SAG-AFTRA Announces Program of Panels, Workshops and a Plenary Session at Inaugural National Convention

Los Angeles (Sept. 24, 2013) – SAG-AFTRA will present a wide array of 20 professional development programs, as well as a special keynote panel, at its inaugural national convention taking place Sept. 26-29 at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE.

A total of 14 panels and six workshops will be presented to member delegates attending the convention, which brings together union leaders, delegates and invited guests. The featured programs are designed to further the union’s mission of organizing all work done under its jurisdictions; negotiating the best wages, working conditions, and health and pension benefits; preserving and expanding members’ work opportunities; vigorously enforcing its contracts; and protecting members against unauthorized use of their work.

A special keynote panel session, Conversation From the Leading Edge, will take place on Friday, Sept. 27 in the main convention hall. The panel features a thoughtful discussion among leaders engaged in innovation in areas that affect the SAG-AFTRA membership. Panel participants will discuss how technology, art and business models are undergoing rapid change and share their varied perspectives on where all this change is headed.

Keyvan Peymani, head of digital at ICM, will moderate a panel that includes Terry City, VP West Coast, Buzzfeed; Thania Guardino, marketing and accounts exec, Somo Mobile Ltd., Greg Siegel, SVP entertainment development, Break Media; and D.A. Wallach, recording artist and artist-in-residence at Spotify.

The list of breakout sessions of panels and workshops (listed alphabetically) are as follows:

PANELS

• The Affordable Care Act: Everything you wanted to know … and more!
• Background Actors: E pluribus unum
• Broadcast Personal Services Contracts Primer
• Casting & Auditions: Your Rights and Obligations
• Collective Bargaining in Broadcast Shops
• Commercials 101: The Game Show
• Contracts 101: Overview of the Actor/Performer Collective Bargaining Agreements
• Introduction to the New Media Agreement
• Media Industry Outlook
• New Business Models in the Age of Digital Media
• Presentation of Study: Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Diversity in the Industry
• Public Policy: Making Government Work for SAG-AFTRA Members
• Speak Up: Audiobooks Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
• Stuntpersons, Singers and Dancers: Common and Unique Problems

WORKSHOPS

• Agency: State of the Franchise(s)
• Create Your Own Script-to-Screen Program
• Equal Employment Opportunity: Know Your Rights
• Organizing: Ever feel like you’re doing it all wrong? Sharing Lessons from Successful Campaign and Recruitment Strategies
• Play or pause? Take care of your voice; it takes care of you.
• Social Media and IP for Performers

The special keynote panel session is open to convention delegates and invited guests only.  Breakout sessions of panels and workshops are educational opportunities available specifically for convention delegates only. For more information about the SAG-AFTRA inaugural convention, please visit SAGAFTRACONVENTION.org.

SAG-AFTRA Announces American Scene Award Recipients

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 24, 2013) --- SAG-AFTRA today announced its recipients for the first SAG-AFTRA American Scene Awards. The awards are scheduled to take place on Friday, Sept. 27 as part of the Celebration event honoring SAG-AFTRA’s inaugural convention. The Inaugural National Convention Celebration is a dinner event with host Mary Hart (Entertainment Tonight). The evening includes entertainment and a special musical performance led by Dorian Holley (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno).

The American Scene Awards continues the tradition established in 1985 by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists to honor union productions in the industry that realistically portray the “American Scene” by intelligently and progressively employing the talents of diverse ethnicities, people with disabilities, women, seniors, people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender, and other misrepresented or underrepresented groups.

The awards recognize work in the three main contract categories covered by the union. The honors include the Actor/Performer Award, the Belva Davis Broadcaster Award and the Recording Artist Award.

The 2013 American Scene Award recipients are:

Actor/Performer Award: ABC Family and Brenda Hampton of Brendavision! Productions for The Secret Life of the American Teenager

Belva Davis Broadcaster Award: Detroit Public Television for Arab American Stories

Recording Artist Award: Universal Music Group for their entire catalog and roster of artists

Recipients are selected based upon their impact on SAG-AFTRA members, viewing audiences and the industry. All recipients demonstrate an undeniable power and value in hiring from the diverse ranks of our society.

Jason George, chair of the SAG-AFTRA Diversity Advisory Committee, said of the Actor/Performer Award recipient, “It is rare that diversity is featured on one program in such a frequent and wide-ranging scale. The Secret Life of the American Teenager employs progressive and complex storylines which continually provide audiences with opportunities to learn from and accept diversity in others and their experiences.”

Accepting for The Secret Life of the American Teenager will be creator Brenda Hampton who said, “It was a pleasure to work for Disney and ABC Family, both have a strong commitment to diversity in casting, and both encourage stories that inspire children and young adults to be accepting of differences in each other.” Presenting the award to Hampton will be one of the show’s stars, Francia Raisa.

Jenny O’Hara, co-chair of the SAG-AFTRA Honors and Tributes Committee said of the “Belva Davis” Broadcaster Award recipient, “Arab American Stories presents a varied and multifaceted view of Arab-Americans from all walks of life. This series has given audiences an opportunity to learn about the significant contributions of those featured to their professions, communities and the world at large in a format which is highly entertaining and relatable.” 

“We’re extremely pleased that Arab American Stories has been selected to receive this honor,” said Detroit Public Television President and CEO Rich Homberg. “The series explores the diversity of the Arab-American experience and we thank SAG-AFTRA for recognizing the power of public media to promote greater understanding of misrepresented or underrepresented groups in our communities.” Host/narrator Neda Ulaby will accept on his behalf.

Janette Gautier, co-chair of the SAG-AFTRA Honors and Tributes Committee said of the Recording Artist Award recipient, “We honor Universal Music Group for the diversity represented in their catalog and roster of artists, embodying every facet of the American Scene. Their artists speak directly to audiences through myriad diverse stories and experiences.”

Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group said, "Great music has a magical ability to join people of diverse backgrounds- fans and artists alike. We believe that when you celebrate diversity, you create some of the most powerful music imaginable.  It is a great honor to have UMG's commitment to diversity recognized with the prestigious American Scene Award, and we commend SAG-AFTRA for their leadership on this critical issue." Accepting will be Jeff Harleston, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Universal Music Group.

SAG-AFTRA National Director of Equal Employment Opportunities & Diversity Adam Moore said, “As SAG-AFTRA’s only awards program recognizing employers of our members, the American Scene Award shines a spotlight on producers whose projects exemplify our shared commitment to employment of the diverse union membership. It is a core value of SAG-AFTRA that our strength is in our diversity. We are committed to the broadest employment and involvement of our members, regardless of gender, race, age, religious beliefs, disability, nationality, sexual orientation and gender identity.”

Past recipients of the AFTRA American Scene Award have included American Idol, Sesame Street and the Children’s Television Workshop, Modern Family, Parenthood, The Voice, As the World Turns, Warner Bros. Records/Nashville, ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago, KCBS/KCAL Los Angeles and the WGBH Educational Foundation among many other industry leaders.

MEDIA ALERT:  SAG-AFTRA National Convention Press Opportunities

RSVP Required

Los Angeles (Sept. 23, 2013) – Media credentialing is now open for the inaugural SAG-AFTRA National Convention, taking place Sept. 26-29 at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE.

To register for credentials, please email Jennifer.Lurey@sagaftra.org

Credentialed media are invited to cover the following events during the convention:

Wednesday, Sept. 25: Welcome reception for delegates, hosted by the Los Angeles Local, featuring special guests, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles City Council members; CBS2 broadcaster Pat Harvey and actor Jon Tenney.
Press check-in: 6:30 p.m. PT/Reception: 7 p.m. PT

Thursday, Sept. 26: AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka keynote speech.
Press check-in: 8:30 a.m. PT/ Speech: 9 a.m. PT

Friday, Sept. 27: Special keynote panel session Conversation From the Leading Edge with moderator Keyvan Peymani, head of digital at ICM Partners and panelists Terry City, VP West Coast BuzzFeed; Greg Siegel, SVP of entertainment development at BreakMedia; D.A. Wallach, artist-in-residence at Spotify; Thania Guardino, marketing and accounts exec at Somo Mobile Ltd.
Press check-in: 8:30 a.m. PT/ Panel: 9 a.m. PT
*Still photography only

Friday, Sept. 27:  Press Conference: SAG-AFTRA special presentation of groundbreaking study Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Diversity in the Industry: Experiences and Perspectives of SAG-AFTRA Members.
Press check-in: 1 p.m. PT/ Press Conference: 1:30 p.m. PT
*Full press release to be distributed Sept. 27

Friday, Sept. 27: Convention Celebration & American Scene Awards featuring honorees Brenda Hampton, (creator, The Secret Life of the American Teenager) and Neda Ulaby, (host/narrator, Arab American Stories), presenter Francia Raisa (The Secret Life of the American Teenager),  with host Mary Hart (Entertainment Tonight) and a special musical performance led by Dorian Holley (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno). There will also be presentation of the George Heller Memorial Award gold card.
Press check-in: 7:30 p.m. PT/ American Scene Awards: 8:15 p.m. PT
*Full press release distributed Sept. 24.

Saturday, Sept. 28: U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez keynote speech.
Press check-in: 8:30 a.m. PT/ Remarks 9 a.m. PT

Please note that we will be unable to accommodate trucks at any time.

For more information please contact: SAG-AFTRA Assistant National Executive Director Communications Pamela Greenwalt at (323) 440-2892 or pamela.greenwalt@sagaftra.org.

About SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA represents more than 165,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.

Follow SAG-AFTRA on Twitter (twitter.com/sagaftra) and Facebook (facebook.com/sagaftra).                                         

###