“In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast” features in-depth conversations with today’s most noteworthy actors and creators. Join host and Awards Editor Jack Smart for this guide on how to live the creative life from those who are doing it every day.
This week on “In the Envelope,” we’re covering all things SAG-AFTRA Foundation! A valuable resource for working artists everywhere, and particularly for members of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the union’s nonprofit organization “is dedicated to helping performers reach their highest heights while always landing firmly on their feet.”
“The labor union exists to protect workers,” explains board member Jason George. “The SAG-AFTRA Foundation, which is, in fact, a full 501(c) nonprofit organization that isn’t tied up in the economics of the industry necessarily, serves multiple functions.” Since its creation in 1985 as the SAG Foundation, through the merging of SAG and AFTRA in 2012, and especially during the pandemic crisis, the Foundation has been providing resources, programming, and aid to its community of performers—from the award-winning children’s literacy series Storyline Online to over $6 million and counting in COVID-19 relief.
“It is a team effort to do what we do,” says Sharon Lawrence, second vice president of the Foundation. As she points out, performers are ready and well-equipped to support each other amid a crisis like the one the industry has faced over the past year. “We’re always starting over as actors.... When you’re asking for support, and when an organization like the Foundation can give support, it’s because we know that.”
“That opportunity to do good and do well—do well for yourself and do good in the world, it’s possible to do both at the same time,” says George. “That’s part of what led me to working with the Foundation.”
Lawrence is a SAG Award winner and four-time Primetime Emmy nominee for “NYPD Blue,” and stars on “The Ranch,” “Shameless,” “Dynasty,” and the upcoming series “Rebel.” George, who also chairs the Foundation’s diversity advisory committee, is a Daytime Emmy nominee for “Sunset Beach,” and can be seen on “Eli Stone,” “Mistresses,” and as Dr. Ben Warren on “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Station 19.”
Together, they illuminate for “In the Envelope” listeners the Foundation’s many resources, from financial aid like the Emergency Assistance program and Catastrophic Health Fund, to programming like Casting Access workshops with casting directors, the Conversations Q&A series, and The Business panels featuring industry pros. While their Los Angeles and New York City facilities feature state-of-the-art computer and voiceover labs, SAG-AFTRA Foundation resources have become increasingly available to union members around the country and world.
These Orgs Are Helping Out-of-Work Actors Affected by Coronavirus They also weigh in on the current state of the industry and offer advice for their fellow working artists. “You must be comfortable with change,” says Lawrence. “Change has to be something that you come to terms with—when the good stuff happens, when the hard stuff happens.”
George agrees, adding a practical tip: “Get your money right. Keep looking for that day job that pays your bills and allows you the flexibility to sneak out for an audition, for a day shoot, for a guest star. If you set that up right and that’s self-sustaining, then theoretically you never have to quit acting because acting is the bonus money.”
Union and non-union members alike can join some of Hollywood’s biggest stars in donating to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund, which provides support to those impacted by fires in California, floods in Tennessee and Kentucky, and of course COVID-19. For more resources and information on the Foundation, visit sagaftra.foundation.
Stay tuned after the interview for Backstage casting insider Christine McKenna-Tirella’s advice for those actors looking to join SAG-AFTRA. Her recommended listings for the week include a Netflix film, HBO series, and network variety series.
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