Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/23723
THE SAG FOUNDATION SHORT FILM SHOWCASE N The crowd at Back Stage’s Actorfest NY 2010. Guild and Foundation Take Part in Actorfest New York the rest of the city was just waking, thousands of actors lined the block around 34th Street and 8th Avenue waiting for the doors of Manhattan Center Studios at Hammerstein Ballroom to open for Back Stage’s 18th annual Actorfest NY. Actorfest brings together a wide range of industry resources for the benefit of actors and their careers. Both Screen Actors Guild and the SAG Foundation were in attendance in the event’s exhibitor hall. For the first time, this year’s event O featured an NBC casting session for members of SAG and AFTRA exclusively, which led to an increase in the number of union members in attendance. Te SAG booth was the site of a lot of activity. Members picked up information about iActor and the SAG Motion Picture Players Welfare Fund. Young performers, who had a casting session just for them, stopped by for copies of the Young Performers Handbook. Non-members visited the table to ask the most popular question of the day, “How do I qualify to join Screen Actors Guild?” New York Division Board Member Kevin Scullin, a MORE Committee member, was on hand to answer that very question. He said he has found that reaching out to actors early in their careers has helped build up a well-educated community of future members. “I have met several actors over the course of the years while I assisted at ctober 2 was a busy day for many actors in New York City. While Actorfest who asked about membership and have since become members in good standing,” Scullin said. “It is very gratifying to be able to communicate to actors—current and future members— what the union can and cannot do, to correct any misconceptions that people have about union membership, to explain the importance of being a member if you are committed to this profession, and to educate about the additional benefits of union membership besides its work protections and health and pension plans.” Some of these additional benefits include programs sponsored by the SAG Foundation, which was also on hand to spread the word about who they are and what they do. SAG Foundation staff and volunteers distributed literature about the free programs, which have helped countless actors seeking career planning and advisement. An on-site computer station made registration easy and immediate for SAGFoundation.org and the SAG Foundation’s newsletters. Hundreds of attendees signed up as volunteers for the organization’s BookPALS program and other efforts. Te SAG Foundation credits Back Stage for the opportunity to reach the greater community through programs such as the series “Back Stage at the SAG Foundation” on the second Wednesday of every month. Te program is streamed live and then archived on SAGFoundation.org. Members may also access copies of Back Stage at the panel series and at the 12th floor reception desk at SAG’s New York office. SAG.org early 100 SAG members and their guests packed the New York Boardroom on October 7 for another presentation of the SAG Foundation’s Short Film Showcase. Te event, which is scheduled three times a year, offers a free opportunity to screen projects created under a SAG contract. While priority is given to shorts created by SAG members, the showcase is open to everyone. Te evening included a post-screening Q&A, and those in attendance also got to network with the filmmakers. Te roster of shorts included Te Teacher, created by mother-and-son team Lisa and Zack Ford and featuring veteran actress Joyce Feurring in the lead, as well as Jitters, which was written by its star Elizabeth June. Also screened were Standard Deviants by Don Gaile and Amazon Women by Kiara Jones, as well as Snowfall by Juan Reinoso and Love Falls by Marco Velez. Proud Mary by director Dylan Kelley and Before We Get to Seattle directed by April Mosqus and Adam Linn rounded out the list of eight films. Opportunity is where you find it, as the saying goes, and there’s always quite a bit of that at the SAG Foundation’s Short Film Showcase. For more information on submitting a film to the showcase, please send an e-mail to shortsny@sagfoundation.org. At the SAG Foundation’s Short Film Showcase, filmmaker Kiara Jones networks with actors after the screening. Fall/Winter 2010 - SCREEN ACTOR 63 Normandeau Newswire Wai Ng Photography