FAQS ABOUT PERSONAL APPEARANCES & CONVENTIONS

It depends. 

You cannot participate in conventions on behalf of or to promote companies we are striking against. This includes appearances, panels, fan meet and greets, etc. involving projects produced by struck companies, whether current or past, and current and past independent projects that are not signed to an interim agreement. 

You may participate in a convention in ways that don't promote your work on struck projects and that are not sponsored by or connected to struck companies. Additionally, you may participate in appearances, conventions, and fan expos for work under contracts other than the TV and Theatrical Agreements, such as TV or New Media animation or video games. (Theatrical animation is struck work and you cannot participate in events relating to animated theatrical content during the strike.)

If you have any questions relating to this distinction, please contact SAGAFTRAstrike@sagaftra.org.

You can determine which contract a production is signed to on our website through our Signatory Search tool, available HERE. If you click on the production, a “Contract Note” will indicate the contract type. If the contract type is a Television, Theatrical, Agnostic, or New Media Agreement, you should check our interim agreement list, which will be available shortly. If the production appears on the Interim Agreement list, you can appear at a Convention on behalf of that specific production.

If you don’t see the production on the Interim Agreement list, please email SAGAFTRAstrike@sagaftra.org.

We are not asking members to breach pre-existing contracts.

It depends. If the event is wholly independent of and unaffiliated with the struck companies or is in support of a production on the Interim Agreements list, you can participate, subject to the limitations and guidelines in this FAQ regarding appearances, autographs, panels, etc. In particular, during your participation, you should not promote struck work or struck companies. 

If you have any questions relating to this distinction or about a specific event, please contact SAGAFTRAstrike@sagaftra.org.

Appearances, panels, fan meet and greets, etc. are all okay, as long as they do not promote struck work or struck companies. You and/or your representative should work with the event organizers ahead of time to ensure that they understand the guidelines and that you can participate comfortably.

Following are some general guidelines:

Autographs: You should plan to sign headshots or similar photos of you during your autograph signing. You cannot offer photos of you as a character from struck work. If a fan asks you to sign your photo with your character name or a quote from struck work, it is up to your discretion whether to comply with the fan’s request

Panels / Q&As: You and/or your representative should speak to the event organizer and/or panel moderators ahead of time to inform them what kinds of questions you are comfortable with during the strike. General topics are fine, such as about your process, why you wanted to be an actor, what you like/dislike about working in the industry, and the like are fine. You should avoid discussing characters you played on struck work or your work for struck companies. A panel or Q&A could be a good opportunity to explain the importance of the strike to the future of the industry.

Non-struck work: The guidelines above relate to struck work. If you worked on projects that are not struck, such as video games or television animation, you can freely discuss those projects and sign autographs relating to those characters.

In many cases, it will be obvious. They might have “official” or similar designation in the title or description. Often, but not always, these appearances will be at the request of the company that produced and/or distributed the project and might be part of your contractual obligations to the company. For example, programming related to a struck project or a struck company’s booth at San Diego Comic-Con is clearly related to those companies. An event like D23, is organized and run by Disney. 

Other conventions and expos are wholly independent of the struck companies. These are often, but not always, multi-fandom events you have been invited to based on your body of work, not as a contractual obligation to the producer or distributor of a project. They are typically run by small companies, or sometimes a group of fans, who work directly with you or your representative to host you. In most cases, you will be directly paid an appearance fee or a percentage of what the fan pays for the autograph signing, meet and greet, or other interaction with you. 

If you have any questions relating to this distinction or about a specific event, please contact SAGAFTRAstrike@sagaftra.org.

You and/or your representatives should work with the event organizers ahead of time so the panel moderator or the “handler” they provide can intervene in these situations. Your representatives can also step in if a handler is not provided. Ultimately, it is up to your discretion and what you are comfortable answering. One possibility is to redirect the question and use it as an opportunity to explain the importance of the strike to the future of the industry.

If the primary images are of you, and the character(s) from struck work are just incidental as part of a collage, this is okay. The focus should be on you, not on the character(s). Listing your credits for identification and information purposes is okay as long as it is not promoting the work.

This is fine, as long as you did not provide it.

The same guidelines would apply to virtual appearances and private signings. You cannot participate on behalf of or to promote companies we are striking against. Independent events are okay. The guidelines for independent appearances, conventions, and fan expos also apply to these events.

It depends. Please reach out to SAGAFTRAstrike@sagaftra.org and we will look into it for you. 

Generally, yes, unless it is connected to struck work. See our Member FAQs and “What You Can Work” infographic for more information on the types of projects that are not being struck.

Of course, you are always free to share your personal stories about why the issues involved in these negotiations are important to you. If you do share your stories, please be sure it is clear that you are speaking from your own perspective and not on behalf of the union or the membership, generally.

Any non-member seeking future membership in SAG-AFTRA who performs covered work or services for a struck company during the strike will not be admitted into membership in SAG-AFTRA. See the Strike Notice and Order.

As long as the video is limited to your attendance at the con and does not promote struck work, this is okay. 

Cosplay as a character from struck work can in fact promote struck work even if that is not your intent. If you are cosplaying as a character that is from something other than struck work, such as a comic book or television animation, that is fine!

We understand that you do not have control over what the fans do. This is okay.