Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/964761
48 SAG-AFTRA | Spring 2018 | SAGAFTRA.org On Location AUDIOBOOK PRIDE I n November, the Seattle Local hosted an informative and entertaining conversation with SAG-AFTRA New York Local member Tavia Gilbert, winner of the 2017 Best Female Narrator Audie Award. Seattle Local President Rik Deskin spoke with Gilbert about her career, and she offered tips on how actors can get into the growing industry of audiobook narration. Gilbert said she is a proud SAG-AFTRA member and believes the labor movement is key to making artists' lives better. The event was a success and played to a full house. Seattle Seattle Local President Rik Deskin, left, with member Tavia Gilbert. Members and filmmakers at the KMRC after the Jan. 15 table read. T he SAG-AFTRA Chicago Local has teamed up with IFP Chicago to start a table read series called At the Table. This quarterly series showcases scripts that are in development or close to preproduction. The series kicked off Jan. 15 with a table read of the script Girl with Child by writer-director Maria Abraham and producer Luz Agudelo Gipson. The script, which won the Chicago International Film Festival Pitch Competition, was read by 10 SAG-AFTRA Chicago Local members in front of an audience in the Kaufherr Members Resource Center. "We want to make more great movies in Chicago. One way to do that is to bring together the acting, producing and writing communities," said member Kelly Demaret, who helped organize the event. Performers reviewed character breakdowns, submitted headshots and resumes, and were chosen by the filmmakers to participate. "Everybody had a fantastic time — the audience, the actors and especially the filmmakers," Demaret said. A call for script submissions will occur quarterly. Chicago LOCAL, IFP PARTNER ON TABLE READING SERIES San Francisco-NorCal LOCAL BROADCASTER GIVES BACK L ocal member Delores Thompson is not only a radio host on San Francisco's KBLX, but also a high school teacher, mentor and advocate for her students at the Oakland School for the Arts. Thompson teaches in the OSA School of Audio Production and Engineering, where she shares with her students her experiences in the radio industry. At a class on radio programming, Thompson instructs students on how to create a voice collage that will start each show and another that will play at the top of each hour. She explains the importance of providing listeners with the station ID and the importance of keeping all types of listeners in mind when building a block of music. In the afternoon, Thompson teaches a small class how to produce, interview and test sound for its campus radio show. Thompson's students will someday be SAG-AFTRA members and may become union leaders. She is preparing them to be confident both on and off the air, work hard and to be prepared for the road ahead. Member Delores Thompson teaches and mentors young people at the Oakland School for the Arts.