SAG Foundation Actors Center

FIRST: I LOVE the SAG Foundation. Truly. (but yesterday, I did NOT)
Yesterday, at the HARMONY GOLD, the Foundation reps absolutely and unequivocally BLEW IT!
«The only thing necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.»
Let me follow that up with: I HATE BULLIES.
A very close friend texted me yesterday, concerned that my ‘outing’ this middle-​aged woman online (I’m guessing an alleged ‘actress’ since this is a SAG event)…by me posting her «tirade» photo I might, inadvertently, unintentionally harm my own reputation and/​or career. I appreciated the concern; that a friend would think enough of me to play Devil’s Advocate and want to protect ME and my interests. A VERY nice gesture, but I’m not concerned.
I did post the picture. She caused MAJOR turmoil yesterday, after she’d arbitrarily decided that she wanted to sit in a particular seat that another woman had ‘claimed’ by placing her purse in it while she went to the restroom. Seems innocuous enough, doesn’t it?
NO reason WHATSOEVER for this to get out of hand at all, figuring that the original seat-​holder, upon returning, would simply remind the usurper that the seat she was occupying had, in fact, been previously claimed.
Simple.
I mean, we’ve ALL done that at some point in our lives. Putting an article of… clothing, let’s say… pretty much a universal indication that someone has been here before you and will be sitting in this seat they’ve ‘marked’…so to speak. It’s SOOOO simple to understand. And definitely nothing to raise a fuss about.
But it wasn’t.
Simple, that is.
Especially for the S.O.B. who usurped THIS particular seat.
The first woman returned to her seat and quite nicely said «Oh, sorry, my bag was holding that seat for me.» Yes, you guessed it… the usurper MOVED the first woman’s handbag to another seat somewhere else. Her way of saying F*** YOU, I want THIS seat!” The pain-​in-​the-​ass curmudgeon in the photo went off on a LOUD, BOISTEROUS, COMPLETELY-​UNCALLED-​FOR TIRADE against the first woman, who’d done absolutely NOTHING wrong.
And THAT’s my problem here.
I
HATE
BULLIES
Cannot tolerate them
WILL NEVER tolerate them (nor should you)
The SAG Foundation reps were useless.
The theater reps were useless.
This witch continued her harangue. And continued.
SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN REMOVED.
But the SAG FOUNDATION reps AND the theater reps… DID. NOT. REMOVE. HER.
Their inexcusable INACTION allowed her to CONTINUE.
UNSTOPPED.
As usual, when I see the people that SHOULD be taking action NOT taking action and allowing bad guys to CONTINUE to control a situation, I’d had enough. I yelled (as had so many OTHERS)
«SHUT UP! You stole her seat. YOU’RE wrong here, NOT her, and YOU’RE the one that needs to just SHUT UP! She moved ON to find a seat somewhere else! Who the hell are you yelling at! Just… SHUT UP ALREADY! LET IT GO! «
Did she? Nope
AND she continued. Bitching and moaning.
People all around getting restless. No one wants to HEAR this loud bitching, especially since the people in charge FAILED to do THEIR jobs by removing her in the first place.
Then…event reps are back ONCE AGAIN trying to shut her the hell up. They couldn’t…and QUITE OBVIOUSLY weren’t going to do ANYTHING along the lines of removing this witch.
In the meantime, while I’m busy trying to handle conversations with guests on my right, unbeknownst to me, the witch, on the other side of the aisle, now zeros in on my WIFE; telling my wife how sorry she feels for her to be married to me. She keeps repeating this. My wife is now telling her in as civil a way possible, to PLEASE JUST BE QUIET and let this whole thing die DOWN.
Did she?
Nope
She kept it up.
At that point, another guest who’s sitting directly behind me and my wife, had simply had enough as well. She let LOOSE on the witch across the aisle, reiterating what everyone else around this woman had been saying all along. BE QUIET!
It took another 5 or so minutes for this unbelievable situation to end, and the hatred spewing out of the witch’s foul mouth to cease.
I posted the pic. I was adamant. I still am.
I HATE BULLIES.
If no one stands UP to bullies they will continue to move into more powerful positions with each passing minute. Someone tries to stand up to a browbeater but the antagonist keeps going. Someone else tries it, maybe gets some headway. Maybe not.
That’s simply not enough.
Bullies need to be SHUT DOWN IMMEDIATELY, when it’s apparent they have no INTENTION of ceasing their inappropriate actions.
If none of the other petitioners have been successful then… it’s take-​no-​prisoners time.
I will not retract my position here.
Many will disagree with my method. So be it.
Many will agree. So be it.
Foundation…you failed yesterday. You failed the ENTIRE AUDIENCE because you obviously refused to REMOVE ONE ROTTEN APPLE even though the situation continued. And continued.
I still love the FOUNDATION and its goals.
But yesterday???
Shame on you.

a must for any actor in LA. a lot of free resources for actors and some schools actually post discount s for members. The staff on the SAG Foundation Actors Center are very nice and they always have great receptions with interesting speakers. In the Foundation they have a theatre, a library, a computer room and a room for recording auditions.

Before I became a member of Sag, I would attend their monthly casting meetings that they would host through Casting Networks. It a fantastic place not only meet other actors, but casting directors and get updated on the latest industry news. But becoming a member of SAG/​AFTRA is such a great privilege. These benefits range from Q&A sessions, a computer lab for sag members, a lounge area with a great book library, to so much more. Glad to be a member!

The SAG Foundation is such a gem for SAG-​AFTRA actors! They have amazing programs including screenings, Q&As with amazing actors and creatives, and the CAP program which is free workshops with casting directors (no need to pay $ 30 to meet a CD!).
I’ve both attended programs at SAG Foundation as well as put on a couple of events. The podcast I work for had our 100^th and 200^th episodes at SAG Foundation. They were wonderful to work and plan with. We were able to take advantage of their live-​stream so our non-​local listeners were able to watch and immediately after our event we got the audio from the event so we could put it on our podcast feed.
I run a film festival and am now looking at SAG Foundation to be our venue in the future.

Before I moved to LA, I was able to take advantage of their livestream events. Since moving here, I have been able to attend several screenings, informative and interesting Q&As and educational CAP events. I will eventually tap into the voiceover lab. This truly is a great career resource for both union and non-​union actors (the Q&As and Livestream events are available to the public.) I am very thankful for their existence. And they do not receive any part of our union dues. So if and when you can, please donate.

We screened a film here and had a Q&A and it was the perfect place for us. This place is beautiful and most important STAFF is so nice that the whole experience is drama-​free (even with the whole place being run by actors).
Casey took care of the reservation and he was great. He was nice and on top of everything. Peter, who worked at our event was great as well.
Besides using the screening room you can use the first floor for registration and step and repeat.
This was our first time using this space but definitely not that last. I would recommend this to anybody.

Great customer service and I am always in and out quickity split!

Just about all the things a professional actor needs to further their career.
Created by SAG Members for SAG Members.
I made the very first $ 5 donation to build the actor’s center back a few years ago when the idea first was conceived.

This center is a beautiful state of the art center for actors. There is a theatre, a library of entertainment related books, a computer lab and a room for recording auditions. They also have a dvd library of the filmed Conversations and LifeRaft events at the center.
The Computer Lab has many resources for actors. The center’s computers have many useful software available such as Final Cut Pro, Final Draft, Frame Forge, Avid Express Pro, Adobe Première, and Sony Acid Music Studio. The Actors Center also allows users to free access to the foundations subscriptions to Backstage, Ross Reports and Variety. They also advise that you use
to understand how to use the programs before you use them at the actors center.
They have a beautiful lounge area with great books about the entertainment business including guides to acting, film and video budgeting and plays. This is the place to indulge in everything about acting and the entertainment world.