New Year Goals & Action - Industry Intel - COVID Updates

By Abigail Hardin, January 04, 2022

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I hope you had a wonderful New Year's celebration! Can you feel the year already rolling? In many ways, the industry is still a little sleepy this week, but I always feel a big shift in energy after the first weekend of the new year.

Last week I encouraged you to sit and reflect on the past year without the pressure of taking action. This week, let's start to build on that reflection with forward motion!

Put pen to paper and map out a clear year-end goal, as well as attainable month-by-month goals that work towards that larger year-end goal. But before we go forward we have to look back at where we've come.

If you haven't already, do a 2021 Year-End Review:

Starting with January 2021 review each month. Write down a list of successes you created both professionally and personally each month.
Celebrate your creative uniqueness. Own your creative path and love where you are in the process. Acknowledge what worked but also what areas still need work.
Did you see themes that wove throughout the year?
Decide what new beliefs and habits to bring with you into 2022 from 2021. What resources did you acquire in 2021 that enriched your goals and life?
Decide what to let go of. What beliefs and habits have you outgrown and want to release and change.

Find the gifts, the silver linings however big or small they may be from this unpredictable, unforgettable, unworldly, unimaginable year, and plan out your final moves before prepping your artistic goals for the new year.

Our goal at the Up-To-Date Actor is to help you be better informed so that you can take specific BOLD action to move your career forward.

Here's to an expansive & creative 2022! 🎊

Upcoming Events

Mark your calendar! We have two workshops scheduled in January to help you set goals and take action in 2022!

I highly encourage you to attend our Taxes workshop. We only offer this workshop early in the year and I'm telling you....taxes should not be a source of frustration. Learn how to set up your career as a business to legitimately take advantage of the numerous deductions available to performing artists.

Industry Intel

Awards season continues to gain momentum as we approach the days of Screen Actors Guild awards, Critics Choice, and Oscars later in the winter! The SAG nominations run through this Sunday at 5 PM, at which point the committee will start making decisions on who will earn this year's nominations. Check out Variety's breakdown of this year's SAG frontrunners, as well as the current field for Writers Guild of America 2022 ceremony as well!

Streaming companies continue to throw a wrench in the works of ratings company Nielsen and its competitors, as more studios than ever are trying to split ad dollars between traditional linear blocks and streaming/direct-to-consumer outlets. The price of streaming for companies like Nielsen is an ever-shifting target of increasingly obscure and potentially unimportant metrics that the industry seems to be wondering what to do with. "For streamers, it's like they're running a buffet in Vegas - they don't care what you eat as long as you pay to be there," box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian remarked.

Looking for some new shows to get excited for in 2022? Prequels from GAME OF THRONES and LORD OF THE RINGS lead Variety's 2022 list! 🧙‍♂️

Long-time Spanish literary rights broker Scenic Rights has announced its expansion into central and eastern Europe starting this month, opening up new offices to support further expansions of its film and TV franchises in the regions. In France, a handful of industry heavyweights spoke about their successes in 2021 for the entertainment industry, at a time when box offices and theaters were unsure what audience turn-out would look like from week to week: "The way we approach content, talent relationship, the chase for IP and what is the right distribution avenue (theatrical, TV, streaming) and timing (the windowing revolution) for each project are among the things that have definitely reshaped our industry," one exec noted.

As we start zeroing in on audition season for regional theaters, summer stock, and more, now is the perfect opportunity to do a little surgery on your material and upgrade those songs and monologues. Need some inspiration? '00 classic Broadway audition songs, coming your way 🙌

The 2022 Entertainment & Performing Arts Industry Conference is coming up next week, and it's the perfect opportunity to hear about all things entertainment from speakers around the world. Hear from Tony winners, connect with like-minded industry professionals and build that network to help push your career forward this year!

More Articles:

Ups and Downs for Female Filmmakers in 2021

The number of women at the helm of feature films saw a slight decrease in the past year, a new study from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film's found. Their annual Celluloid Ceiling report, which monitors the number of female filmmakers in each year's top 100 highest-grossing films, found that only 12% of the films' directors were women in 2021, down from 16% the year prior. The number of female directors was also down 1% in the top 250 highest-grossing films from 18% to 17%.

The study didn't come without its positives, however. as women accounted for one in four behind-the-scenes roles in 2021, up from 23% in 2021, an encouraging sign that more producer, cinematographer, and writer positions are being filled by women in the last year.

One Brooklyn filmmaker is looking to push the number of female directors back up with her new organization: The Future of Film is Female. Founded by Caryn Coleman, the Greenpoint-based initiative is striving to welcome more female and non-binary filmmakers into the world of cinema. Coleman said that the group's 2022 slate is already packed with previews and screenings of works from up-and-coming female filmmakers, and is eyeing up expanding to other cities in the near future 🎬

Several major studios have already greenlit films with female directors at the helm - check out the list here!

COVID Updates

Officials in New York City are doing everything they can to weather the storm of a massive spike in holiday COVID cases, laying down a private sector vaccine mandate for all "workers in New York City who perform in-person work or interact with the public in the course of business."

Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin came under fire for her recent comments about swings and understudies on Broadway in late December, with many rushing to defend and uplift the critical role that these incredible performers have always played in the theatre community, but particularly during the day-to-day uncertainty of COVID performance cancellations. WICKED's Alexandra Billings was the latest Broadway star to show her love for her fellow castmates that are frequently doing double or triple duty to keep Broadway on its feet 🎭

Closures and cancellations continue to pour in from Broadway as more shows grapple with breakthrough cases in their casts - check out the most updated list here 📜

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