Co-President Rolf Burton's Report

Greetings SAG-AFTRA members:
This has been a great year for union actors. With the merger, we are stronger than ever against the giant companies that control our industry. Local actors are working, going to classes and being rewarded with principal roles. Currently, we have two prime-time network shows filming on Oahu: Last Resort on ABC and Hawaii Five-0 on CBS. If you haven’t worked, now is the time to send in your current resume and headshot. They need local background and principal actors. Several background actors from the pilot of Last Resort were upgraded to principal roles.

Membership meeting/mixer: 
On Aug. 1, 150 members attended the excellent membership meeting/mixer with CBS executives: Vice President of Casting Fern Orenstein; Vice President, Diversity and Communications Tiffany Smith-Anoa‘i; and Arts Education Director East/West Players Marilyn Tokuda, who gave an extensive diversity talk and advised local actors on what makes a good headshot. Additionally, Fern explained how the process works at CBS when casting actors. The membership enjoyed this opportunity to speak informally with Fern, Tiffany and Marilyn and to submit their headshots and resumes. Many members commented how it was one of the best membership meetings we’ve had.

Thank you to the members who volunteered to help set up and clean up. Also, thank you to SAG-AFTRA national staff and SAG-AFTRA Hawaii Executive Director Brenda Ching for organizing the event.

Commercials contracts negotiations:
In addition to the difficult task of completing the merger between SAG and AFTRA, we are currently preparing for the national commercials contracts negotiations. The Hawaii Local Board established a Wages & Working Conditions Committee. The committee members are David Farmer, Becky Maltby, Lisa Romano and Jean Simon, and I am serving as chair. The committee will submit its recommendations to national for consideration in the upcoming negotiations.

Hawaii’s first-rate scenery, a diverse pool of skilled actors and affordable tax incentives continue to showcase Hawaii and its diversity on the global stage.

Keep up the good work!

Rolf Burton, Co-President

This item was originally featured in October 2012 local newsletter.