On December 16, the Eastern Directors Council hosted an orientation event for newer DGA members prior to the meeting of the Council. East Coast based Directors gathered in the boardroom of the Guild’s New York offices for a primer on the basic workings of the DGA.
The orientation began with a welcome from Eastern Directors Council Chair Vincent Misiano, who invited all the new members to introduce themselves. The attendees then viewed screenings of the Steven Spielberg-narrated segment “13 Men and $1300” and the Martin Scorsese-narrated segment “Doubling Down” from the 75th Anniversary short film series, DGA Moments in Time, which describes the early history of the Guild.
After the screening, Misiano and DGA Eastern Executive Director Neil Dudich covered a variety of topics including: how the Guild’s main mission is to protect the economic and creative rights of its members; the governance of the Guild and how the National Board and the Councils work together to deal with issues both local and universal; the responsibilities of membership including how members may only work for signatory employers; some of the many benefits that come with a DGA card such as the Pension and Health Plans and access to the screenings and special events; and some of the services available online via the DGA website.
The orientation ended with a Q&A session where new members could have their questions addressed by Misiano, Dudich and DGA other attending members of the DGA staff. All the attendees were invited to stay for the public portion of the Eastern Directors Council meeting that was taking place after the orientation.
About the Council:
The Eastern Directors Council is comprised of directors elected to address issues related to the working circumstances of DGA director-members in the Eastern region and Midwest.