Hey Apprentices! Get a Credit!
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By Apprentice member Kim Parkhill
If you’re like me, an apprentice member of ACTRA, you’re interested in earning those six credits so you can become a full member of the union. After all, once you’re there, you have all the advantages of the ACTRA Fraternal Benefits Society like group health insurance and your own retirement savings plan, not to mention voting power on those thorny issues that affect your future.
So, it’s a no-brainer when the Maritimes Branch sends out a notice that basically says, 'Hey, come to this seminar and you’ll get a credit.'
I learned about the ACTRA National Apprentice Training Seminar shortly after joining the union a year and a half ago. The course is offered across the country to all apprentice members with the purpose of ensuring that the membership has at least a minimum level of common knowledge about the union, the industry and their rights and responsibilities as performers. The content is tweaked a bit from region to region to address area-specific issues.
I, personally, was interested in anything that could help me in my career as an actor and the price was definitely right. My stumbling block was coordinating my schedule with one of the quarterly seminars offered through our local branch. The seminar is packed into three full days, and I never seemed to have three full days in a row.
Last month, I was finally able to get it together. However, at this point I’d been kicking around sets for a while and I figured I’d probably know a lot of what would be covered. But I prepared myself for a review and told myself that if I left with one or two nuggets (aside from the credit), I’d be happy. Oh, and I’m being brutally honest here, I was also prepared to be bored.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to feign polite attention. A java jolt combined with the teaching tag-team of Gary Vermeir, Maritimes Branch Representative*, and Jamie Bradley, Maritimes Rep on ACTRA National Council*, was more than enough to keep me alert. And entertained. They demonstrated the level of commitment to topic that one sees only in great performances. They work together like… Wayne and Schuster. Or maybe Sonny and Cher.
Sure, some of the material borders on eye-crossing fine print, but they got the job done painlessly with lots of interaction, lots of flexibility, lots of honesty and lots of humor. AND they stayed on schedule. They both really know their stuff and they are absolutely passionate about the union and the membership. The undertone throughout is that by being informed, we can function intelligently and professionally in the industry. Having occasionally been on jobs with some folks who haven’t functioned intelligently or professionally, I’m all for that!
The Maritimes’ seminar material is standardized, so you can expect to hear what I did, including:
- ACTRA: What is it, where did it come from, what does it do for you
- Agents: Do you need one, what can you expect from them, what do they expect from you
- Taxes: Mercifully, an overview, but enough, at least, to make you want to save receipts
- Marketing: Selling yourself with materials (headshots, resumes), attitude and skills
- Auditioning: How not to be a boob when they sit you in front of the camera and say 'So. Tell us about yourself.' This involves a series of mock on-camera auditions with a chance for constructive review afterwards
- Contracts: What engagers can expect from us and what we can expect from them.
I’m the type of gal who likes to know things so this was right up my alley. Someone else might find some of the territory we covered a bit less scintillating. But I’m telling you; you’ve got to know it. Or at least know 'it' exists and how to ask the right questions. I discovered two instances in past jobs where I might have earned more money if I had known better.
The ACTRA National Apprentice Training Seminar is more than just a means to an end. I was enticed by the golden credit carrot, but I got more than that. I now know my branch representative and national rep a little better. I got to meet some fellow ACTRA apprentices and swap stories from the trenches. I had a chance to practice some on-camera skills. But most importantly, I got the information I need to advocate for myself as a performer in almost any situation. You should get it too.
*Case in point: If you don’t know what these positions are, you need the seminar.
TEST YOUR ACTRA IQ
If you answer 'Ummmm?' to any of these questions, you need the seminar ASAP:
- What does the acronym ACTRA stand for?
- What is the IPA?
- Do you get paid for taking your own wardrobe to a shoot?
- Do you have to undress at an audition for a role with nudity?.
- When you talk as a background performer, is that an upgrade?.
- What is the honey wagon?.
- Is your agent a member of TAMAC?.
- Can you claim makeup as an expense for income tax calculation?.
- What’s the difference between session and residual fees on commercial jobs?
- When is an actor and actor and when is s/he a dancer?
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