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Wordy Wednesday #5: The ABC’s of Model-Actor Resources!

Welcome to another Wordy Wednesday! Today, we’re defining the ABC’s of resources that actors and models have available to them online. These are key resources that can help you make connections within the industry. The 3 websites below are important sites that can help you get work as an actor or model.

  • A is for… Actors Access
    Check out actorsaccess.com!
  • B is for… Backstage
    Check out backstage.com!
  • C is for… Casting Networks
    Check out castingnetworks.com!

Pro tip: Remember to credit your agency when you self-submit, so your agent stays in the loop!
That’s it for this week’s Wordy Wednesday…stay tuned for our next #WordyWednesday

Remember, #AlwaysThinkGreen!

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Wordy Wednesdays #4: Unions!

Welcome to our first #WordyWednesday of August! Today, we’re talking about unions (AEA, SAG, FICORE, ASDFGHJKL) and clarifying all of the different acronyms that come up whenever someone says “dues”…

  • SAG-AFTRA (aka “SAG” or “the union” in LA)
    SAG-AFTRA is the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Why the long name? It’s because the two unions, both founded in the 1930s, merged in 2012 to create the current union. It represents about 160,000 actors and other professionals in the film and television industries. Because it is a union meant to protect its members, SAG has pre-set agreements with productions on actor’s payments, working conditions and hours.
  • SAG-ELIG
    The “ELIG” in SAG-ELIG is short for eligible, as in eligible for membership in the union. There are a few ways to join SAG: the first is to land a principal role in a SAG production and receive a Taft-Hartley voucher noting your eligibility for the union. Another way to join is by getting 3 background roles and the corresponding 3 background Taft-Hartley vouchers. After you receive 3 background vouchers, or 1 principal voucher, you become a “Must-Join” or “Must-Pay” (your dues!) and you cannot work another union job until you join. When to join the union can be a tricky topic for some actors; it’s best to do some self-reflection and research before deciding to join.
  • AEA (aka “Actors’ Equity” or just “Equity”)
    AEA is the Actors’ Equity Association, representing actors and personnel in the world of theatre (though not vaudeville, cabaret, etc.: that’s the American Guild of Variety Artists, AGVA). Equity has over 40,000 members across the United States (no, not just on Broadway!). The joining process in AEA is a points system (an actor must accrue points over a span of time to qualify) or obtaining a role under an AEA contract.
    Fun fact: AEA is a sister union of SAG-AFTRA, so a full-fledged Equity member who has been part of AEA for more than a year can join SAG-AFTRA based on their AEA experience.
  • FICORE
    FICORE     is short for “financial core“. It is not a union– it is a status that allows an actor to pay some union dues and work as a union actor on union projects, but because they do not pay full union dues and are not full members, they can also work on non-union projects with no penalty from the union.
  • NONUNION (or NON)
    Being NON-UNION simply means that you are not part of SAG-AFTRA or AEA.

That’s it for this week’s Wordy Wednesday! See you next week!

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Wordy Wednesdays #3: Maintaining Your Social Media!

Welcome to another edition of Wordy Wednesdays! We’re continuing with this week’s theme of maintaining your social media presence by defining a few key terms that will help you with potential collaborators online!

  • post
    The most basic form of communication on social media, but can mean different things on different platforms. A post on Facebook is usually text-based. An Instagram post is a picture (perhaps with a caption). A post on Twitter is called a tweet!
  • handle/username
    Your handle is also known as your username. It is your identity on social media.
    Pro tip: keep social media handles (Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat) the same, so it’ll be easier for someone to find you!
  • website
    An important part of the model/actor’s social media presence, the website usually acts as “home base”. It often has the most detailed information, a gallery of photos, and links to their previous and upcoming work. Keep this up to date!
  • following
    A following is the group of people who follow an actor/model on social media (the individual is the “follower”). As an actor, it’s important to engage your following and maintain your followers so that you have a wide platform to promote yourself.
  • brand ambassador
    A brand ambassador is a person who uses social media to promote a brand by mentioning them in posts and pictures. In today’s social media-focused world, brands are looking to market themselves by having actors and models double as brand ambassadors who embody the characteristics of the product they want to promote.

These definitions will help you navigate through the sea of social media platforms out there, and they’ll help you take advantage of the opportunities that await online! Stay tuned for next week’s Wordy Wednesday!

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