Costumer Jayde Moon Dennis Talks Surviving the Strike
As members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) persevere in their respective strikes, there remains a strong focus on the affected writers and actors as they fight through these challenging times. But what about the other industry people who now also find themselves out of work as the pause on major film and TV productions continues?
Welcome to Casting Networks’ latest series, Surviving the Strike, in which we explore how professionals in film/TV are managing to keep the lights on while Hollywood has temporarily shut off.
We’re kicking it off with Jayde Moon Dennis, a costumer and member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). A September 7 update from the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans (MPIPHP) stated that the entertainment workers it covers — including those in IATSE — have requested so far to take $44.6 million, in total, out of their individual retirement accounts.
We sat down with Dennis to hear how she’s financially surviving the strike, whether that meant drawing from her own retirement fund or doing something else to make ends meet. The costumer’s credits range from The Flight Attendant — for which she received E! News coverage of her prank wars with star Kaley Cuoco — to Babylon to Based on a True Story. Dennis shared how she worked through the first half of the year, and her last project was a feature that had already been written before the WGA strike began on May 2.
The costumer wrapped her final production at the end of May and hasn’t had another major film/TV opportunity since. Dennis noted that she’s had to dip into her savings during a time when none of her regular career work is available. Her other business — renting out various units on her property via Airbnb — has also been halted by the Hollywood shutdown with fewer people traveling to Los Angeles for production gigs.
Before wrapping the interview, which took place in one of Dennis’ rental spaces, we asked the costumer about her hopes for the future of the industry. She shared a desire for both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA to have fair negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which would also set the precedent for her union when it comes time for IATSE to renegotiate. “So I stand with them, and I’m hoping for a resolution that everyone’s happy with,” Dennis concluded.
You can catch all those insights and more in this inaugural, on-camera installment of Surviving the Strike.
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This video interview has been edited and condensed.
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