SAG Awards: Columbus

By Melissa Kidd

Greetings from Columbus, Ohio, where we rocked it out at the 2017 SAG Awards viewing party. My name is Missy Kidd, emcee of this fabulous event.

There was a mock red carpet, where I interviewed all the local SAG-AFTRA actors, finding out what they were wearing (attire was casual) and who they hoped would win. Improvising was a necessity because I got some unexpected answers.

One of those interviews was with a local board member, Mike Kraft, who said he was the “Lowe’s guy” in their commercials and had done over 3,000 acting gigs! I was like, “Wow 3,000?” You should have seen my facial expression — I could have won a SAG Award myself. We all were very impressed! Speaking of expressions, one side note: I had mentioned to the crowd that Winona Ryder had “interesting facial expressions” way before it started trending. 

We also celebrated a young SAG-AFTRA actor’s achievement of getting a part in the movie Fences as young Troy (Denzel Washington’s character).

Another SAG-AFTRA member was fabulous on the red carpet. When I asked her what she was wearing, she replied simply “Vera Wang!” (remember, we had on casual attire). And she then modeled for our mock photographers.

After introductions on the red carpet, we feasted on Mexican food. Then everyone took out their ballots and throughout the telecast I asked who picked out the correct winners, teased those who didn’t get any right answers, and gave out awards to the top guessers. 

Drawings were conducted during commercial breaks thanks to the SAG-AFTRA office sending us swag. This included a couple of 23rd annual SAG Awards hats plus vintage hats from prior award shows, key chains, a planner, pens, a phone charger, water bottles and wait for it ... two SAG-AFTRA lanterns. The audience was the most excited about the lanterns.  

We ended our meal with a cake with the SAG-AFTRA logo on it.

After enjoying our SAG Awards and our time together, everyone was provided with goodie bags and leftovers to take home. It was a night to remember in Columbus!

Members in Columbus enjoying their second annual SAG Awards viewing party in January.

This item was originally featured in the May 2017 local newsletter.