Chicago

Join your fellow SAG-AFTRA members for the 2019 Chicago Local Annual Membership Meeting. Games and a silent auction benefiting The Kaufherr Center will precede the membership meeting and a panel featuring Chicago SAG-AFTRA members!
 
When: Monday, June 10
5:45 p.m.: Social hour reception (light hors d’oeuvres served)
7 p.m.: Membership meeting and guest panel
 
Where: Instituto Cervantes of Chicago
31 W. Ohio St.
Chicago, IL
 
Home Grown, Union Strong Panel discussion moderated by Monica Eng, WBEZ reporter and SAG-AFTRA member.

Guest Speakers:

• Donna Jay Fulks, Voiceover artist and SAG-AFTRA member
• Debbie Mazor, stunt performer and SAG-AFTRA member
• Cedric Young, actor and SAG-AFTRA member

This meeting is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing. Unfortunately, no guests allowed. Parents/guardians of younger performers under 18 years old are welcome. No RSVP required, but encouraged. SAG-AFTRA MEMBERS, PLEASE BRING YOUR MEMBERSHIP CARD OR DIGITAL CARD ON THE APP (paid through April 30, 2019 or October 31, 2019) FOR ADMITTANCE.

Membership Meeting Guest Panelists Announced

The June 10 Chicago Local membership meeting is more than just a meeting about SAG-AFTRA member news. It’s three hours filled with good food and drink, mingling and networking, fun activities and a guest panel discussion on various subjects that are important to SAG-AFTRA performers.

This year’s the theme is "Home Grown, Union Strong." The panel of notable local performers will be sharing their experiences on living and working in Chicago. Among the guest panelists confirmed are Donna Jay Fulks (voiceover), Debbie Mazor (stunts) and Cedric Young (actor). The discussion will be moderated by WBEZ broadcaster Monica Eng.

Collectively, the panelists have worked and lived in Chicago for more than 50 years and have stellar careers in broadcasting, acting, singing and stunts. Eng has worked as a reporter for many years, including 16 years at the Chicago Tribune, where she was a watchdog and investigative reporter. You may recognize Fulks' voice as the voice of JC Penney from 2000–2010, and she has served as the voice of OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network) for the past several years. Mazor, a stunt performer on Chicago Fire, has been a stunt professional for more than 20 years and has doubled many A-list actors, including Diane Lane and Jennifer Aniston. Young is one of Chicago’s most in-demand performers. He has a recurring role on The Chi, and his multifaceted career includes theater, commercials, films and television shows. 

So come be a part of the Chicago Local family and join us in solidarity and unity for the membership meeting on June 10. Click here for more information.

The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge weekend-long competition is back! 25% of Americans have a disability, making it today’s largest minority population. Yet far too often, their important and varied stories go untold…until now.

Now In its 6th year and supported by some of Hollywood's biggest names, the challenge gives filmmakers the platform to collaborate and tell unique stories to help change the way the world defines and views disability. Judged by a noted and diverse group of entertainment industry talent, films are not required to include disability in the storyline, but teams must include at least one person with a disability in front of or behind the camera.  

REGISTER TODAY for the annual, weekend-long competition! Entrants are given 55 hours to write and produce a 3-5 minute short film based on an assigned genre.

Registration Deadline: April 3, 2019

Click here to register online.

Shoot Your Short Film: April 5-7, 2019

Member Discount: SAG-AFTRA members receive 20% off the entry fee and special arrangements have been made for the films to be produced under the SAG-AFTRA short film agreement. To see the member discount, click here.

Finalists will be announced and screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival (April 27) and receive a one-year subscription to Variety Magazine. Winners, announced at a red-carpet event, hosted by Sony Pictures Studios at Sony in Culver City, are awarded industry mentorships; the opportunity to screen their film at the Los Angeles-based HollyShorts Film Festival (August 8-17), an Academy Award-qualifying competition; and other prizes, including Dell computers and a full, one-year subscription to the Adobe Creative Cloud.

Mentor meetings for winners include writer, director, producer Phil Lord (Spiderman Into The Spider-verse, Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street) producer John Penotti (Crazy Rich Asians) casting director Pam Dixon (Angels in the Outfield, City Slickers) and Tiffany Smith Anoa'i, VP Entertainment Diversity, Inclusion & Communications, CBS Entertainment. Additional mentors TBA. 

For rules, guidelines and additional list of prizes go to www.disabilityfilmchallenge.com.

It is the responsibility of each member to confirm each producer has signed the applicable contract before making an agreement to render services. Failure to confirm the signatory status before rendering services may lead to disciplinary charges being filed. If you have any questions, please contact the contracts office at (323) 549-6828. The products and services noted herein are provided as an informational service to SAG-AFTRA members and are administered by entities independent of SAG-AFTRA. Any questions must be handled by the provider. This information is not intended to serve as an endorsement by the union nor is any warranty or guarantee implied.

NextGen -- a new to Chicago committee devoted to helping the next generation of SAG-AFTRA performers develop their careers, utilize the amazing resources of SAG-AFTRA and connect with other union members -- is hosting an informational mixer. Come for the FREE FOOD AND DRINKS, stay to meet your fellow NextGen performers and learn about how we plan to use social events, social media networking, and community outreach to help our Chicago Local be full of educated and engaged young professionals. 

RSVP: Reservations are required. Please complete the form below to RSVP. Please note that you must be logged in to RSVP.

Seeing this on your app? Please click here to log into the website and RSVP.

This event is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing. Unfortunately, no guests allowed. Parents/guardians of younger performers under 18 years old are welcome. SAG-AFTRA MEMBERS, PLEASE BRING YOUR MEMBERSHIP CARD OR DIGITAL CARD ON THE APP (paid thru April 30, 2019) FOR ADMITTANCE.

 

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) musicians and its union, the Chicago Federation of Musicians (CFM), need your help. CSO musicians are on strike against the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association after more than 11 months of contract negotiations. The Association is demanding radical cuts that would not only weaken the CSO musicians’ wages but also diminish their health care benefits and destroy their 50-year-old pension plan. Come join us as we show our support for the CSO musicians.

When: 10 a.m., Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Where: Orchestra Hall 
220 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60604

Show your support for your fellow union brothers and sisters. Stand in unity and solidarity! Wear your SAG-AFTRA T-shirts and hats.

For more information, please email jolene.jones@sagaftra.org.