Tag Archives: acting

Authorizing A Strike (or I Got My Vote In)

Right now, the WGA is on strike after their negotiations stalled for their new contract. I fully support the writers and what they are asking for. It’s clear that streaming services bring in a lot of money and they should not be treated differently from tv since they are essentially the same now. They want other things in their new contract that are different from what actors would want, but the general idea of what they are striking for is very similar to what actors want in our new contract.

And it’s about to be time for us to negotiate our new contract. It’s not unusual for these negotiations to happen back to back, and the directors will be negotiating soon too. But this time, things really feel different from past negotiations. There has always been solidarity between unions, but this feels much bigger than it’s ever been. Things also seem more organized, which might be partially due to social media but also maybe it’s also due to unions wanting to band together. I think it’s been pretty amazing to see how together everyone seems to be.

Typically, as SAG-AFTRA is getting ready to start negotiations on our contract, there isn’t much for the general membership to do. Once a new contract has been agreed to by the negotiating committee, the membership will vote to decide if we will ratify that contract or reject it. This year, things are different and I have a feeling that the current strike is a big reason why.

SAG-AFTRA has asked all members to vote on a strike authorization. This does not mean we will be going on strike, but it will allow us to quickly go on strike if that becomes necessary. If the membership agrees to the authorization, then the National Board can call a strike and all work on the tv/theatrical contracts will stop. This wouldn’t affect commercials or other categories of members such as broadcasters, but tv/theatrical is a big category.

Striking isn’t something that any of us want to do, but if things can’t be agreed upon, it could become necessary. And while some productions have continued during the writer’s strike because scripts have been written, it’s a lot harder to continue working when actors aren’t on set. I know that when the commercial strike happened years ago, this led to an increase in non-union commercials. But I couldn’t imagine that happening with tv and movies. I think the producer/studio side knows that a strike by actors would be devastating, They have already lost so much money due to productions being shut down from the writer’s strike, which would only increase if actors go on strike too.

As soon as the strike authorization vote was announced, I knew I would vote yes on it. It’s important for us members to give the negotiating committee all the tools they feel they need for this contract negotiation. And if they feel having the approval of a strike authorization would help, then I want them to have that. And I’m encouraging all my fellow members to do the same.

I know that this can sound scary, but it’s important to remember that this might not lead to a strike. Sometimes just having this vote approved can be enough for the other side to want to make a deal and avoid a strike. And if you are a member and have questions or haven’t voted yet, you can go to this website for more information. If you haven’t received your PIN to vote, that can be accessed on the IVS ballot website with your membership number.

Voting will end on June 5th, so there is still time to vote if you are a paid-up member. And I know that if we had a high turnout, that would work in our favor even more.

So if you are in SAG-AFTRA, please vote and I highly encourage you to vote yes. This is only going to help in these negotiations and if it leads to a strike, then that must be necessary in order to get the fair things that we deserve.

Another Virtual Union Meeting (or Getting Ready For What Is To Come)

I have tried to stay as involved with my union as much as I can for quite a bit of time. It hasn’t always been easy and I regret not doing it sooner, but I’m very glad for all the things I have been able to be a part of since I decided to be involved. Some of the meetings I have been able to attend are small groups or committees, which are nice to get to know people who have similar interests. And others have been big meetings like the LA Local Membership meeting which all members in the LA local are invited to attend.

The LA Local Membership meeting used to be a big in-person event that can be fun but also can feel overwhelming. And since the pandemic, it became a virtual event with everyone on a giant Zoom. As much as I love the in-person meetings because I get to meet new people, it is nice to watch the meeting from home so I don’t have to drive to get somewhere and I can be comfortable. And these meetings tend to be several hours long, so being home and able to move around and stretch or get some water and snacks while still watching is a nice bonus.

We had another Membership meeting this past weekend. Because of confidentiality, I can’t share much about what we specifically discussed. But there were a few main topics that came up quite a bit. The meeting started with the reports by different local officers, which is standard. The building that the union headquarters will be moving into was discussed in more detail than what we previously had. But the biggest things that were discussed over the 4 hours of the meeting were the upcoming elections, the current strike, and our upcoming contract negotiations.

The upcoming elections were gone over a bit with the dates and deadlines to keep in mind. But because we are almost in election season, things had to be discussed carefully so they weren’t considered electioneering. I don’t know how many members who were on the call were interested in running for union office, but I’m glad the information was shared because the more informed members are, the better.

The current strike took up a good amount of time because that is one of the biggest things affecting the industry right now. And I’m proud that SAG-AFTRA has been standing with the WGA and the union has been so great at getting information out to all the members about different picket lines and events we can be a part of. I still haven’t had the chance to go on a picket line, but I’m trying to figure out when I can take a little time away from work to do so. Because the WGA contract is not our contract, we don’t know when the strike might end, but we know why it’s happening and why it’s important.

Obviously, the WGA strike discussion lead to a discussion about our upcoming contract negotiations and if our union will strike. That is a decision that hasn’t been made yet and will have steps before it can happen. The leaders who ran the meeting went into the process that will be coming up with the negotiations and what steps would happen if we were to go on strike. I know there have been a lot of members confused about what happens before a strike, and it’s good that was cleared up. And I know others were worried that not enough would happen before we would go on strike or we wouldn’t know when that might occur. I know we get a lot of information via email, but people miss those. There aren’t a lot of other systems to get information out to thousands of people quickly, but I think discussing that everyone should check their emails will help more people to open them and maybe even have members reach out to other members to remind them to do the same.

The meeting was supposed to be 3 hours long, and it was over 4 hours long before it had to end. I was hoping to have a chance to ask a question during the Q&A, but there were too many other members ahead of me in the line so I didn’t have a chance to do so. But I’m ok with that since I have friends who can help me get the answers so I won’t be wondering. And I can share what I learn with other members through social media and other ways if necessary.

Overall, it was another really good and informative meeting to attend. And I think more people attended with it being virtual than could have attended if it was in-person. There are a lot of moving parts happening right now in the industry, and this was a great way for a lot of us to get on the same page with what is happening and to keep us all informed as things change. And I hope that all the members who attended will feel motivated to continue to be informed and educated so we can continue to strengthen our union.

The Importance Of The Writers Strike (or I Support The WGA)

The Writers Guild of America has been on strike for just over a week now. This isn’t the first time they’ve been on strike in recent history, but this time it feels different. The last strike was in 2007 and lasted 100 days. And even though there was social media during the last strike, I think the influence of social media is really showing itself this time.

I remember during the strike in 2007, there were people who were confused about why TV shows were shut down and not putting out new episodes. It didn’t feel like it was a huge news issue outside of LA or those in the entertainment industry. And when it did make the news, I feel like it took longer for those not directly involved to hear about it or understand what was going on. But this time, I was seeing things by friends who aren’t in the entertainment industry posting about a potential strike the week before it was going to happen. And as soon as the strike started, I saw people asking what they could do to support the WGA.

If you aren’t directly in the entertainment industry, there isn’t much you can do right now. I’ve seen some people post saying they should cancel Netflix, but I’ve seen people with the WGA say they aren’t asking for a boycott right now and it’s just a strike. So canceling streaming services isn’t necessary. If you are near where there are picket lines, you can always bring things like water, snacks, or sunscreen for everyone who is out there.

And for those of us in other unions, unless we have a show with a contract right now, we shouldn’t be crossing picket lines. I’ve seen things from SAG-AFTRA saying that if you are in production with a show and have a contract, you may be required to still go in for work and if you chose not to, there can be legal issues. I know that other actors have called into the union to check to make sure things they are doing are ok, and I think that’s a great option if you are confused. And a lot of my fellow actors have been joining the writers on the picket lines since the strike started. I haven’t had a chance to do that, but I’m hoping I can go soon during my lunch break from work since one of the picket line locations is pretty close to me. I might only be able to be there for about 30 minutes, but that’s better than nothing.

It’s never great when there is a strike and when work has stopped, but this is for something important. And the things the writers are asking for are very similar to what actors will be asking for in our upcoming contract negotiations. Streaming shows are not going away, and we need to restructure our contracts to fit that type of work. We have residuals in streaming, but it’s not the same scale we are used to. And having a limited number of episodes in a season has changed so much, but I think it has changed things more for writers than it has for actors. Making sure everyone is paid fairly for their work is a top priority. The work can be sporadic and not necessarily steady, but when someone is working full-time as a writer, they should be able to support themselves doing that and not stress about having a second job to make sure they can pay their bills.

I know most people hope that this strike will be shorter than the one in 2007, but I don’t know if that will happen. It seems like both sides are very far apart in what they want in the new contract, and it’s going to require a lot of compromises to come to a deal. But I know that this strike is important for the industry as a whole and that more than just the writers will benefit from the outcome.

Still Trying To Be More Involved In Meetings (or It Will Be Interesting To See How This Will Work Soon)

Every time I attend the LA Communications Committee meeting for SAG-AFTRA, I wish that I was more involved. I tend to be pretty quiet during meetings for a bunch of different reasons. One is that I just don’t have a ton of ideas for articles, which usually is the bulk of the discussion during the meeting. Also, I know I don’t have a lot of time to research and write articles, so I don’t want to accidentally volunteer myself. But I try when I can and at each meeting I make an effort to speak up if there is something I have to say.

We had our most recent meeting earlier this week, and while I still wasn’t very involved in the meeting, I feel like I spoke up more often than normal. I wasn’t contributing a lot, but I did make sure that I said something when I had something to add or when there was a question among the committee that I had an answer to. It was a busy meeting and we had a lot to discuss outside of article ideas or other things we typically discuss, so I think the change in subject matter helped me have more to say and not feel as fearful about speaking up.

But we are going to have a change in these meetings that might bring my participation back down again. For several years now, all our meetings have been over Zoom. I like this since I have to work at the same time and it’s easy for me to work and stay on Zoom at the same time. Before they were over Zoom, I had to call in and listen via speakerphone, and it was very difficult to hear everything and even harder to contribute to the discussion. Also, since most of the committee members were there in person, there were handouts given that I didn’t always have access to until after the meeting. This was for a different committee than the one I’m in now, but I know that many committees worked the same way.

Our committee had a vote before this most recent meeting about how we want to continue meeting. We have the option for in-person meetings which weren’t available to us. And even though I work a different job now and I might actually be able to go in person, it would still be much easier for me to stay on Zoom. We had 3 options in our vote: only do in-person meetings, only do Zoom meetings, or have hybrid meetings with both in-person and Zoom options. And because of my past experience, I voted for only Zoom meetings so everyone would be on Zoom. I was in the minority for that vote and most people voted for hybrid meetings. And I know that a lot of my fellow committee members will be there in person. So being on Zoom may not be a great way to participate.

I really do hope that it will be different from when I called into meetings in the past. Maybe if there are a few of us on Zoom, there will be efforts made so we can see what’s going on and not feel like just an observer. I also think that since it’s being on Zoom and not on the phone, there will be more ability to participate because of the raised hand function on Zoom. But it will still be different from being there with everyone else.

I know other committees and groups will be doing hybrid meetings before my next committee meeting, so there will be opportunities for the union staff to figure out any technical issues that might come up that prevent people on Zoom from being able to fully be a part of the meeting. And maybe I’m wrong and there will be more people attending via Zoom than in person when we do have the meeting. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

It’s been a struggle for me to be as involved as I wanted to be for the past almost 2 years, and this might add a bit more to that struggle. But I’m still determined to be an active and involved union member and get the most out of the opportunity that I’ve been given.

Artios Awards (or A Red Carpet Work Evening)

I know I’ve written quite a bit about how I feel very lucky with my main current day job. I do work that can vary from day to day, I know my contributions are appreciated, and I make more than I did at past jobs. Plus, most of the people I work with are either actors or used to be actors so they understand needing flexibility and the entertainment industry. I don’t really get to see my co-workers in person since we all work from home, but there is still a collaborative feeling since we are in meetings together quite a bit. I know they are trying to have more in-person events for everyone, but it’s not easy to organize.

The company I work for has been a part of some really awesome events, sometimes it’s because we are running the social media for the event and sometimes we are a sponsor. I haven’t really had a chance to be a part of those events since it’s a different part of the company than where I work, but I still think it’s pretty cool to know we are a part of something big.

But I got a chance to attend something very cool this past week. The company I work for was running the social media for the Artios Awards, which is an award show for casting directors. The company had a table at the event, and there was an extra seat that was offered to me. I had to double-check with my other job to make sure I could switch around my hours and that I had something that was appropriate to wear (I don’t have a lot of excuses to dress fancy and I got rid of a lot of clothes in my move), but I was able to make it work so I could go!

It was held at the Beverly Hilton, which isn’t that far from me and where the last in-person SAG-AFTRA Convention was. Oddly enough, the outfit I decided to wear for the Artios Awards was the same thing I wore to the Convention gala. As soon as I got there, I met up with some co-workers so we could get a few work things done before the event started. We weren’t able to be a part of the official red carpet, but we were allowed to use the step and repeat before the red carpet opened and I was able to get some fun photos.

Once the red carpet started, many of my co-workers were busy with doing tasks, but I was able to hang out with a few people while we waited for the dinner and award show to start. It was the first time I got to hang out with some of these co-workers, so it was nice to get to know them outside of a Zoom screen.

And when we got inside for dinner, we had a table very close to the front of the stage.

The dinner was before the show started, so we didn’t have to split our focus. And since our table was just for our company, it was nice having time to get to know everyone else and be a bit silly when we normally are doing more serious tasks in our meetings.

The actual awards show was really fun. It recognized casting directors for different types of film, tv, and theater. I had heard of many of the casting directors who were nominated and won, but there were so many that I didn’t know since they are a part of a different side of the industry than what I typically audition for. Even though I was there for work, I did take some mental notes of who was nominated so I could make sure I followed them on social media later.

And this was the first large award show that I had been able to attend. I haven’t been to any of the big award shows (yet), and for some of the smaller ones that I could potentially go to, I haven’t gotten a ticket or had the money if you had to pay for a ticket. I was so grateful that I was invited by my job to this because I had a great time and it was a wonderful experience.

As I’ve said frequently in the past, I have been trying to push myself to be more social and put myself out there, and this was the perfect thing for me to do. I had a chance to meet a lot of new people, see people I haven’t seen in years, and just be around others which is something I haven’t been doing that much. And yes, having the chance to dress up and be on a red carpet was nice as well and something that I hope I will have more opportunities to do in the future.

SAG Awards Time (or I Wish I Had Watched More Movies)

I know that I’m very lucky that I have so many opportunities to see movies, and most of those opportunities are free for me. Things still aren’t exactly the way they were before the pandemic, but there are still free movie screenings at theaters and screening venues, I just haven’t been to one yet. I know that I’ll start going to those again eventually, but I’m still hesitant to go to theaters. But fortunately, I also have the chance to watch things at home when we get screeners for the SAG Awards.

When I first joined SAG-AFTRA, all the screeners we got at home were DVDs. This included TV shows where we would sometimes get an entire season of a show on DVD. There was one year we got a free month of Netflix so we could watch all the Netflix shows directly on the service. And over time, we started to get more and more screeners as either digital downloads or through various online screening services. I liked the digital screeners because they were instantly available for us and we didn’t have to wait on the mail. And once I got an upgraded AppleTV, I was able to watch the digital ones on my tv instead of on my computer.

In the past few years, we were given the option to opt out of physical DVD screeners and just get digital ones. The first year it was offered, I paid attention to what we got as DVDs versus digital options. And everything that was a DVD was digital too, so I opted out of the DVDs since I didn’t need them anymore. I found the online screening services pretty easy to use, so I didn’t see any reason to get DVDs.

Most years, I make a good effort to try to watch everything that is nominated. I don’t usually make it through everything, but I try to get through the majority of them. And this year, I tried to make a plan to figure out how many movies I’d need to watch each week in order to get through all the movies before we had to vote. It pretty much came down to watching 2-3 movies a week, which is a lot but doable. Or at least it seemed doable until I got sick. I couldn’t focus enough to watch an entire movie. I also didn’t feel up to watching anything and just wanted to rest. And after I was feeling better, I had a lot of things I needed to catch up on that were more important than spending a few hours in front of my tv. So by the time we had to vote for the winners, I had only seen a handful of movies and none of the ones that were the front runners. I decided not to vote this year since it didn’t seem fair, but I still planned on enjoying the awards show and seeing what happens.

Previously, the SAG Awards were on cable. But this year was the first year the show partnered with Netflix. In the future, the show will be streamed live on Netflix once they get their live streaming service set up. But this year, it was available on YouTube through the Netflix YouTube channel.

I actually loved this new format. There were no commercial breaks, so the show was shorter than normal. In place of commercials, between awards they had short compilation clips of past winners and past shows. I really liked how that worked out and it felt much more of a celebration of the union as a whole and not just those who won. And I think those who won had a similar feeling as many of the acceptance speeches recognized SAG-AFTRA members who are not household names and are still working hard for their next role. I really felt inspired by so many of those speeches and I have a feeling I’ll be rewatching some of them in the future when I need a pick-me-up.

Even though I don’t have access to the screeners anymore, I hope that I’ll be able to watch several more of the nominated films. I know they’ll be online eventually and I’ll just have to make the effort to find them and watch them. And hopefully, next year I’ll be able to plan watching screeners better or be able to watch more movies over time if I start going to in-person screenings again.

Starting To Plan Some Next Steps (or Researching Classes and Looking At My Schedule)

I really want to get back into my acting career this year. I’ve been way too passive about things lately and I know I need to stop doing that. I was using the pandemic as an excuse at first, but I know now that isn’t really the reality of the situation anymore. Things aren’t completely back to how they were before, but they are almost there and I need to get back to pursuing my acting career that I did before as well.

Because it’s been a while since I’ve really been working hard at my career, I do have to restart a few things and make sure that I have the best situation as possible for various things. I’m going to look for a new agent, which will require making sure I’ve got a nice new headshot and demo reel to use when I submit myself to agencies. I also know that having new headshots will help when I’m submitted for work. Most jobs will come through my agent (whether it’s the one I have now or a new one if I change agents), so I won’t be submitting myself as much as I did before. But I still plan on continuing to submit myself for work because that’s one of the few things I can control about this career.

The photographer that I used most recently for headshots is no longer in LA. Another photographer I’ve used before is still here, so I may see her again. But I’ve been looking into new photographers in case I find someone new that I’d like to work with who I feel could get some great shots. I know getting my materials updated is important, but I also think that planning is the easier part for me. I just have to decide when I want to do the photos and book them. But there are other things that I’m trying to get ready for and that’s taking more effort.

I haven’t been in a formal acting class in a while. I miss being in class, but before I had my current job it was harder for me to find a class that worked with my budget. There were a few affordable classes I tried to get into, but they usually had a lot of interest and I wasn’t picked to be in the class when I auditioned for it. And I wasn’t really sure what type of class I wanted to be in since I’ve done a bunch in the past and I have liked the different focuses and couldn’t pick either a favorite or one that I felt I really needed to focus on more.

Now that I have the ability to spend money on classes again, I’ve been trying to do some more serious and specific research. I’ve been asking my friends who are enjoying their classes where they are studying so I can look into those teachers a bit more. Some of them aren’t a good fit for me or have a focus on something I’m not interested in (some classes, for example, focus on both directing and acting and I don’t have an interest in directing). But I’ve started to build a short list of some classes that do seem to be good fits for me, at least when considering the focus and the price. There are a few that aren’t super close to where I live, so it would be harder to get to them.

And then I have to consider my schedule. A lot of classes are during the day, and I can’t do those unless they were a 1-hour class on Zoom and I could do that on my lunch break. But classes typically are longer than that, so daytime classes wouldn’t work. And I’m not always free every evening so there are only so many nights a week that I could potentially go to a class.

Finding the perfect class or classes for me is going to take time when I consider all the different factors. I’m not in a rush to get into a class, but I do want to get a plan going sooner rather than later since I know how easily time can just slip by. I hope that it won’t take too long for me to find the perfect match with all the different things I have to work with and around. And maybe with all this research, I’ll have a good list of classes to consider in the future once I’m ready for a different class option.

Even though I won’t see results from this research right away, I’m glad I got started on it already since this will all take time. And hopefully, by the end of the year, I will feel like I have accomplished so much more with my acting career than I have in the past few years.

Another Virtual Union Meeting (Hearing What’s Happening With The LA Local)

I think union meetings will continue to be virtual meetings for a while, but I’m glad that they are starting to pick up a bit more recently. I know there are still a lot of union meetings that won’t be done virtually where everyone can attend the way that they could attend in person, but I also know that the union is trying hard to make it possible for as many people as possible to participate in different events.

A big union meeting I used to attend in person was the LA Local Membership meeting. I loved this meeting because it was almost like going to the National Convention. You would see so many members that you usually didn’t get to see. And it always felt like a bit of a reunion or party because everyone was excited to see each other. I also loved the expo that they had at the meeting because I always seemed to learn about a new program or part of the union that I didn’t know before.

As much as I wished they could have made this meeting an in-person event, I understand why they can’t. Especially right now with the cases on the rise again, it’s just not smart to have a big event. And there are advantages to having a virtual event compared to something in-person. I like being able to be a bit more comfortable while listening to a long event. I could walk around, get a snack, and do other things than just sitting while being a part of the meeting. Also, during the Q&A section, it was much easier to raise a hand through Zoom than to stand in line for a microphone.

I don’t know how much I’m allowed to share about what was discussed in the meeting, but I know I can talk about some general terms. It was run and hosted by the LA Local leadership and the main person who was running the meeting was the LA Local President. Different officers and staff members took turns sharing their updates about what has been going on with different aspects of the union or the industry. For example, there was discussion about different committees that are having events coming up or how certain things are returning to in-person events. I’m hoping that the local board meetings return to either in-person again or they have the ability to be an observer in a virtual meeting because I miss the opportunity to do that. But there are other things coming up that I might try to sign up for since I feel like I haven’t had a chance to do much over the past few years.

During the Q&A, I was lucky to be one of the earlier members who could ask a question since the virtual line for it got pretty long. My question was about something that was brought up during the meeting and I wanted some clarification about it (I know I am being vague, but that’s how it has to be until things are officially announced). But a lot of other members brought up questions regarding keeping sets safe. That’s been a huge concern since the beginning of the pandemic. For a lot of people on set, they can keep a mask on while working or try to be spread out a bit more. But for actors, unless the show has a storyline where the characters are wearing masks, we have to be without a mask on set. There were different sides to the argument about how we’ve been doing with keeping actors safe brought up in the Q&A. I know some people feel like we need to do more and some people feel like we have been doing too much. But also, a lot of the guidelines that have been created aren’t just with our union but with other unions that are on set as well. We can’t make major changes on our own, but I know that the agreement with the various unions is going to be discussed and figured out again soon, so we should have some updates on what the plan is.

The meeting was only supposed to be about 3 hours long, but it went a bit longer than 4 hours to allow for all the members who wanted to ask a question to do so. I know that having a meeting run long can be frustrating, but I was just glad that everyone had their chance since that’s not something that always gets to happen with in-person events when we might have to be out of a room by a certain time. And I’m glad I stayed through the entire meeting so I could hear what my fellow members wanted to bring up. I know that it will be election season again soon before we know it and this will help me to know what concerns are the priority for members.

Because things aren’t fully back yet, I’m not sure what my next union meeting will be. It might be another communications committee meeting or maybe there will be a way for me to be an observer at a local board meeting. But I just know that I’m really trying my best to stay involved when I can and I’m glad I had the opportunity to be a part of the LA Local Membership meeting again.

Back To My Normal Right Away (or One Last Committee Meeting For This Year)

After getting back from my trip on Sunday evening, I didn’t have much time before I got back to my regular schedule. I got home much later than expected and only had enough time to unpack a bit before I went to bed and had my early morning workout the next morning. It would have been nice to have a day to reset, but it’s also not bad to immediately get back to what I normally do. And this past Monday, that also included my local communication meeting for SAG-AFTRA.

The communication meetings have been happening regularly about once a month, and I have really appreciated having these meetings since I still am not able to be an observer at the local board meetings. I’m hoping that in-person board meetings happen again soon so I can go, but until that point, I just have the committee meetings that I’m a part of. I don’t know if any other committees are meeting as regularly as we are, but based on my past experience I would guess that they aren’t. But it’s possible that things have changed since all meetings are virtual now and it might be easier to organize and set up.

Almost all of the communications committee meetings have similar agendas. We go over any past agenda items to get updates as needed, we go over the articles that are being worked on and the status of those, and then there is a chance for us to suggest new articles and story ideas. I’ve suggested a few articles in the past, but none of them have been included in our newsletters yet. But I know that the staff has been working on one that I’ve suggested so it hopefully will be included in the near future.

I haven’t been the most active committee member, but I wanted to be better for this meeting. So before my trip, I decided to do a little research and see if I could find a good archive of past articles to get some inspiration. I wasn’t able to find the type of archive I was looking for, so that was something I did bring up in this meeting. It turns out, I was looking in the correct spot, but it’s just not organized the way that I thought it would be. So at least now I know where to look when I have a chance to review past articles. It just might take me a bit longer to get through them and see what inspiration I have for follow-up articles or ideas that haven’t been covered yet.

I think a lot of people were in a holiday mindset already because there weren’t a lot of new articles brought up in the meeting. But that also could be because there are so many that are currently in the works, and everyone is focused on those. And at the end of each meeting, we set the date and time for the next one. As I mentioned, typically they are every month. But with the holidays and a few other national meetings happening, our next meeting is being pushed until after the new year when there is a bit more time and availability with everyone. I don’t mind having a longer break. I know my schedule is probably going to be a bit weird for December with the holidays. And this will give me extra time to review the past articles so I can hopefully have more to present at the next meeting.

There are a few other union meetings that will be coming up between now and the next committee meeting. I’m hoping I will be able to attend them, but there are a few that currently conflict with other things in my schedule. I’m seeing what I can do to make sure I can attend as many as I can, but I know I can’t go to everything. But at least I’m trying and I know that I will have another committee meeting in the new year to keep me feeling connected to my union.

New Things To Think About With My Acting Career (or I Need To Plan Things More)

I’ve written several times about how I want to get back into acting more. Things really came to a standstill for me the past few years, but I also used that time to get things a bit more settled in my life. I’m in a better place financially, which is important since so many things with acting cost money. And I think having a little bit of a break did help me really think about what I want to do and how I want to accomplish it.

I still want to get back into taking an acting class and have been looking into some options near me. I haven’t found one that fits in with my schedule or that I like yet, but I’m making an effort to find something because I know it would be good for me. I also miss the camaraderie you have being in a regular class. But because I have limited time after work and classes can be expensive, I don’t want to join one just to be in a class. I want to make sure I’m in a class that fits my needs as well as a class where I fit in with the others in the group. There have been a few people who have talked about starting up our own casual scene study class, and if one of those happens it might be a good match for me since they tend to be less expensive and very supportive. But since I don’t know if or when those might happen, I’m still looking into more traditional classes as well. And hopefully, I’ll find something that works for me soon.

I also know that I might need to start looking for a new agent. This is a longer thing I need to think about, but I’m not sure if my current situation is the best one for me or if I’m the best client for them. I know that with the pandemic, things have been weird. So I want to start conversations with my agent again before making any decisions because it’s not easy to find a new agent. And just like how I feel about classes, I don’t want to make any rash decisions. This is something that might take a lot of time to figure out, and I’m not in any rush.

But whether or not I want to look for a new agent, one thing I know I need to do is get new headshots. And I’ve been saying this for a while and I haven’t done it yet. I’ve talked to a few friends who are photographers to figure out who I’d like to take photos with, but now I’m realizing I might need to plan this out better too. There’s no guarantee the new medication will help me lose weight, but if I’m lucky it will make a difference for me. And if I lose weight, I will need to keep getting new headshots because my look will be changing. Headshots are not cheap (or cheap headshots are not usually good), so this is another thing that really has to be thought about. If I do new headshots now and then need new ones in a month or two, that can be expensive. Maybe I need to keep the ones I have for now until my appearance is different enough and then finally do the new ones. And maybe I can make a plan with a photographer friend to have sessions with fewer looks if I will be doing them more frequently. For example, if they normally offer a 4-look session, maybe I could split it into 2 sessions and pay a little bit more than half each time. I haven’t asked anyone yet because I want to have a better plan in mind before asking.

All of these things are things I feel I need in order to get my acting career off again. I know that I could still get auditions and book work with the headshots I have now and through my current agent. But I also know that having outdated headshots aren’t helping me much. Plus, I have used those headshots for a while now so a refresh would be nice and something different for casting directors to see when I’m submitted for roles.

I’m not going to let not doing these things stop me from continuing to pursue acting, but I also know that I’m probably not going to have a lot of success without them either. So I need to make a plan, even if it’s a 1 or 2 year plan, and get back into things with a purpose. I have been putting this off enough, and I can at least take the first few steps toward making these changes and then get into them more when the timing is right.