The awards season is just around the corner and in February one of the most exciting events in Santa Monica will take place for the first time since 1996.
The upcoming 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be held in the Barker Hangar of Santa Monica Airport on February 27, 2021. The last time the SAG Awards were in town was their second ceremony, which was held in the Civic Auditorium.
While the show has been held at the Shrine Expo Hall for the past few years, the hall was already booked for the 2021 SAG Awards date, prompting the organization to investigate other venues, according to Jon Brockett, executive producer of the SAG Awards.
The Barker Hangar was chosen because of the site’s customizability, size and suitability for COVID security measures.
“The Barker Hangar is great because it’s a big blank canvas on which we can realize any vision we can think of. There is also plenty of space to meet our needs from the red carpet to the showroom to the post-award gala, ”said Brockett. “The Barker offers us an open-air space in which we can bring everything together in one place and have a new and exciting coherent design for the SAG Awards.”
The Barker Hangar has a long and storied history in Santa Monica and has served as the venue for the Critics Choice Awards, NBA Awards, MTV Movie Awards, as well as many concerts, galas, trade shows, art shows and sporting events.
It was built in 1954 as a production facility for the aviation industry and was acquired by the Barker family in 1969. The current owner, Judi Barker, took over the hangar from her father in 1986 and converted it primarily as an event space as the restrictions on aviation activities were tightened.
According to Barker, the SAG Awards will be the first show with an audience to take place in the Barker Hangar since the pandemic began. The People’s Choice Awards were pre-filmed in the hangar this year and will air on December 7th.
“I love awards shows. They are so much fun … and the SAG Awards are a very different show than the others we did, ”said Barker. I can’t wait to see the production side of it and what they’re going to do with the staging. This is a big deal and I’m most excited to be bringing her back to Santa Monica. “
The SAG Awards are presented by SAG-AFTRA in the only televised awards ceremony that honors exclusively artists. Both individual and ensemble performances in television and film are awarded.
The upcoming ceremony begins on February 27 at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast simultaneously for two hours on TNT and TBS. Last year’s show was in a one-hour pre-filmed format due to the pandemic.
“Bringing the show live again in person, the way it should be experienced, we’re all really looking forward to!” Said Brockett. “The SAG Awards has always been about that incredible family feeling these actors have with each other, and when they’re all in the same room you can feel it. It’s tangible. “
The hangar is particularly suitable for the production of events in the COVID era, as there is no fixed seating or stage and the room layout can be adjusted to any distance. The vaulted ceiling is up to 43 feet high in the middle, while the large hangar doors can be opened up to 9 meters and allow good air circulation within the venue.
“The health and safety of our candidates, guests, employees and crew is our top priority,” said Brockett. “We will be working closely with COVID experts to run an event of this magnitude to make sure everyone is safe and we’re following local government and guild security protocols.”
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