Conservatory Committee Report

"On the weekend of June 28-29, the SAG-AFTRA San Francisco-Northern California Local hosted the SAG Foundation for a weekend of intensive study for the actor and filmmaker. Rochelle Rose and Dennis Baker of the SAG Foundation co-hosted the event. There were several agent panels, branding workshops, acting workshops, cold-read workshops, scene study workshops and more. 

"With almost all the instructors and panel members coming from Los Angeles, there were so many informative classes to choose from — I took four. One of the most memorable was Dennis Baker’s branding workshop, which taught how the actor appears to others. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It wasn’t. Casting agents evaluate actors within in two minutes. Our class of 17 actors had 10 minutes to evaluate each person, but it wound up being more like 17 minutes until we got it down to 12 by the end of the nonstop, three-hour class.

"This event was a huge success, and the SAG Foundation has agreed to return in 2015. I cannot emphasize enough the incredible appreciation I have to the SAG Foundation for coming up to San Francisco. The SAG Foundation is not funded by SAG. These events are at no cost to the participants, yet they are of great value to all of us. I received so much from the classes that it motivated me to donate to the SAG Foundation. Please go to the SAG Foundation website and sign up for announcements and for the Casting Access Project online program. Also, there are so many workshops and interviews available to watch online on the SAG Foundation website.  

"Thank you to the SAG Foundation and to the incredible staff of the San Francisco Local for an invaluable experience for all who attended. I look forward to the SAG Foundation’s return to San Francisco next year."

This item was originally featured in the October 2014 local newsletter.