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.