Classes

In this class, we will dive into the performance aspect of recording a voiceover commercial (products, PSA's, political and promos). Participants will work with scripts and actually record and have their reads produced out into an actual commercials. Topics covered will include finding the right voice, understanding your target audience, pacing, tone/inflection and how to follow directions while in the booth. This will be an intimate class and participation/enrollment will be limited to only 10 participants.

James Lewis is an award winning SAG-AFTRA performer and has appeared on national TV shows such as HBO's The Wire, Fox’s America's Most Wanted, The I.D. channel’s Evil Twins and has been seen in hundreds of commercials including national spots for Ricola, CarMax, Airhead’s Bites Candy, Medicare, Rolaids and many more. As a voice actor, Lewis has recorded over 600 audio books and voiced characters for both Marvel and DC Comics as well as video games such as Fallout 3, Elder Scrolls and Street Hoops. James is the Executive Producer for “Talktime Voiceovers” a voiceover demo production company that also provides coaching and training. Talktime has worked with and produced demos for many of the leading talents in the DMV.

RSVP: Reservations are required. Please complete form below to RSVP. Please note that you must be logged in to RSVP. 
Seeing this on your app? Please click here to log into the website and RSVP. 

This event is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing — no guests are allowed. Parents/guardians of performers under 18 years old are welcome. SAG-AFTRA members, please bring your membership card or digital card from the app (paid through October 31, 2019) for admittance.

With hundreds of national narrations to his credit, Lance Lewman, known for National Geographic's top rated series, Taboo, Maryland Public Television's popular series Outdoors Maryland, and countless WGBH Nova programs, will guide you through the "dos" and "don'ts" of narration recording, from mic technique to making that elusive connection to the listener that keeps clients coming back for more.

RSVP: Reservations are required. Please complete form below to RSVP. Please note that you must be logged in to RSVP. 
Seeing this on your app? Please click here to log into the website and RSVP. 

This event is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing — no guests are allowed. Parents/guardians of performers under 18 years old are welcome. SAG-AFTRA members, please bring your membership card or digital card from the app (paid through October 31, 2019) for admittance.

In this workshop Anne Flosnik answers your questions about working in today's audiobook industry, and how you can get started working in this exciting and growing, specialized field. With 20 years working in the business, and over 500 audiobooks in most genres to her credit, Flosnik will share her actionable tips and tricks, as well as her experience working in many segments of the audiobook industry, including as a self-directed ACX producer. You will receive a clear overview of the industry, and details of the steps you can take to begin your own journey, and find your own niche within it. Anne has won audiobook awards and distinctions for both fiction and nonfiction narrations. Her awards include three AudioFile Earphones Awards, an American Libraries Association (ALA) Award, and four Audie Award Nominations (the "Oscars" of the audiobook industry).

Flosnik is an accomplished, multi award winning British actor, with lead credits for stage, television, commercials, industrials, voice-overs, and audiobooks. She has garnered three AudioFile Earphones Awards, Three Library Journal Starred Audio Awards, an ALA Award, an ALA Listen - Alike Award, and has four Audie Award nominations, including Anna And The King Of Siam. Her narration of Little Bee by Chris Cleave was chosen as one of the Best Audiobooks of the Year 2009 by AudioFile magazine, and one of the Top 40 Best Audiobooks of 2009 by Library Journal. Flosnik was winner of APA "Blogger Of The Year 2015," Jennifer Conner "If I Picked Audie Award Winners, 2015," winner Non Fiction with The Art Of The English Murder. She won a TIVA DC Peer Award 2014 - Book Narration Female The Forgotten Seamstress.

RSVP: Reservations are required. Please complete form below to RSVP. Please note that you must be logged in to RSVP. 
Seeing this on your app? Please click here to log into the website and RSVP. 

This event is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing — no guests are allowed. Parents/guardians of performers under 18 years old are welcome. SAG-AFTRA members, please bring your membership card or digital card from the app (paid through October 31, 2019) for admittance.

This one-hour workshop will cover ways you can obtain editable copies of your work that have aired on television, appeared in film, or been made available through streaming services so that you can keep your demo reel and online casting profiles up to date. The discussion will focus on companies that provide these services as well as how to use available technology to secure your work on your own.

Keith Flippen has been a film/TV actor for 28 years and a SAG member since 1997. He is also owner and chief instructor of Meisner Technique and Camera Acting at The Actors’ Place in Norfolk, VA, graduate of VA Tech, former student at the Eugene O’Neil Theatre Center and the Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music, and Film, and former US Administrator of the Russian-American Theatre in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Minsk.

**Please note that this workshop is a webinar**

RSVP: Reservations are required. Please complete form below to RSVP. Please note that you must be logged in to RSVP. 
Seeing this on your app? Please click here to log into the website and RSVP. 

This event is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing — no guests are allowed. Parents/guardians of performers under 18 years old are welcome. SAG-AFTRA members, please bring your membership card or digital card from the app (paid through October 31, 2019) for admittance.

Towanda Underdue is an award winning performer and voice actor and has appeared on national TV shows such as CBS' Bull, HBO's HUNG, The Corner, and the upcoming miniseries, Night Shift, which she booked using her smartphone to self-submit. Learn the basics of recording, editing, and submitting your audition using your smartphone.

RSVP: Reservations are required. Please complete form below to RSVP. Please note that you must be logged in to RSVP. 
Seeing this on your app? Please click here to log into the website and RSVP. 

This event is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing — no guests are allowed. Parents/guardians of performers under 18 years old are welcome. SAG-AFTRA members, please bring your membership card or digital card from the app (paid through October 31, 2019) for admittance.

Are you missing voiceover work because you cannot audition or record sessions from home? Are you clueless about how and where to start the process of creating your own home studio? Award-winning voice actor and radio creative director, Craig Klein, will guide the beginning and budget-conscious voice actor in setting up a studio at home. The workshop will help guide you in choosing equipment and setting up a voice over booth without breaking the bank.

RSVP: Reservations are required. Please complete form below to RSVP. Please note that you must be logged in to RSVP. 
Seeing this on your app? Please click here to log into the website and RSVP. 

This event is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing — no guests are allowed. Parents/guardians of performers under 18 years old are welcome. SAG-AFTRA members, please bring your membership card or digital card from the app (paid through October 31, 2019) for admittance.

Yay! You got a self-tape addition and it has to be submitted in 24 hours.

Actors are now expected to be actor, director, lighting director and camera expert. This workshop will help you prepare and present the best of you. We will offer suggestions on how to simplify the process and create more confidence with the equipment and your performance. During the workshop, you will learn how to use the equipment in the SAG-AFTRA Conservatory Room to shoot, edit and upload your audition

Brenna McDonough has been a full time professional actor and proud member of SAG-AFTRA since 1973. She started her career in Chicago and studied with Paul Sills at Second City. Her studio On-Camera Training is 22 years old and is dedicated to serving the on-camera acting community of DMV. She has taught her on-camera classes at NYU, UMD and is a faculty member of Theatre Lab and Shakespeare Theatre.

Kathryn Klvana has been a member since 1984, and has made a living both in front of the camera and behind the microphone. She chairs the conservatory committee, and enjoys sharing information with fellow members.

RSVP: Reservations are required. Please complete form below to RSVP. Please note that you must be logged in to RSVP. 
Seeing this on your app? Please click here to log into the website and RSVP. 

This event is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing — no guests are allowed. Parents/guardians of performers under 18 years old are welcome. SAG-AFTRA members, please bring your membership card or digital card from the app (paid through October 31, 2019) for admittance.

This class uses short scenes or monologues to develop an understanding of how to prepare for work on a film set, handle close-up and repeated takes, and access your emotional fullness. The class will also explore blocking scenes, repeating scenes for continuity, and combine artistic expression with technical precision. You may bring a monologue you know fully or have been working on or Darcy will give you a short scene to work with. Please also feel free to bring props or costume with your monologue if you would like to work with that on camera.

Class size: Up to 25 students

RSVP: Reservations are required. Please complete form below to RSVP. Please note that you must be logged in to RSVP. 
Seeing this on your app? Please click here to log into the website and RSVP. 

• There is no charge for this event.
• Participants will be randomly selected from those who respond, with preference being given to those who have not attended Conservatory events within the past 3 months.
• As a courtesy to members on the waiting list, if you have reserved a space in this workshop and cannot attend, please cancel your reservation by Monday, September 23^rd. Failure to do so may result in the inability to attend future workshops.
• While we appreciate your enthusiasm to participate in conservatory classes, anyone who shows up without receiving written confirmation will not be granted access to the class. If you arrive late, it is up to the discretion of the teacher as to whether or not you will be admitted.

Please visit these links for more information about Darcy

• Bay Area Professional Actors Studio
• Facebook
• IMDb

Darcy Marta is an award-winning actor, director and producer — and an instructor for over 35 years. While she worked professionally as an actor in film and television she kept her roots alive in theater by directing, acting and producing shows in Los Angeles and New York City. She was an original member of the Friends and Artists Theatre Company in Los Angeles, and later the Artistic Director of the Inside Art Theatre Co. in New York City. Marta was also involved behind the camera in video production where she filmed live shows and documentaries for various production companies. She has taught acting in Los Angeles, the Bay Area and in New York City at the Lee Strasberg Institute and New York University.

This workshop is not intended to imply an endorsement of any individual or company by SAG-AFTRA. The information provided through the workshop is given for informational purposes and may not be a suitable substitute for the advice of other industry professionals. You should always use good judgment in these matters and should not act or refrain from acting based solely on information provided through the workshop.

James Cagney Boardroom- Lobby Level
5757 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Enter the parking structure via Curson Ave. or Masselin Ave. 
Parking will be validated.

When: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Friday, Sept. 6

The Los Angeles Background Actors Education & Outreach Subcommittee proudly presents the first ever Background Actors Resource Fair! No RSVP needed. Join us in the James Cagney Boardroom anytime between 11 a.m.—1 p.m. to speak one on one with a variety of organizations that benefit all aspects of the background actors’ life: career, health, finances and much more. 
 
Vendors will include:
 

• Learn about the different credit unions available to you as a performer:
  • Actors Credit Union
  • First Entertainment Credit Union
  • SAG-AFTRA Credit Union

• Speak with casting professionals from:
  • Breakdown Services
  • Casting Frontiers
  • Casting Networks

• Get makeup tips from:
  • Cinzia Zanetti

• Sign up for a chance to get a free headshot on site from:
  • Micha Smith Photography!

• Learn all about the benefits of joining the SAG-AFTRA Conservatory

• Get your correct wardrobe measurements done by a wardrobe professional from Motion Picture Costumers IATSE Local 705!

Questions? Please contact the Background Actors Department at BackgroundActorsInfo@sagaftra.org or 323-549-6811.

RSVP: No need to RSVP for this event. We are excited to see you anytime between 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.!

This workshop is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing. Unfortunately, no guests allowed. All performers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by their parent or legal guardian. SAG-AFTRA members, PLEASE BRING YOUR MEMBERSHIP CARD OR DIGITAL CARD ON YOUR APP (paid through October 31, 2019) FOR ADMITTANCE. This workshop is not intended to imply an endorsement of any individual or company by SAG-AFTRA. The information provided through the workshop is given for informational purposes and may not be a suitable substitute for the advice of other industry professionals. You should always use good judgment in these matters and should not act or refrain from acting based solely on information provided through the workshop. Vendor list is subject to change. Attendance does not guarantee a chance to speak to all vendors.

Join Wes Johnson and Craig Sechler, two seasoned video game voice actors, for a workshop on what it takes to bring a character to life. These two talented pros will share their insights on the craft of video game voice acting and the difficulty of breaking into this competitive field.

Johnson voiced three installments of The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim. He voiced Lucien Lachance, the Gray Fox, the Arena Announcer, Sheogorath, Hermaeus Mora, Emperor Titus Mede II and was the default voice for Imperial males in Oblivion. In 2014, Johnson reprised the role of Sheogorath for the YouTube series Elder Scrolls Lore by the channel ShoddyCast. Later in 2015, he voiced the super mutant King Ludd as well as Scribe Bigsley in ShoddyCast's The Storyteller: A Fallout Lore Series. He also lent his voice to Star Trek: Legacy, which features the voices of all five original TV Captains, and the video game Star Trek: Conquest. In Fallout 3, he voiced the nefarious Mister Burke as well as the Super Mutants Fawkes and Uncle Leo, the Protectrons, Sentry Bots, and Scribe Bigsley. In Fallout 4 he reprised the Protectrons, as well as playing The Silver Shroud and Moe Cronin.

Sechler voiced all the male elves in Bethesda Softwork’s Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, including the voice of the infamous, annoying “Adoring Fan,” for which he still gets requests from fans all over the world. He voiced Fallout 3’s Butch Deloria, another character who continues to entertain fans all these many years later, through “phone pranksters.” (You can YouTube it)  He considers Wes Johnson, his hero, to be the finest video game actor in America.

RSVP: Reservations are required. Please complete form below to RSVP. Please note that you must be logged in to RSVP. 
Seeing this on your app? Please click here to log into the website and RSVP. 

This event is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing — no guests are allowed. Parents/guardians of performers under 18 years old are welcome. SAG-AFTRA members, please bring your membership card or digital card from the app (paid through October 31, 2019) for admittance.