Performance is about the creating, but entertainment is about The Business.
Through this program, actors receive first-hand tips and strategies from established creators, emerging voices and industry professionals who know how to navigate the often complex waters of the entertainment world – creators like the legendary showrunner Norman Lear, who spoke frankly to actors in a Career Retrospective about pushing the creative envelope, and why it’s essential in our industry.
The Business panels provide multiple viewpoints from directors, producers, writers, agents, managers, casting directors and industry experts on a wide range of topics.
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s remote The Business Online series is our re-envisioned, virtual production of our established in-person The Business series. The Business Online series will continue until the Foundation’s theaters and screening rooms can safely reopen.
Our live The Business panels are presented in our Los Angeles screening room and Robin Williams Center in New York, The Business also takes on diversity in Hollywood with bold panels that address issues of race, gender, and sexual orientation in casting and storytelling.
The Business programs are recorded and archived in our video gallery so that these tools and tips are always at your disposal. Many panels are live streamed, so you can attend in person or watch live online.
In addition to panels, The Business offers Small Group Sessions. These are are facilitated discussions, serving approximately 20-60 SAG-AFTRA members per session, with the goal of digging deeper into the information and advice shared in The Business panels.
These sessions provide a time to break down concepts into practical action items that performers can individually apply to their own professional pursuits. Small Group Sessions typically run between 1.5 – 2 hours, with the exceptions of The Branding Workshop and Reels, which are 3-hour sessions. Currently, Small Group Sessions are being held online for SAG-AFTRA members nationwide.
Sign up for a Small Group Session class by visiting our program calendar.
Los Angeles:
Janani Subramanian
Associate Director of Programs
323-549-6708 ext. 5
New York:
Florence Le Bas
Associate Program Manager
212-827-1437
For those who need disability accommodations, including sign language interpretation, please email rsvp@sagaftra.foundation for LA programs or nyrsvp@sagaftra.foundation for NY programs with a minimum of three (3) business days notice. We will contact you to confirm.
The Business is free for SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity members and made possible through gifts, grants and sponsorships.
