UPM members from the Eastern region gathered in the Guild’s New York offices boardroom on December 7 for Rising Through the Ranks: Mentoring the Next Generation of ADs and UPMs. Presented by the Eastern AD/UPM Council’s UPM Committee, the invitation-only breakfast focused on the role of UPMs in training and mentoring Assistant Directors, Assistant UPMs and UPMs who are swiftly coming up through the DGA ranks.
Following networking breakfast, the day kicked off with a welcome from UPM Committee Co-Chair Thomas Whelan (Evil), who introduced the panelists: UPMs Jeff Bernstein (Divorce), Claudine Marrotte (An Interview with God), Andrew Saxe (The Deuce) and Mikki Ziska (Instinct) and Assistant UPM Kip Myers (Fosse/Verdon).
In a conversation moderated by Whelan, the panelists shared their personal experiences with advancing, how they learned and from whom, and added their thoughts on the importance of mentoring the next generation of DGA members. After hearing from the panelists, the audience was invited to participate in the discussion by asking questions and sharing their own mentoring experiences and paths to becoming a UPM.
ABOUT THE COUNCIL AND COMMITTEE:
The Eastern AD/UPM Council is the elected body that represents the nearly 1,700 Assistant Director and Unit Production Manager members of the Guild who reside and/or work in film, television, commercials and new media the East and Midwest regions. The Council’s UPM Committee is made up of experienced, working UPMs and provides a forum for an extended exchange of ideas which are specific to the present and future concerns of this category. The Committee Co-Chairs are Frnk Covino, Rosemary Lombard and Thomas Whelaan. The Committee members are Lynn Appelle, David Chambers, Claudine Marrotte, Joe Guest, Leslie Gyson, Patty Doherty Hess, Daniel Hank, Stephen Lippross, Claudine Marrotte, Brian Papworth, Cecilia Roque and Mikki Ziska