n June, as the Writers Guild of America (WGA) entered its second month of striking in Hollywood, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) took a stance; they joined the WGA to fight for their collective workers’ rights. The WGA strike ended in September after 148 days, while the SAG-AFTRA strike has continued.
Like any workers’ movement, the power and impact of a strike are only felt when the collective is large enough to affect a business, sector, or owner, and the SAG-AFTRA strike has done just that. Experts say that the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes have already had a $3 billion impact on California’s economy alone, according to CNBC.
The holiday season is upon us, which calls for celebration, support, and togetherness. Shondaland reached out to five writers and actors to find out how they plan on spending their holiday season supporting one another as the strike stretches on.
Avery Mason
Avery Mason is pictured in a headshot. Ming Photography
Avery Mason is a talented comedian and actor with credits that include The Punisher, Power, and Gotham. He says he started acting as a way to support his comedy habit, and that he discovered that he truly loves doing the work. He joined the SAG-AFTRA guild in 2014 after quitting what he described as a terrible full-time job. He, his wife, and his 7-year-old son live in Brooklyn, New York, and they’re expecting a new baby in the new year, which has added an additional layer of stress as the strike stretches well into the holidays.
Mason says he’s currently planning a Friendsgiving event and looking to rent out a local hall or comedy club in Brooklyn and perhaps get them to donate drinks. He wants to invite as many of his SAG and WGA friends as possible. “I’m gonna try and ask everyone to bring a dish,” he says. “We can get together and just have some laughs, maybe watch people’s reels, and I was thinking maybe show off your first headshot,” he continues, noting that his headshot is “terrible.”
In spite of colder weather in the Northeast, Mason says he’s committed to continuing to support the strike and that he’s made some great friends on the line, noting that he met Josh Gondelman while picketing outside NBC. He also says that even United Auto Workers have offered their support, even as they face the continued UAW strikes against the Big Three automakers.
“It’s nice to be around other people and know you’re not alone,” Mason says. “I know what we do isn’t like being a president, but it’s important for people just sometimes to have a way to release stress, and acting gives people joy. And you know, that’s what we’re here to do. Bring joy.”
Lisa Lucas
Lisa Lucas is shown in a headshot. James DePietro
Lisa Lucas is a professional writer, producer, and actor who has been in the business for nearly 30 years. She is a two-time Emmy-winning producer with credits like The Bachelor and Bravo’s Work of Art, and she currently runs her own New Mexico-based production shop called LikeMinds. She says the strike is critical to improving conditions for female actors, both those who have been in the business for a long time and those who are just getting their feet wet.
“I think to put yourself as a woman in this business, it’s kind of like, okay, you’re going to be in for some pushback from an old system mainly run by men. Very powerful men and very manipulative systems that still exist,” Lucas says. “I just feel like the fight is everything, you know, for quality, for equality, and to be seen and to be heard. For everybody’s stories to be told, you know; this is a 120-year-old business where we’ve only heard the white male perspective for the most part.”
Lucas and her partner, Debrianna Mansini, started working together during the pandemic and created a YouTube channel called Corona Kitchen, which evolved out of their decision to cook live on Facebook. Lucas says that their work together has been instrumental in supporting the ongoing strike and that she and Mansini have built a community of like-minded people. Lucas and Mansini published a new cookbook called That Time We Ate Our Feelings, a project that came out of their work during the pandemic and through the ongoing strikes.
“I feel so empowered by my fellow union members,” Lucas says. “I’m really proud of everybody. It’s so hard. It’s total David and Goliath. But it has been galvanizing. And I know we’re gonna win.”
Lucas says she has plans with her own family for the holidays but notes that she’s looking forward to a Santa Fe event called the Canyon Road Farolito Walk, which takes place on Christmas Eve and attracts all of Santa Fe’s creative community, including striking actors and writers.
“You know, during times like this where we’re breaking down a system — we’re burning it to the ground, really, and reevaluating everything, how we do things in this business — I feel just like it’s such an important thing to understand and to discuss with everybody,” Lucas says.
Debrianna Mansini
Debrianna Mansini is pictured in a professional photograph. Penina Meisels
Debrianna Mansini is an actor, writer, and producer who lives in New Mexico. She has credits in everything from streaming successes like Better Call Saul to movies like Crazy Heart.
“I was talking to a friend of mine at a SAG dinner the other night, saying, ‘You know, if I had to come in to this industry now, with my background, how I came into the world, I could not have done it,’” Mansini says, noting that she grew up poor and put herself through college on a waitress’ wages. “The struggle that people are going through now is 10 times as hard as when I came in, and I literally grew up on food stamps. So, I could not have entered this arena with my background. … The way things are structured now is that the disparity between the rich and the poor is so great and insurmountable in so many ways.”
Mansini and Lucas met when Lucas was an executive producer at Reelz Channel. Lucas had to go to a random dinner that she didn’t want to appear at, and she ended up being seated next to Mansini, and the two hit it off almost immediately. When the pandemic hit, they decided to start their YouTube channel together, and things have simply grown and evolved from there, leading to their current cookbook.
“Being on the picket line isn’t a choice,” Mansini says. “It’s an obligation. We need to stand up for each other, for the people coming up, and for the people who’ve been in this industry for years and are being denied what we used to get.”
Mansini says she hosts an annual Feast of the Seven Fishes every December at her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and she invites creatives from the community. She says that this year is no different, despite the ongoing strike.
“Anybody who needs a place to go and wants to celebrate, you know, just be with people, my house has been open for holidays — it always has been; that won’t change,” she says.
Anthony Bertram
Anthony Bertram is shown in a headshot. Anthony_Burgandy
Anthony Bertram is a film and TV actor, originally from Queens, New York, who says he’s been a proud member of the SAG-AFTRA union for more than 15 years. He graduated from Pepperdine University with a master’s in social entrepreneurship and change. “I believe you can serve your needs by serving the needs of others,” he says.
To that end, Bertram is a licensed barber, and he says that he has been offering his grooming services for free on the picket line since the strikes started in June.
“It’s my way to give back. The strike has been tough for me and others, but people still show up,” Bertram shares. “I show up because we are fighting for something that will affect the future of this industry. And by cutting hair on the picket line, you never know how you can brighten someone’s day with a haircut. During this strike, if it’s just for the day, I want them to feel catered to through grooming services. When they go home and all the noise of the day stops, I want them to look at the cut as a reminder that we are all in this together. I want people to feel happy to get their haircut by me.”
He continues, “This social bonding can be empowering, and I’m using barbershops as my contribution to make positive social change and create relationships. To add to my contributions to make a positive impact, I started a company called the Actors Cut. It’s me as a barber as well as other barbers going into communities to provide grooming services. When you look good, you feel good.”
Bertram said his holiday plans include heading to fellow writers’ and actors’ homes to celebrate Friendsgiving this holiday season. He said he also plans to continue offering his services as a barber as the strike continues.
Chhaya Nene
Chhaya Nene is shown in a professional photograph. Chhaya Nene
Chhaya Nene says she always wanted to be on-screen, and as an actor, she’s used to hustling in lean times. Nene says she has always dabbled in multiple side projects to pay bills, both when she first began acting and now as the strike continues.
“There was one time that I had seven additional jobs in addition to being an actor,” Nene says. “I mean, we go in peaks and valleys, and when you’re in that valley, you got to do what you got to do to survive. Yet at that time, there was not one point where I ever say, like, ‘I can’t come [do one of my seven jobs] because of work.’ I made it work. But I’ll tell you that I worked around the clock, and I think that’s why the union, what we’re fighting for, is so important because I shouldn’t have to work seven jobs to make ends meet.”
Nene says she’s been on the picket line since the WGA strike started. “I have always, for my whole life, stood up for the underdog. And I feel like when the writers went on strike, there was no question I was just there. I kept ‘the fight,’ my sign, the entire time in my trunk. And I think it’s important to stand up for people and rights and say, ‘Our voice matters,’ and nothing changes unless you stand up for each other when it matters.”
She also says she’s made some pretty incredible connections and friends on the picket line during the WGA and the SAG strikes.
“I just think it’s been pretty incredible to see people not only with the blue shirts, but the conversations that happen off the picket lines as well, like when we’re at Trader Joe’s or were seeing each other going for a walk; I think that support has been really sweet because it doesn’t just stay on the lines. It’s not just we show up and we march together for a couple of hours, where we see plenty of writers who are still coming and supporting. And I think the solidarity often on the picket line is something that’s a testament to this town and a testament to where we are right now.”
Nene says that she hopes to head to India and Virginia to see her family there for the holidays, though she plans to continue walking the picket lines with her fellow SAG members until the strike ends. She says she’s taking advantage of the break in work while juggling other jobs outside of acting to make ends meet.
“If the strike goes on, at least I’ll have the time, personally, to go and be able to see my family,” Nene said. “I want to get back to work as soon as possible, but if we have to look at silver linings, then this is a silver lining.”
