On March 22, Second Assistant Directors from the Eastern region joined members of the AD/UPM Council’s Second Assistant Directors Committee for the event, New Directions, their second annual Second AD Afternoon Tea. Held in the seventh floor boardroom of the Guild’s New York offices, the gathering was designed to give members of this category a chance to have their voices heard and exchange ideas with their colleagues.
The afternoon was kicked off by a welcome from Committee Co-Chairs Francisco Ortiz and Jennifer Truelove and other members of the Committee, who spoke about developments since last year’s meeting where they discussed matters such as set safety and new member education. Afterward, the attendees all separated into smaller groups moderated by Committee members, where they engaged in roundtable discussions of new ideas and were able to have their questions answered. Topics of exploration included subjects such as the role of the Second Assistant Director on the set, Diversity in the hiring of Production Assistants, and transitioning from Production Assistant to Second Assistant Director.
The Second Assistant Directors Committee is co-chaired by Daniela Barbosa, Francisco Ortiz and Jennifer Truelove. The members include Arianne Apicelli, Adam Bernard, Kate Bogle, Jason Booth, Erica Fishman, Sarah Rae Garrett, Jason Hightower, Shane Kalman, Matt Lake, Jeremy Marks, Les McDonough, Kenyon Noble, Brian Papworth, Alison Rosa, and Dana Zolli.