Young Performers Learn Interviewing Skills

The New York Young Performers Committee held its most recent mentoring event, The Art of the Interview: a Broadcast Mentoring Workshop, on Sept. 20 at the SAG-AFTRA office in New York. The workshop, made possible by a grant from the SAG-Producers Industry Advancement and Cooperative Fund, gave young performers the opportunity to work with some well-known New York area broadcasters to learn how to give and get a good interview.

The morning featured Fátima Ptacek, the titular voice of Dora the Explorer, interviewed by New York radio/TV veteran Valerie Smaldone of 1010 WINS Radio. In the afternoon, the young performers in attendance worked on interview skills with some of the top broadcasters in their fields, Laura Behnke (WABC-TV), Cindy Vero (formerly 103.5 KTU), Jim Kerr (Q104.3) and Christina Park (WNYW-Fox 5).

“The day was a shining example of what SAG-AFTRA should always be about,” said New York Young Performers Committee Co-Chair Holter Graham. “Connecting with, informing and educating our members; showing members how to be better at what they do and, of equal importance, who they are; and illuminating for members from all categories just how vast our area of jurisdiction is, and how many ways there are to tell America’s stories.”

This article was originally featured in the December 2014 local e-newsletter.