A big question facing all actors, particularly those in Hollywood is whether or not to join SAG. I’m not going to cover HOW to join SAG as that is kind of irrelevant if you SHOULDN’T join SAG. In any case, it’s a very difficult decision…or at least it seems to be.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMiXFUqmt3c]
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As with much of anything that is highly desirable, Hollywood/Acting is surrounded by gatekeepers and doors and mirrors designed to distract and repel the uninitiated. Hollywood is one of the most paranoid and self-protecting industries on the planet.
There are many entrances but they are very hard to find. Most actors never even get close to cracking the code because they don’t know where to look and even worse, they don’t know anyone on the inside. If you want to get into a club, who do you have to know…the bouncer, of course because they are the gatekeeper. So it is imperative to know gatekeepers in Hollywood…these include producers, directors, casting directors and very successful actors. If they are not one of these people, their advice is probably not worth the air it was delivered in.
So back to joining SAG. Should you or shouldn’t you? It is a tough question, and it depends on who you are and what your capabilities are. Well the short answer is it depends…I know, “What a cop out!”. But it completely depends on whether or not you are at a place in your acting career that being a member of this prestigious and exclusive organization is going to benefit you or not. The considerations are are you prepared to only audition for SAG projects, because once you join, that’s all you’re allowed to do, even if SAG is on strike.
Are you prepared to only work on SAG projects? There are not very many of them so you are limiting both your learning and income potential once you go union.
Will joining the union help you or hurt you? You will be faced with the prospect that you can’t read for SAG projects unless they are in the union. That means almost everything you might self-submit on is now off the table. You can’t submit for Backstage West projects, Now Casting projects, etc. This is the main source of auditions for beginning actors and it’s hard to work on your craft if you can’t even audition for a lot of projects.
If you do get SAG auditions, how will you do? There is absolutely no point in getting auditions for projects if you suck. I’m not even being facetious here. If, after all your hard work and networking, you finally start getting called in for SAG projects like network television and feature films and you are not a good auditioner, you might as well get on the next bus back to wherever it is you came from, because Hollywood is a one shot town…well America does like second chances, but only after you’ve made it big and then wallowed big in failure on the world stage and the paparazzi was there to catch it…preferably LIVE! So if you start blowing auditions, the casting directors will never call you back in, and then what do you do? You’ve joined the union…you can’t unjoin and that means you can’t read for non-union projects anymore, so you are in SAG limbo…can you say background for life!
This is not all meant to scare you but only to let you know that there are many considerations when it comes to deciding on joining the Screen Actors Guild. It’s a fairly intimidating process for those who are learning, so feel free to ask questions. I’d be happy to help out.
Leave A Reply (15 comments so far)
sashant kafle
7 years ago
hi,
i am 12. i want to be a succesfull actor when i grow up..you mentioned that sag productions are very less. so, that is a disadventage..
So what are the benefigs of joining it?
thank you for your time -sashant
admin
7 years ago
Hi and thanks for your question. It’s great you are starting out so young as we can help you avoid a lot of the trouble that many actors face. To answer your question, the benefits of joining SAG are twofold. One, the union spent many years negotiating safe and reasonable working environments for decent pay. If a producer wants to use a SAG actor, they have to sign a contract that shows they agree to these principles. Second, the advantage of joining SAG is that you get to work on SAG productions, which are the most prestigious and generally pay more than non-union productions. It’s a very big deal when you get to both work on a SAG production but also when you are granted permission to join the union. It means you have met a very high level of professionalism.
dobrostevens
8 years ago
Hi David. Thank you for your article. My daughter is SAG eligible and is struggling with this very question. We are trying to educate ourselves to all options.
I am in no way trying to be rude, but may I ask what your qualifications are? Are you an actor? Producer, etc? Are you a SAG member?
Thank you again for your time,
dobrostevens
admin
7 years ago
You are more than welcome! Good luck to you and your daughter.
Exter Johansson
8 years ago
U r amazingly helpful and informative.Thanxx for the time and care that u put nto this blog!
admin
7 years ago
You are so welcome, Exter.
broadcast girl
8 years ago
How many times can I join SAG-AFTRA & then go dormant? I was AFTRA in a big city, but moved to a smaller town & went fi-core. Then an out of town company wanted me for a movie & I had to re-up if I wanted to make a grand. Of course I did! Needless to say my scene got cut. Now, 3 years later, I’m paying hundreds in dues for NOTHING. I’m way in the red w my dues. I want to go fi-core again, but people are scaring me saying if I do so, then the union will never let me back in, AND there is the slightest chance we could move back to that first union town in a few years.
What am I to do?
admin
8 years ago
hi broadcast girl,
Thanks for your question. Your question covers a lot of ground but the main question that no one can answer other than the union is will they let you go on hold again. I suggest you write them a note telling them what you want to do but not as a formal request, just asking them what the procedure is. They will then answer you whether you can do it or not without formally trying it and finding out that you are banned for life or something like that. I can’t really imagine there is a limit to the number of times you can do that. I’m sure someone is just trying to scare you. Obviously the Union frowns upon Financial Core because it undermines the union’s power. As far as whether you should pay dues when you are not working and such things, it’s really a question of commitment. It does not sound like you are that committed to the craft and so if you had to just do non union stuff from now on, would it be that bad? If your main concern is simply how much money you are spending on dues then put yourself on hold and see what happens down the road. If you don’t get to join the union again then you just work on non-union projects or you can always file for some special treatment.
I’m sure there are lots of people who have broken the rules before but things can really only be dealt with in the time they happen. The Union might change and your situation might change so for now do what works for you in the moment.
I hope that was helpful and at least let you look at things from a different perspective. Obviously there is no perfect answer other than you get to do what you want to do and the only way to find out if you can is to ask. If they say you can’t rejoin if you quit again, then you either keep paying dues or you stop and deal with the situation and that is that you don’t want to pay dues when you are not working.
I think it’s probably better that you do that. It an approach with integrity whereas what you are doing now somewhat lacks integrity. You should either be in a union or out of it but trying to take advantage of their bargaining agreements while not committing to their cause is very self serving. Everyone who is either in the Union or out of the union is sacrificing something but you seem to believe you should have the benefit of both worlds. It’s not a very tenable position.
Good luck in any case.
newbie
8 years ago
Hello I am a part time show host and have done mostly live events. I have shot for a new media only project. I was recently sent a talent release from with a lot of SAG references. But the contract says I give up publishing rights. I take this is for new media but possibly cable and network. My question is should I fight for publishing or royalties? Only because I am bound for a 1 year to not appear on any other computing brands commercials or marketing. Thanks I am very new to this.
admin
8 years ago
Hi there. Thank you very much for your question. Unfortunately, I am NOT an entertainment lawyer and without knowing the exact details of what you do and what they want you to sign, it is impossible for me to give you a satisfactory answer. I will say that if you are the host then that has nothing to do with ownership of the program. If you are the creator or producer then that is something different but typically Talent doesn’t get any rights other than getting the pay for the days they work plus some form of either by out or residual payments in the future based on the number of earrings and the market that the project is sold in.
You say the form has several sag references but I don’t really know what that means either so I can’t comment. If its a SAG contract then you could probably contact sad about it and ask them what certain things mean. As a host though, you should not expect to receive anything other than your normal pay that you negotiate but you would not expect to receive any ownership or publishing rights. Publishing is related to print or Digital print and broadcast is more related to video.
Aileen
10 years ago
Thank you! You’re answer is very helpful. Yes our entire family knows the pros and cons of the unions. Some like SAG are better than others. Don’t get me wrong I wasn’t putting SAG down in my previous message. Acting/entertainment is just not for my daughter as a career. And I’m not saying that as one of those typical parents. She knows what she wants to be and to her this is just for now on her spare time after school. And yes, if she does change her mind about her future, as all kids do. We fully support her in whatever she decides, whether it be acting or something else. Thanks again!
Aileen
10 years ago
My daughter was required to join a few years back when she was regualrly auditioning and working SAG jobs. But now auditions have died down and she hasn’t booked a single SAG job in over a year. This was supposed to be just for fun for her, but the annual SAG dues are no fun! She’s only 10 and this is not a lifetime career for her. Her schedule in and oustide of school have become busy and we are considering pulling her out of the industry completely. Do you mean to tell me she’s stuck paying the dues every year for the rest of her life since she can’t unjoin?
admin
10 years ago
Hi Aileen and thanks for your question. A couple of things; first of all if your daughter is not active she can request that they out her on inactive status which means she is not actively seeking work. She won’t have to pay dues until she decides to work again.
The second point is that unfortunately to many actors think of acting as a lark but fail to appreciate that SAG is a professional union and was amd is still the result of years of extremely hard negotiations designed to help professional actors make a decent wage while under safe working conditions. While it may be just fun for your daughter she should understand how and why the union exists and hopefully appreciate that the reason she was able to get paid and have a good experience was due to the efforts of all the actors who fought for the rights she now enjoys.
Ali
10 years ago
Thank you, I was wondering the pros and cons of union membership. I will definitely be working towards increasing my skill and honing my talents before making the jump.
Thanks again!
admin
10 years ago
I am so glad this was helpful for you, Ali. Cheers…David