Career Development

The Arizona-Utah Local board encourages members residing in Arizona to attend the second installment of a panel discussion series about reactivating the film production scene in the state presented by the Arizona Production Association (APA). It will be moderated by APA President Jason Isaak with panel members Ken George, President, AZ Film & Media Coalition (AFMC); Shelli Hall, Director, Tucson Film Office; Matthew Earl Jones, Director, Arizona Office of Film & Digital Media; Phil Bradstock, City of Phoenix Film Commissioner, and Randy Murray, Chair of the AFMC's Legislative Committee.

When: 7 p.m. PDT, Thursday, Sept. 13

Where: Sun Studios
1425 W. 14th St
Tempe, AZ 85281

Click here to RSVP. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Space is limited. 

The products and services noted herein are provided as an informational service to SAG-AFTRA members and are administered by entities independent of SAG-AFTRA. Any questions must be handled by the provider. This information is not intended to serve as an endorsement nor is any warranty or guarantee implied.
 

Adam Lieblein, Director of Business Development for Breakdown Services and former talent agent, is in a unique position to provide insights that will benefit your acting career. Using the system that is used by all major casting directors, talent agents and actors in North America, Adam will reveal the casting process as you've never seen it before. Now you will be able to get the edge you need to be a more successful actor using the free tools provided by Breakdown Services' actor website site, Actors Access. Come join us for an opportunity to see how casting selects YOU!

When: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 29
Check-in begins at 1:00 p.m.

Where: Show Creators, Inc.
4455-4465 W Sunset Rd. 
Las Vegas, NV 89118

Please RSVP to nevada@sagaftra.org. 

Conservatory Membership Cost: SAG-AFTRA members: $40/year or $20/workshop; others: $80/year or $20/workshop. Pay by cash or check only at the event. You will need your SAG-AFTRA membership card or digital card on the app (paid through October 31, 2018) to join as a member.

This workshop is 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 on the app (paid through October 31, 2018) for admittance.

Adam Lieblein is a graduate of the UCLA School of Theatre Film and Television, and spent eight years as a producer until 1993 when he opened talent agency Acme Talent & Literary.  In 2015, after teaching the Business of Acting at UCLA for 20 years, Lieblein received the Outstanding Instructor of the Year Award from the Entertainment Studies Division at UCLA Extension. From 2011 to 2017, Lieblein served as a project manager for Casting Networks International and is currently the Director of Business Development for Breakdown Services and Actors Access. 
 

The Conservatory Presents Audition Mindset Mastery: How to Bounce Back from Bombing, So You Can Book More!

When: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 18

Where: SAG-AFTRA Office
350 Sansome St. Suite 900
San Francisco, CA 94104

Public transportation is available and encouraged. There are self-pay parking garages and metered street parking in the area.

Find yourself sabotaging auditions with nervousness or wishing you had a better way to prepare yourself to be more consistent? Are you frustrated because you can totally kill it in rehearsal, but for some reason inexplicably choke onstage now and then? There's nothing wrong with you. It's not a sign "from the universe" that you shouldn't be an actor. It's actually the opposite.

Join Holly Shaw, creativity coach, hypnotherapist and SAG-AFTRA actor, learn tools to help you master your “Audition Mindset” and how to use your audition nerves to create magnetic and powerful energy in auditions, onstage, and on film. In this two hour free workshop, Holly Shaw shares her secrets from over twenty years of studying performance anxiety and from performing in T.V., film, and on stages all over the world.

You'll learn:

• The Must-Have Mindset for auditions and how you can use it to be more consistent
• The three areas that affect your auditions the most and how you can begin to master them
• A proven-effective method for managing stage fright that you can begin using right away
• A simple and quick warm up to feel "on" in your auditions
• Exactly why you sabotage yourself in auditions even when you know you're good at what you do
• How you can recover from traumatic experiences inside the industry or out so that you can show up to auditions "baggage free"

The film industry is in a big upheaval right now - things that were hidden are finally coming to the surface, and change is good. It is an opening for something different, a shift in power and a new way of working creatively together.  But this also can trigger a lot of emotions from actors in the industry and make it harder than ever to show up as vibrantly as you know is possible.

You have a choice: you can either shrink away or let the old paradigms return or empower yourself to feel safe. Safe to be seen and ready to become a leader in reshaping this creative industry the way we would like it to be. In this workshop you’ll have the opportunity to get real practical tools that not only make you better at auditions, but help you address what’s under the surface as well so true consistent change can happen. Learn to master your audition mindset and learn to master yourself so you can get the roles you know you know you’re meant for!

Class Size: 24 Maximum

RSVP: SAG-AFTRA Francisco-Northern California Local by email to Vicki Balich vicki.balich@sagaftra.org. Please include your name, phone number and union membership I.D. number.

• 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 Friday, Sept. 14th.
• Failure to do so may result in the inability to attend future workshops.
• 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.
• There is no charge for this event.

Holly Shaw is a San Francisco based bestselling author, creativity coach, and hypnotherapist who has worked with hundreds of actors and performers, some of them Emmy-award winning and Grammy nominated. Shaw has helped them to overcome performance anxiety, impostor syndrome, and creative blocks so that they can totally kill it in auditions and performances without feeling like they're selling out or losing their sanity. She is also the host of the Performers & Creators Lab Podcast.  

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.

When: 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 29

Where: SAG-AFTRA Plaza
Frank Maxwell Room – Lobby Level
5757 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Parking will be validated.

This event will host two back-to-back workshop panels including:

WHAT TO WEAR – Stand Out and Book the Job (10:30 a.m. – noon)

Being invited to industry and red carpet events or meetings with producers and casting directors is exciting! That is until you realize you have no idea what to wear. Disability Fashion Styling Expert Stephanie Thomas shares tips for performers with disabilities on how to dress for networking events, award shows and social media marketing photos, in ways that may help you book the job. Furthermore, she will explain how to self-advocate when working with wardrobe stylists on set. Using her Disability Fashion System, she’ll also explain how to dress your body type, shop on a limited budget and why what you wear matters. The 25-minute seminar is followed by a panel discussion featuring influencers with disabilities and a Q&A session.

Presenter: Stephanie Thomas, Disability Fashion Expert

Panelists:

• Katy Sullivan (athlete, actor, NCIS: New Orleans)
• Mark Povinelli (actor, Water for Elephants)
• Tatiana Lee (actor, influencer)

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING - Personal Branding that Gets You Noticed (noon – 1 p.m.)

The term “personal branding” is often used, but rarely understood. This panel explores the three pillars of personal branding to help actors with disabilities better understand how effective consistent personal branding enhances the possibilities of booking jobs, earning livable wages and creating more independence. Strong personal branding alone does not guarantee this outcome, but we know that strong branding makes you more appealing to agents, publicists, managers and casting directors.

Presenter/Moderator: Angela Rockwood (actor, Push Girls)

Panelists:

• Gail Williamson (agent)

You must RSVP to attend. Spaces are limited and not guaranteed once the room reaches capacity.

To RSVP, click here.

Questions? Contact (323) 634-6644.

SAG-AFTRA members, PLEASE BRING YOUR MEMBERSHIP CARD OR DIGITAL CARD ON YOUR APP (paid through Oct. 31, 2018) FOR ADMITTANCE. This workshop is not intended to imply an endorsement of any individual or company by SAG-AFTRA. Panelists subject to change. Sponsorship of this workshop/panel is not intended to imply SAG-AFTRA’s endorsement of any participating individual or company. 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 not act or refrain from acting based solely on information provided at the workshop.

You may know how to act, but do you know how to not act?   

You are invited to attend this free workshop introduction to No Acting Please, the Eric Morris System. The book of the same name was referenced on Inside the Actor's Studio by actor Johnny Depp, the forward written by veteran method actor Jack Nicholson and is a resource used in colleges, universities and acting schools around the world. It's a method-based system that teaches the actor to experience personal reality rather than “act.”  

In addition to the introduction, attendees will have the opportunity to participate and be coached one-on-one using the tools and techniques of the Morris System by Adam Christopher Veasman.  He is one of the few coaches that have been directly endorsed by Eric Morris to teach this comprehensive system and has taught the system at one of the acting schools here in Chicago. 

He has worked both sides of the camera, is a member of SAG-AFTRA for more than 20 years in both the Chicago and L.A. markets and has casting experience as a Session Director for O’Connor Casting.

The comprehensive Morris System of No Acting Please has all of the method with none of the madness. Come see for yourself what No Acting Please is all about and learn to Be the role, not act it.

When: 6 - 8 p.m., Monday, September 10
 
Where: KMRC                                                
1 E. Erie, Suite 660
Chicago, IL 60611
RSVP to kathy.byrne@sagaftra.org.

Park at 10 East Ontario. Enter on the north side of Ontario between Wabash and State, and then take a ticket. When you sign in, you may purchase a four-hour ticket for $13 cash, $14 Visa, MasterCard or American Express payment. You will need both tickets to exit the parking structure.
 
This meeting is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing. Unfortunately, no guests allowed. Parents/guardians of younger performers under 18 years old are welcome. SAG-AFTRA members, please bring your membership card or digital card on the app (paid through Oct. 31, 2018) 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.
 

Michelle Bradley will conduct this interactive seminar on how to use an Ear prompter.  Ear prompter work is a special skill that needs to be practiced often to make it look as effortless as it needs to on-camera, or to a live audience.  This Conservatory will give you the tools to perfect this skill.  

What is Ear prompter?  Ear prompter is most commonly used in industrial videos and trade show presentations.  The script is recorded to a device and played a second or two in advance of the performer speaking.

Please bring a recording device (iPhone works) and ear buds.  You will be given copy to record, and then have the opportunity to get instruction from Michelle in front of the rest of the class.

When: 6 - 8 p.m., Thursday, August 23
 
Where: KMRC                                                
1 E. Erie, Suite 660
Chicago, IL 60611
RSVP to kathy.byrne@sagaftra.org or 312-867-5508.
 
Park at 10 East Ontario. Enter on the north side of Ontario between Wabash and State, and then take a ticket. When you sign in, you may purchase a four-hour ticket for $13 cash, $14 Visa, MasterCard or American Express payment. You will need both tickets to exit the parking structure.
 
This meeting is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing. Unfortunately, no guests allowed. Parents/guardians of younger performers under 18 years old are welcome. SAG-AFTRA members, please bring your membership card or digital card on the app (paid through Oct. 31, 2018) 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.
 

Chris Game knows what you're going through. The Los Angeles–based casting director has worked as an actor, director, writer and production assistant and has been teaching acting for over 20 years. In this comprehensive class, Chris brings his well-rounded experiences to focus on commercial and theatrical auditions. Topics include: memorization techniques, self-taping tips, how to use the camera to maximize results, what to do when there’s no camera, script analysis and more.

When: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m., Saturday, August 18
Check-in begins at 1 p.m.

Where: Show Creators, Inc.
4455-4465 W Sunset Rd. 
Las Vegas, NV 89118

Please RSVP to nevada@sagaftra.org. 

Conservatory Membership Cost: SAG-AFTRA members: $40/year or $20/workshop; others: $80/year or $20/workshop. 
Pay by cash or check only at the event. You will need your SAG-AFTRA membership card or digital card on the app (paid through October 31, 2018) to join as a member.

Chris Game has taught all disciplines of acting including scene study, comedy, commercials, master classes, procedural and script writing in Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and San Francisco for over 20 years. In addition to casting Kelsey Grammer and Jason Segel in film projects, he has cast talent in major commercial campaigns that include Swiffer, Wendy’s, Pepsi, Mercedes Benz and more. Chris has directed five films and three web series and as an actor can be seen in HBO’s Emmy winning VEEP, Young and the Restless and in an upcoming Ron Howard production.
 

ProACT Conservatory presents a workshop with acting coach Cathryn Hartt of Hartt & Soul Studio. Young performers will discover new tools for successful auditions and navigating the business. Parents will learn about contracts and protections for minors on set. Seating is limited and registration is required. 

When: 10:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 4
Doors open at 10:00 a.m.
 
Where: SAG-AFTRA Dallas-Fort Worth Local Office 
15110 Dallas Parkway, Suite 440
Dallas, TX 75248 
(NE corner of Dallas Tollway and Belt Line in Bank of America Building)
Free parking.
 
Cost: $10 per family and open to the public (cash or check only at the door)

RSVP: SEATING IS LIMITED; REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Contact DallasRSVP@sagaftra.org to register. 
 

When: 3 - 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 6

Where: SAG-AFTRA
James Cagney Boardroom
5757 Wilshire Blvd. – Lobby Level
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Parking will be validated.

SAG-AFTRA will be hosting a New Media Information Session for members and member-producers interested learning about our new Short Project Agreement. This agreement will be in effect beginning August 1 and will cover content for projects that go to film festivals as well as new media. The Short Project Agreement will replace the existing Short Film Agreement as well as cover all new media content produced with a budget under $50,000, with the exception of a new media series.

This will also be a listening session for union staff and leadership to hear concerns and issues regarding SAG-AFTRA’s low budget new media contracts.

All attendees will be required to sign a confidentiality notice prior to the start of the event.

You must RSVP to attend. Spaces are limited.

To RSVP, click here.

Questions: Please contact the New Media Department at NewMediaEvents@sagaftra.org.

This workshop is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing. Unfortunately, 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 ON YOUR APP (paid through Oct. 31, 2018) FOR ADMITTANCE.