Winter Greetings from the Twin Cities Local

First, a big warm welcome to the new members who have recently joined our local! There has been a flurry of new members coming into the union, and I am so excited to see new faces on set and at our many member events. It’s great to have your fresh energy and enthusiasm join our community. 

It’s been an exciting time to be a SAG-AFTRA Twin Cities member: A Hollywood film shot this summer, season two of an ABC-TV series just wrapped this fall and a Netflix series filmed at the end of 2015, among other projects — and, from what I hear, there’s more to come. It might seem like just baby steps, but guess what: Those are baby steps forward, to get back to work! And we continue to represent well to outside producers and directors — which means they’ll be back for more professional talent. Congratulations to everyone who participated in all the union projects this year.

And speaking of work, did you know that the Twin Cities Local Co/Ed waiver that was approved just last year is already hard at work in the local? We have seen well over 30 projects successfully use the waiver since it was launched. Again, it’s proof that we are succeeding in regaining union work, and we have the determination and tools to keep that momentum moving forward. 

In early October, Twin Cities Local delegates Barry ZeVan, Mark Bradley and Randal Berger headed off to the SAG-AFTRA National Convention in Los Angeles. Based on feedback they got from other delegates, apparently our little Twin Cities Local is making some waves that many other locals are starting to notice — from our Co/Ed waiver to our rates calculator (check it out at sagaftranumbers.sagaftra.org) to our efforts to engage the membership with monthly informal mixers. We may be ‘Minne,’ but we are mighty!

This October also saw the first-ever SAG-AFTRA Foundation Casting Access Event in the Twin Cities, held at the Guthrie Theater. This full-day event included workshops with industry pros Michael Sanford (L.A. casting director), Paul Liberti (voiceover artist), and Susan Sherman (talent agent). Because of the high enthusiasm and great turnout, the board is working to make more of these kinds of events available to our local members. There has also been a positive response to our new initiative: our 2nd Monday Mixers in Uptown Minneapolis. We plan to continue them this year and hope you stop by to meet your fellow SAG-AFTRA members and local board members. 

As we head into 2016, our focus continues to be getting our members back to work. We are already generating plans and forming committees to make it happen, riding on the waves of our recent successes. And, we always welcome people with fresh ideas to join our committees and share ideas. Please contact me or any one of our board members; we’re here to serve you. Email us at twincities@sagaftra.org 

Warmest wishes for the new year, and here’s to many more successes for all in 2016!

This item was originally featured in the January 2016 local newsletter.