DGA Monthly

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 4 I 3 7 See more detailed descriptions, additional photos and video, where available, online at www.dga.org. DGA Events Roundup Since the earliest days of television, music and dance events have been a staple of the broadcast medium. But without the work of experts who help bring these shows to worldwide audiences, this would not be possible. On July 30, DGA members and others who work on some of the biggest variety and award shows shared their insights during the Western AD/SM/PA Council's event, Song & Dance: How Associate Directors and Stage Managers Work with Music & Choreography. In a conversation moderated by Associate Director Gary Natoli and Stage Manager Sean Callahan Director/ Associate Director Debbie Palacio (So You Think You Can Dance), Associate Director/Stage Manager Peter Margolis (The Voice), Stage Managers Ron Paul (American Music Awards) and Jonathan Marks (The Masked Singer), Associate Director Angela Visca (Metropolitan Opera Live), Musical Director & Composer Rickey Minor (The Academy Awards), Choreographer & Producer Mandy Moore (Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour) and Creative Director & Producer Raj Kapoor (The Grammy Awards) discussed the their work. Illustrated by behind-the-scenes visuals and clips from various programs, the discussion was broken into segments that covered: collaborating with creatives in the genre; award shows such as the Oscars and the Grammys; competition series including American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, The Masked Singer and The Voice; and troubleshooting solutions. The final discussion shared advice to Associate Directors and Stage Managers looking to get into the world of music and dance productions, such as learning about musical phrasing and the terminology involved, learning how script supervisors do music breakdowns, so you can make your own or know what to ask for from them that works for you and general advice for Stage Managers. Photo: (L-R) Associate Director Gary Natoli and Stage Manager Sean Callahan (co-moderators) Creative Director & Producer Raj Kapoor, Choreographer & Producer Mandy Moore, Musical Director & Composer Rickey Minor, Director/Associate Director Debbie Palacio, Associate Director/Stage Manager Peter Margolis, Associate Director Angela Visca and Stage Managers Ron Paul and Jonathan Marks. Song & Dance: How Associate Directors and Stage Managers Work with Music & Choreography A DGA Western AD/SM/PA Council Panel Discussion photo by Elisa Haber Director Irene Taylor's new documentary, I Am: Celine Dion, takes viewers on a journey inside the Canadian singer's past and present and the lengths she has gone to continue performing despite being diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder characterized by progressive muscular rigidity and stiffness. Taylor discussed the making of the film with DGA Special Projects Documentary Series Subcommittee Chair Ondi Timoner and spoke about the sensitivities involved in tackling Dion's illness in the film and the accommodations she made to do so. "This is the power of documentary. What are the chances that a one-in-a- million performer would get a one-in-a-million disease? The mathematicians in the room might be able to tell me that probability. It's very low. I realized that there was something horrific and precious at the same time happening, in terms of being with her at this time in her life where she wasn't distracted by a tour but by something that was completely consuming her on a day-to-day basis. For us, a typical day would be filming three hours of therapy and learning she doesn't want to wear a lavalier, we should just use a boom mic. And that's where I decided to be the sound girl." Photo: Directors Irene Taylor (right) and Ondi Timoner (moderator) discuss the making of I Am: Celine Dion following the DGA screening in Los Angeles on August 1. Irene Taylor discusses I Am: Celine Dion A Special Projects Documentary Series Screening photo by Elisa Haber

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