Help me join SAG-AFTRA!

I'm a former law firm trial coordinator and legal writer. I moved to New York to become a screenwriter and one of my short scripts has already won the NY Film & TV Festival. 

When I moved here I used my savings to take screenwriting, filmmaking, acting, improv and standup comedy classes. And I am doing all of those things - I am an actor, a comedian, a screenwriter and a director! My IMDb page. 

I earned the three waivers to join SAG, the Screen Actors Guild, after a year of working 12 hour plus days at minimum wage. It's important to be a member of SAG for the protections the Guild offers actors and it is the only way to audition for and get principal roles in a production. 

The cost to join SAG is prohibitive when you're a new actor - $3,200.00, but once you've earned the waivers, you get an "OK-30". You have 30 days to work as a Union or Nonunion actor, giving you the greatest opportunity to earn the fees to join SAG.

My OK-30 came during the mid-term election cycle  and the TV industry's peak period for the new season. I should have been getting steady work, but I wasn't hearing from the main casting company. I thought I had done something wrong or had offended someone. I was despondent and went into debt to support myself. 

The casting company  uses a system to text actors to see if they are available before booking them. You text back "yes" or "no" as to your availability, then they book you. By December, I was desperate. I spent all day every day putting in for jobs. Finally, on one of my submissions for a new mini-series I said, "Please, I'm dying to be in this series." 

The casting company called me, instead of texting, and asked who my cell phone carrier was. When I told them, casting told me that the carrier had been blocking what it considered were spam text messages! Even though my iPhone was set to accept all text messages, my carrier had blocked my work texts for months.

I called my carrier to remove the block. Casting HAD TO CHANGE ITS PHONE NUMBER as it cost the casting company an untold number of man hours to get actors needed to fill roles. I started getting work from casting immediately and they booked me from the end of December into January. 

Sadly, it was too late for my OK-30 and there are no 'do overs' according to the Taft-Hartley Act which governs SAG. It was also too late for me to ever be able to earn enough to catch up with my bills, my rent, and pay SAG. I have been selling my jewelry to cover food and transportation costs for months.

It would be impossible for me to sue for tortious interference myself. If the casting company wanted to sue, that would make it easier for me and other actors affected, but the costs involved make suing a bad option.

I know there are more important issues facing the country than my being a SAG actor, however, it is exactly at this time that I can be of most service to others. I am funny and the world needs funny right now.  

My scripts are doing very well in the festival circuits. A film provides jobs for actors and all the crew members that go into making a film: wardrobe, sound design, editors, cinematographers, props designers, and production crews. My YouTube channel. 

You have seen me on a lot of TV shows and movies, but you won't be able to hear me until I join SAG. I don't believe I should give up because there are so many people who believe in me and what I do. 

That's why I'm asking for your help to join the Screen Actor's Guild. I need $3,200.00 to join before they raise the rates. Anything you can give would be sincerely appreciated.

I don't have prizes or rewards to offer other than future work, either seeing me on screen or seeing one of my films being made. I can offer to pay back those who donate once I start getting union work. And free tickets to movies I write or direct! Thank you so much for your help on my quest to become SAG!!! I love you!