New Projects - SAG-AFTRA and AEA Standoff - Broadway Postponed - Free Flu Shots - Diversity & Inclusion
By Sean Gregory, October 13, 2020
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How we doing? How we feeling? What's been inspiring everyone this past week? With the announcement of yet another extension to the Broadway lockdown, and news cycles seeming as daunting as ever, I've been extra aware of my social media usage and embracing the best that my meditation apps and Spotify playlists have to offer.
A fun exercise I tried with myself last weekend was to look back on the past seven months and think about where I was on Day 1 of lockdown vs now, for better or worse. How have I been treating myself in one of the most difficult times we've ever experienced? What and who have I turned to, and how can this knowledge serve me moving forward? Write down some quick thoughts and revisit them in a few months. Now's the time to learn and grow š»
Let's talk news!
More Networking Events!
We are thrilled to announce the Up-To-Date ActorĀ is now listing classes, workshops, and networking events from Acting & Voice Studios. The classes at Acting & Voice Studios are more than just a quick audition opportunity. Most classes are multi-week and provide actual lessons from the casting director or agent. This is a great opportunity to not only introduce your talent but also directly learn from the casting director or agents and build greater relationships.
Add companies, staff members, and projects to your targets by clicking the (āļø) next to their name and you will be notified of any applicable networking event, class or seminar. Also, look for networking information on each individual details page under "Upcoming Networking Events"
About Acting & Voice Studios
With offices in NYC & LA, Acting & Voice Studios provides top-quality acting training for Film & Television to actors all around the world. Our classes are taught by top working agents, managers, casting directors, filmmakers, and working actors. With offerings ranging from acting intensives, showcases, seminars, and workshops, to headshots, acting and voice-over reels, acting business classes, filmmaking, music, theater, and so much more, we provide actors with the tools they need to both hone their crafts and further their careers.
See their website for more info:Ā www.actingandvoicestudios.com
COVID Updates
SAG-AFTRA has once again cut their numbers since the beginning of the pandemic, this time reducing their staff to around 400 employees nationwide. "[D]ecisive action now is necessary. By anticipating the continued impact of COVID-19 on our industry and membership, we can protect and preserve the organization and its ability to support and serve members," SAG-AFTRA's president and national executive director said in their joint statement. The union is continuingĀ to pursue relief for members' dues in the coming months, encouraging those who can pay their November semi-annual dues to pay on time and anyone else experiencing financial hardship can request a due date extension.
President Trump's administration continues to broadcast frustratingly mixed signals as to how they will move forward with pandemic relief efforts through Congress, after announcing last week that they would be putting an end to all negotiations until after the election. Actors' Equity was quick to fire back at this disturbing proclamation, writing in a statement, "The President's reckless and irresponsible decision to postpone relief talks while most of the arts and entertainment sector is unemployed is an insult not just to our members, but Americans everywhere who will suffer with a slower and more uncertain economic recovery." Members of the president's cabinet have since recanted on the idea that relief would have to wait until after November 3rd, with talks continuing this week behind closed doors towards a hopeful resolution in the coming weeks.
SAG-AFTRA and Actors' Equity (AEA) have found themselves in the middle of a mounting battle for which entity has the right to film live events, as virtual projects continue to crop up amidst the ongoing pandemic. Top execs at AEA believe that SAG-AFTRA is using the current climate from COVID to extend their jurisdiction into historically AEA-supported venues, while SAG holds that they are working to keep members employed and working during the shutdown. "[It] is unfair to members like you who expected your Equity health and pension contributions, and who ended up with lower pay," executive director of Actors' Equity Mary McColl wrote in her statement. "It is unclear why SAG-AFTRA continues to sign longtime Equity employers to contracts that do not meet Equityās safety or wage standards. As a union, our job is to ensure that workers are protected with fair pay, benefits, and a safe workplace. This is supposed to be a matter of solidarity throughout the labor movement."
More starts & stops to productions:
Production Resuming
Several production companies in the UK are still moving forward with their film plans amid rising COVID cases in the country, in the hopes of wrapping their projects before a potential winter shutdown. Comcast-affiliate Sky TV is currently working on the six-part comedy BLOODS along with the Mark Strong led TEMPLE, which expects to shoot between now and January. "We have to live with this virus for months, so itās important that shows that are up and running can prove you can work in these conditions," says Liza Marshall, head of Hera Pictures.
New York Film & Theatre Scene
NYC production studio Silvercup Studios has been acquired by Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital for $500 million. Home to a host of big name NYC-based productions like SUCCESSION, POSE as well as older favorites like SEX AND THE CITY, 30 ROCK, and THE SOPRANOS, the studio has three studios between Long Island City and the Bronx with 23 sound stages totaling more than 240,000 square feet.
With the all too painful news that Broadway has extended its shutdown through at least the beginning of June 2021, many in the NYC community took to social media to share their thoughts and hopes for what the next 7+ months will look like for an already ailing entertainment industry. Sarah Jessica Parker wrote an op-ed on the dire straits that Broadway now finds itself in, offering some words of encouragement while still recognizing the long and winding road ahead: "Those who have missed attending plays can revive a cherished tradition, and a previously untapped audience can start a new one."
There might be a glimmer of hope for some New York Theatre. A number of large, open-plan performing arts venues in NYC, including The Shed, St. Annās Warehouse, and Park Avenue Armory, are pushing to be allowed to reopen for socially distant indoor performances. Among the reasons the companies believe they can mount productions safely are their ability to reconfigure seating plans and the lack of commercial necessity as non-profits, unlike the majoriity of Broadway houses that are closed until at least June 2021.
Some signs of life have cropped up in NYC playhouses over the past few weeks, as the socially distanced narrative BLINDNESS announced that it will play a limited engagement Off-Broadway at the Daryl Roth Theatre this fall, marking the first indoor performance to open in the city since March. Written by Tony winner Simon Stephens (THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME), BLINDNESS follows a very familiar story of a world completely altered by a global pandemic. "All of us are yearning for a sense of togetherness so dearly missed over these past many months," producer Daryl Roth wrote in a statement.
Longtime 9th Ave restaurants Nizza and Marseille, two popular pre and post-Broadway show dining havens (and frequent host of the UTD team!), will begin offering an "eat now, pay later (if you can)" promotion to any member of Actors' Equity starting today, and continuing after 9 PM each night of the week. When theatre returns to the city, actors who have accrued a tab at either restaurant will be able to pay it back on their own terms. Store ownersĀ Simon Oren, Chef Andy D'Amico, and Robert Guarino say it's their way of "feeding the community that has fed them all these years" š½
Free Flu Shots from The Actors Fund
NYC Actors! Have you gotten your flu shot yet this year? The Actors Fund has partnered with Mount Sinai to offer free flu shots to any actor who needs, regardless of health insurance status. Appointments must be made in advance, with time slots being offered October 29th, 30th, November 11th, and 12th from 10 AM to 3 PM š
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Disney is once again finding itself in hot water after a pending class action suit by two long time female employees who seek to unseal a financial report detailing the pay discrepancies between men and women at the media giant. Originally filed in April 2019, the suit alleges that the company, which highly touts its trailblazer role in equal pay between men and women, is withholding key information from a 2017 independently-performed pay equity study that may support the plaintiff's arguments. If the court filing were to receive certified class action status, tens of thousands of women who have worked for Disney would be able to join the case against the company.
Film
A new report from the UCLA Center for Scholars and Storytellers found that films with true diversity in their storytelling outperform those who lack representation onscreen. "Beyond Checking A Box: A Lack of Authentically Inclusive Representation Has Costs at the Box Office" surveyed over 100 movies from 2016 to 2019 and concluded that movie studios can potentially lose up to $130 million per film if the storytelling lacks authentic diversity. Researchers set forth a set of guidelines and recommendations for films to follow in achieving necessary representation, including hiring diverse casting teams and embracing a wide variety of voices in writers' rooms.
Members of the WGA West's Native American and Indigenous Writers' Committee are calling on Hollywood to reject stereotypical portrayals of native people and to hire native writers, showrunners, directors and actors to tell their own stories. "As America struggles with long-overdue social reckoning, we believe now is the time to make amends for inadequate representation," they wrote in an open letter released yesterday, on Indigenous Peoples Day.
Filmmaker Nina Menkes is exposing the ugly truth about the disempowerment of women in the entertainment industry in her new documentary BRAINWASHED. Menkes analyzes dozens of movie scenes from the 1940s to the present, bringing attention to the particular use of framing, lighting, and angles that diminish and discredit the women in these scenes. The filmmaker is known for her creation of "The Menkes List," which compiles the types of problematic camera techniques that are used to objectify women in film.
Abigail Disney and Sheila Nevins are among the list of speakers scheduled to attend the 2020 New York Women in Film & Television Creative Workforce Summit next week. This will be the second year for the event, designed to focus on leadership strategies and support for women in the industry moving forward. "Now more than ever, women in the entertainment industry need to support each other as the industry faces critical hurdles," NYWIFT Executive Director Cynthia Lopez said in a press release. "We are energized to host this summit in spite of our current circumstances to continue to provide a collaborative platform that inspires content development."
TV
Trieu Tran is making waves with his breakout performance in Hulu's MONSTERLAND as Sharko, a Texas fisherman who rescues a mermaid he discovered had washed ashore on one of his beaches. The role is particularly notable for Tran, an Asian-American actor who is delighted to be playing a completely fleshed-out romantic lead. "I believe that the Asian communities are saying that thereās a lot of great actors out there," Tran told Variety in a recent interview. "Itās just that we are not given opportunities like Iāve been given with Sharko. I feel if we do get those opportunities, we can show the world that we can have a seat at the table."
A new roster of Canadian BIPOC creatives and crew members has become a required collaboration resource for leading broadcasters in the country, marking the latest push to enact real change in the industry. HireBIPOC is already working with over 20 Canadian media groups, boasting a roster of over 500 members after launching only within the last week.Ā āWeāre proud to make use of HireBIPOC among our production partners a condition of greenlight for [our] original productions," president of early adopter Bell Media Randy Lennox wrote. "It is our ardent hope that HireBIPOC is a game-changer for Canadian content in seeing more Black, Indigenous, and People of Color on screens across the country.
Theatre
The next round of Genius Grant Winners from the MacArthur Foundation has been announced, recognizing 21 individuals for their contributions over the past year. Among the recipients is Larissa Fasthorse, a Native American playwright known for bringing her indigenous perspective to her works onstage. Congratulations to all the winners!
Sexual Harassment Protections
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed three bills into law last week to protect child actors while working on sets. Each bill is designed to bolster protections against sexual assault and abuse; the first bill requires the parent or guardian to ensure that the child actor has taken the state-sanctioned online sexual harassment training course; the second bill adds human resource employees to the list of mandated reporters for abuse and neglect, as well as requiring them to complete training on how to identify warning signs; the third bill exempts an employee from needing to complete the training if they have completed it with a different registered employer in the last two years.
Voting & Politics
AMERICAN UTOPIA writer and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne is no stranger to the public eye, and his most recent pivot to political activist has added another feather to the cap of his far-reaching career. Byrne recently spoke with IndieWire about several of his endeavors over the past 30+ years, the important role he's taken up as a voting rights activist, and where he sees the success of AMERICAN UTOPIA resonating beyond theaters and living rooms.
A host of Broadway favorites is set to stage a fundraising concert in support of presidential candidate Joe Biden, organized by activist group Broadway for Biden. IN OUR AMERICA: A CONCERT FOR THE SOUL OF THE NATION will feature over 20 participants, including Andre de Shields, Samuel L. Jackson, Phillipa Soo, BD Wong, Jennifer Hudson, and many more. The event will stream next Wednesday, October 21st at 8 PM with proceeds benefitting the Biden Victory Fund.
Festival Season
NewFest's New York LGBTQ Film Festival will host a virtual table read of Ang Lee's BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, starring an all-trans cast, including Leo Sheng (THE L WORD) as Ennis and Brian Michael Smith (911: LONE STAR) as Jack. Proceeds from the evening will go to the NYC Anti-Violence Project, as well as NewFest's Future Fund, which seeks to provide LGBTQ+ youth with programming and resources. The event can be streamed via NewFest's Facebook and YouTube pages this Sunday at 6 PM EST.
Academy Acquires Balzer Collection
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has landed the largest anthology of pre-cinema artifacts in the world with the acquisition of the Richard Balzer Collection in late September. Comprising over 9,000 film-related toys and baubles from around the world, the Balzer Collection was curated by the late businessman and art enthusiast for over 40 years. "Gifting this collection to the Academy is a once-in-a-generation opportunity," Balzer's wife Patricia Bellinger wrote in a statement. "My husband Dickās passion for collecting pre-cinematic objects was profound, but it was his passion for teaching, storytelling, and wonderment that brought him and the collection to life. With these objects permanently in the Academy Museum and Margaret Herrick Library collections, Dickās dedication to sharing pre-cinemaās legacy and historical memory with the public will live on in perpetuity."
What to Read & Watch
Applications are now open for this year's TEDxBroadway'sĀ Young Professionals Program, aimed at providing early career theatre makers a chance to make a splash in the industry via this year's virtual event
With spooky season very much upon us, one writer broke down some of the scariest movies of all time and why they do such a great job at giving us a good fright. I'm not a big scary movie guy personally (ask me what I think of INSIDIOUS sometime š), but this is definitely worth the read!
It's an odd time to be an actor, that much is certain. Our friends at Actors Connection understand that better than anyone, and have compiled a list of questions every actor should be asking themselves as we head into the uncertainty of the next few months. Keep your head up, my friends!
Who doesn't love THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS? Wherever you stand on the Halloween vs Christmas movie debate, we can agree that a Broadway star-studded concert presentation of the Tim Burton classic is just what we need right now. James Monroe Iglehart, Adrienne Warren, Danny Burnstein, and more will lend their voices to the Halloween event š
That's all for now! Lots of love this week, UTD Family š