(Official Television Academy link)
With endorsements from Lily Tomlin, Bob Bergen, Seth Green, Inger Tudor, and Dan Bucatinsky, I’m running for Co-Governor of the Performer’s Peer Group of the Television Academy.
TV Academy Performer Members, please vote here
Biographical Statement:
With hundreds of credits on projects including House of The Dragon, The Bear, The Last of Us, I’ve listened.
In late 2013 I applied for the TV Academy membership, using Lily Tomlin and Bob Bergen as references. I still remember the feeling of honor as I sent my application to join.
While serving on your Performer’s Peer Group Executive Committee, gears turned behind the scenes. In being available to members needs, working on proposals, outreach, events, and panels, we shared experiences, knowledge, connections, and provided win/win solutions for our agenda. All of it achieved by working together.
I saw the power of panels to educate performers on how to strategize their Emmy submissions and FYC campaigns. We brought greater awareness to little known aspects of the industry, like Audio Description. A panel event jump-started Board approval to bring AD narrators into our peer group and it continues to be a terrific tool to educate the television industry, blind audiences, and disabled professionals on the need for, and growth of, AD.
I’ve hosted The ADNA Presents, a 200+ episode series featuring talents discussing their contribution to the entertainment industry.
I use my decades of experience in entertainment media to jump start sustainable parity opportunities for professionals and audiences.
I still find myself focusing on celebrating excellence, not only in my career, but in other aspects of life, and joining others in their pursuits of excellence.
Statement of Intent:
While serving on The Performers PGEC, I was hands-on in approving hosts, commercial and stand-up performers for inclusion into our peer group. I approved unaired pilots for membership qualification. I’d love to reintroduce the proposal for Project Table Read, which Bob Bergen put forward as a joint effort between The Performers Peer Group and The Writers Peer Group. The idea: writers would cast our performers to read spec/pilot scripts before pitching to show runners, networks or just their writer’s room, and performers would have a chance to showcase their talents before these same industry professionals. While this was approved by your PGEC, the timing just wasn’t ideal for both peer groups. This is one of the projects I’d like to make happen during my term.
I’m always impressed by our peer group members, wherever they are in their careers, and I
appreciate the sharing of insights we might not have considered before. It is important for us to continue to facilitate and create all kinds of opportunities to benefit our peer group members. I would love to represent you as a co-governor. I look forward to you sharing your celebrations, facilitating your desires for where our Television Academy wants to go, and being available for all the other areas where we can assist you.
Through my experiences and interactions, I’ve literally listened to thousands of performers express their needs, wants, and intentions. Thank you for sharing with me and I look forward to being part of our journey forward together.
Endorsements
Hi all! And especially voting members of Emmys / Television Academy Performers Peer Group. A few posts below I made mention of my support for Roy Samuelson for Governor of The Performers Peer Group. Voting starts this week, so I wanted to elaborate a bit on why Roy is my choice, as well as a lil history.
I served on the Board of Governors for ten years representing performers. A Governor is only as good as the people they surround themself with. Each peer group at The Television Academy, performers, writers, directors, casting, etc., have two Governors, a Senior and a Junior, as well as a 10 member Peer Group Executive Committee, or PGEC. My senior Governor was Kathryn Joosten. Google her if you don’t know that name. She was a force to be reckoned with, cranky, opinionated, and a heart bigger than her mouth. And her mouth was pretty darn big. She was also a brilliant Governor who’d served with co-Governor, Conrad Bachmann, also a superb leader.
Unfortunately Kathy succumbed to lung cancer six months into my first term. Thank GOD for my Performers PGEC, who not only had my back, they were beyond proactive and supportive. They were all so helpful to me in making sure we did not let our performers down.
Then, Lily Tomlin was elected to be my new co-Governor. Lily not only brought a level of prestige to the committee and board, she was really hands on! She actually agreed to run for Governor over the phone with me between takes on a film. Even on nights she was shooting and could not attend a board meeting she would on occasion text me between shots. Or she would call the next day to find out what she missed. Lily was a gem of a leader and co-Governor.
Roy was a welcome and enthusiastic member of my PGEC. Each year our PGEC would present career enhancing events and panels for our performer members. One that we presented during Roy’s first year serving was called “Get Whipped into Submission” (Yes, the name was my idea….make of that whatever you want) This event was a presentation for performers on the ins and outs of Emmy submissions, campaigning strategies during award season, etc. Each event has a variety of tasks, from the gathering of panelists, to writing invitations, organizing questions, dealing with staff, etc. After the PGEC approved producing this Emmy submission event, I said, “OK, gang, I need volunteers to…,” and before I could finish what I was saying, Roy said, “I’LL DO IT!” That’s Roy! Always the first one ready to dive in and get his hands dirty.
Like all organizations, The Television Academy is always looking at ways to better represent their membership, as well as outreach for new members. At one meeting I tasked the committee to answer the question: What incentives does a performer have to join The Television Academy? Roy’s response:
– Access to fellow television performers, from all aspects of television
– Opportunities to network and advance your career through professional relationships with writers, producers, directors, and studio executives
– Being a part of a community of top players in the television industry.
GREAT stuff! I then tasked the committee to think of ways to recruit new members. Roy launched a project to look through IMDb pages of current shows, researching starring and guest starring performers to learn who was and wasn’t a member. Then, those who weren’t, but qualified, would be invited to join. There’s a LOT of TV out there, folks, and Roy did his due diligence in his research.
That year we presented a panel event called “Now for a Special Announcement” all on the career of an announcer, from live award show announcing, to promo announcing. This was the first event Roy co-produced, along with Steve Tom. Both he and Steve knocked it out of the park.
Every member of every PGEC has a specific expertise or passion based on their television body of work and experience. For example, I produced several VoiceOver events. PGEC member, Christian LeBlanc, who stars on “The Young and the Restless,” produced and moderated an amazing event on acting for Daytime. This was the first time we had ever produced an event about the world of acting in daytime soaps for our members. Roy’s passion was, and is, Audio Description. Audio description narrators supply the exposition and action within a television show to make the experience as fulfilling as possible for blind audiences. Roy’s proposal to the PGEC was to invite audio description performers into our Performers Peer Group and thereby membership into The Television Academy. This kind of proposal is not an easy sell. It has to go through a lot of layers of approval, eventually going to The Board of Governors for approval.
Roy’s first attempt did not go his way. But he did not throw in the towel. He asked me, “What did I do wrong and how can I do better next time?” Again, this is Roy. Never played the victim, and never pointed blame towards anyone else other than himself. I had some ideas, and Roy was open to em. This is a sign of a great leader, the ability to check your ego at the door, not take things personally, and regroup to get the job done. He tried again, and again…..until FINALLY, the board approved audio description performers for membership into The Television Academy. The catalyst for the board to approve this was an event Roy produced and hosted on audio description for the entire Academy. Video of this event has been a tool used industrywide to educate and inform studios, networks and show runners the value of audio description narration in all forms of media.
Over the years, Roy was hands on with several other performer peer group events, including topics such as:
– Managing and Growing an Actor’s Social Media Presence
– Adjustments in the Voiceover landscape During Covid Lockdown
– On-Camera Casting Q&A, moderated by The Television Academy Casting Governors.
He helped campaign to bring in Hosts and Commercial performers into our peer group. As well as Performance Capture performers. He demonstrated, over and over, that his passion as a leader at The Television Academy includes all aspects of performing and performers.
My only issue with Roy, and this is a first world problem I touched upon in my previous note, he had SO many ideas to bring to the table, there wasn’t enough time in the calendar year to do them all.
I was extremely fortunate to have had such bright, talented and hard working PGEC members throughout my years serving on the board, many of whom are tagged here. Roy’s contribution was invaluable. He would be an amazing Governor representing Performers at The Television Academy.
Endorsements
I was inducted into the Television Academy in 2002, and have worked with countless members since then, both within the bounds of TV Academy programming and in the larger world beyond. I can state, with sure-footed confidence, that my colleagues on here who are members of the Performers Peer Group would be securing a tirelessly dedicated and inclusive advocate, were they to elect Roy Samuelson as one of their Governors. I’ve worked with Roy for years, and he has been unfailingly intelligent, inquisitive, humble, and enthusiastic. There are very important elections upcoming in several areas of our lives, and I urge you to exercise your right as a voter as if it was a sacred obligation!
–Nicholas DeWolff, October 22, 2024