of free, on-demand workshops and activities focused on how to use Canva across every stage of the creative process, from brainstorming and collaboration to pitching, selling, and marketing your work. It’s a great way to level up before diving into our live sessions.
Watch Previous Workshops | More About SeriesFest & Canva
Upcoming Workshops
Vanguard Workshop with Alexa Junge
Writer (Friends, Grace & Frankie)
Featuring Canva Verified Expert, Roger Coles
Nov 13, 2025
1:00 PM PST
Workshops to Watch Now
The Actor As Marketer: A Performer’s POV on Brand Building, Storytelling and Self-Promotion with Adam Shapiro
Adam Shapiro is a TV, film, and theatre actor and producer known for his roles in The Bear, Never Have I Ever, and “Waitress.” He’s also the founder of IAMA Theatre Co. and Shappy Pretzel Co. In this Vanguard Workshop presented with Canva, Adam explores how personal branding, storytelling, and creative marketing can fuel career opportunities both on and off screen. Watch as Adam shares how he uses Canva to design standout visual communications, develop strong brands, and manage multiple creative projects—from promoting his shows to running his small businesses.
Canva Verified Expert Brenda Cadman demonstrates how Canva empowers creators, entrepreneurs, and artists to easily design professional-quality content without needing advanced design skills.
Ambassador Workshop with Elvira Ibragimova
Director, Writer, and Winner of the Outstanding Series Format Deck Award at SeriesFest: Season 11, Elvira Ibragimova offers advice on how to make your Series Format Deck (or pitch deck) stand out. Between her experience building presentations as an architect, and her current side hustle building decks for other series, she has more than a few nuggets of expert advice. Canva Verified Expert Roger Coles joins to help streamline the process using Canva’s extensive toolkit.
Learn more about the Outstanding Series Format Deck Award, presented by Canva
Vanguard Workshop with Kit Williamson
“Unlock Your Pitch Potential” is a discussion that blends creativity and strategy to help you elevate your TV project pitches. Kit Williamson, acclaimed TV creator of Eastsiders (Netflix) and the upcoming Unconventional (Revry Original), will guide you through the essentials of pitching, while Canva unveils its latest features designed to take your ideas from concept to captivating visual reality.
Recorded live at SeriesFest: Season 11
Ambassador Workshop with Lucy Porter
SeriesFest Head of Programming Claire Taylor, and Independent Creator Lucy Porter (Comedian and winner of the Canva Outstanding Series Format Deck Award at SeriesFest: Season 10) as they discuss the creative process behind creating a pitch deck with Roger Coles (Canva Verified Expert, and Tasha Delin (Senior Manager – Global Partnerships, Canva).
Learn more about the Outstanding Series Format Deck Award, presented by Canva
Vanguard Workshop with Michael Rucker
Join Executive Producer Michael Rucker (Project Runway, 101 Places to Party Before You Die) and Canva for this interactive breakfast session, where Michael shares insights on the pitch process and we work with the audience to come up with our next TV pilot idea…bringing it to life in 30 minutes using Canva’s entertainment templates and Magic features.
Recorded live at SeriesFest: Season 10
Vanguard Workshop with Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal
The duo discusses their creative journeys across key mediums, and how they use Canva to collaborate seamlessly across projects from anywhere. Daveed Diggs is a Grammy and Tony-winning Actor / Writer / Producer known for Blindspotting, The Little Mermaid, and Hamilton. Rafael Casal is a Showrunner / Writer / Producer / Actor know for Loki and Blindspotting (Co-Creator).
Vanguard Workshop with Patrick Macmanus & Kelly Funke
The creative team discusses the journey from pitch to series with a behind-the-scenes look at original pitch materials for Dr. Death: Season 1 while they evolve plain text into an impactful visual resource using Canva. Patrick Macmanus (Littleton Road Productions) is a Writer / Producer / Showrunner know for Dr. Death and The Girl from Plainville. Kelly Funke is the President of Littleton Road Productions.
Vanguard Workshop with Sue Ann Pien
The multi-hyphenate shares an inside look into the details of her creative process and current projects in various stages of development. Find out how she utilizes Canva to ensure all of her project materials are pitch-ready. Sue Ann Pien is a Actress / Director / Producer known for As We See It.
Workshops reference resources that may no longer be available or were only available to live attendees. Attend future workshops to gain access to materials as they are released. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Instagram for the latest updates.
MORE WAYS SERIESFEST & CANVA ARE EMPOWERING CREATIVES IN ENTERTAINMENT
The Outstanding Series Format Deck Award, presented by Canva
Canva partnered with SeriesFest to launch the Outstanding Series Format Deck Award—a $5,000 cash prize awarded to a SeriesFest Official Selection with the best series format deck created in Canva. This award acknowledges the creativity and skill necessary to build the perfect series format deck. Get inspired by using SeriesFest’s official Series Format Deck template, here.
Canva For Entertainment Professionals
NEW LESSON AVAILABLE
Join Roger Coles on a journey to bring your film and TV projects to life using Canva’s innovative tools. Discover how to brainstorm ideas, craft compelling pitch decks and promote your film with Canva’s features. Whether you’re a beginner or experienced, this course empowers you to pitch and promote with confidence.
Canva is the Official Design Partner of SeriesFest
Canva is supporting SeriesFest across the board on creative and professional development resources to bring SeriesFest’s annual festival and year round programs to life. From pre-show content to social media design, to motion graphics—and everything in between—SeriesFest is thrilled to have Canva as its Official Design Partner. Be sure to follow @SeriesFest and @Canva on Instagram as we share the details of this incredible partnership.
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