Hawaii 2011:10

President’s Report

By Glenn Cannon

Carrying on from the last newsletter, here are bios of Branch Vice President Lynne Halevi and Secretary/Treasurer David Farmer, as a way for new members to get to know the Board members who represent them.

Lynne Halevi is one of our senior members and served as vice president for several years. Actress, author, featured speaker, speaking trainer and educator with teaching credentials from Arizona, California, Hawaii and Yokohama, Japan, she worked 12 years at the University of Hawaii College of Continuing Education. She is a longtime member of SAG, having appeared in films in the 1950s, and currently works as a background actor in films and TV shows shot in Hawaii. She is also a screener for the Hawaii International Film Festival and the Jewish Film Festival, presented annually in Honolulu. She has been called upon to present workshops in communication skills for various corporations and other entities, and is currently turning a completed screenplay into a novel. She is committed to working toward the merger of SAG and AFTRA, and continues to work tirelessly on behalf of members in Hawaii.

David Farmer is an actor-director, having appeared in principal roles in most of the theaters in Hawaii since 1976. His work has included roles in Oleanna, King Lear, Gypsy, Glass Menagerie, August: Osage County, among others, and he has directed numerous plays, as well, including, most recently, Harvey at TAG. He has been a SAG member since 1987, and a member of the board for several years. His TV appearances range from the original Hawaii 5-0 to A&E’s Biography, and numerous principal roles in commercials. He is also a practicing attorney in the areas of bankruptcy, business litigations and collections as the managing member of David C. Farmer, Attorney-at-Law LLC. He currently serves as a director of the Hawaii Bankruptcy Bar Association, and has his J.D. degree from Richardson School of Law, where he taught as a visiting and adjunct professor from 1998 – 2004. These are only a few of his accomplishments in law. He also served pro bono for musicians in their efforts to keep the Honolulu Symphony as a viable arts entity in Hawaii, and similarly lends his expertise to our board deliberations. As with almost all of the Hawaii SAG Board, he is firmly committed to aid in whatever way he can to effect the SAG/AFTRA merger.

National Board Member Report

By Scott Rogers

I attended the National Board meeting in New York on July 16, and I'm happy to report that:

* The G1 (SAG and AFTRA merger group) has been working hard to formulate a merger plan. All group members and alternates from SAG and AFTRA split into six work groups (15-18 members in each group) for about 12 hours a day for several days to work on merger issues such as governance, staff, collective bargaining, finance/dues, contracts, etc. They have had more meetings since then; a video conference meeting during Hurricane Irene at the end of August and meetings in Los Angeles this month. We hope to have something for the board to vote on this winter. 
* More than 2,100 producers have used SAG's new online Production Center, which makes it much easier for producers to become signatories and hire SAG talent. 
* SAG new media productions have increased nine-fold in three years.
* After years of lobbying efforts from SAG, the California District Attorney is stopping casting companies (e.g. Central Casting) from charging a fee to be considered for employment. This is a big victory in background casting fee cessation!
* There is now a Foreign Royalties Tracker on the SAG website: Anyone can check and see if they are owed foreign royalties. So far, more than $11 million in foreign royalties have been distributed.

Conservatory Committee Report

Scott Rogers, Chair

There are currently 62 conservatory members. To date, the conservatory held six workshops this year, with one more this month, for a total of seven. Thank you to Iris Klein, Jeanne Rogers and Joel Moffett for teaching the workshops. These workshops are vital to our acting community. In November, I plan to teach a workshop. Stay tuned for details.

The Conservatory Committee (Lynne Halevi, Becky Maltby, Mary Frances Kabel Gwin and I) recently voted to do away with the conservatory annual membership fee. Therefore, effective on January 1, 2012, all workshops will cost $15. We hope this will make the classes more accessible to all SAG Hawaii members.

Young Performers Committee Report

Becky Maltby, Chair

The local Young Performers Committee (Patricia Gillespie and I) and Brenda Ching have had meetings with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to discuss child labor legislation for Hawaii. Director Dwight Takamine and Wage Standards Division representatives Pamela Martin and Mari Imamura seemed pleased to establish a relationship with Screen Actors Guild, as we are all well aware of the unique challenges that face minors in the entertainment industry: issues such as work-hour variances, on-set teachers, etc. We are looking into the feasibility of establishing a Coogan Law — a California law that requires a percentage of a child performer’s earnings to be placed into a trust account until he/she reaches the age of 18 — or equivalent legislation in Hawaii.

Photos from Member Events:

Hawaii Branch SAG members join fellow union members in picketing Hyatt hotel on September 13.

Members walk with other unions on the Local 5 hotel workers picket line on September 13.

From left, Kathy Muller of the Kathy Muller Talent & Modeling Agency; Glenn Cannon, Branch president; Ryan Brown and Nazarene Anderson of ADR Model & Talent Agency; and Scott Rogers, national board member. Franchised agents were the guest speakers at the Branch Annual Membership Meeting on September 19.

New member pinning ceremony at the Branch Annual Membership Meeting on September 19. From left, Brenda Ching, executive director; PK Phillips, new member from L.A.; Glenn Cannon, Branch president; and Brian Hirono, new member.

Important Phone Numbers & Websites 

Pension & Health: (800) 777-4013, sagph.org

General Information: (800) 724-0767

SAG Website: sag.org

SAG Production Center: www.sag.org/ProductionCenter

SAG/AFTRA Federal Credit Union: (800) 826-6946, aftrasagfcu.org

SAG Foundation: (323) 549-6649, sagfoundation.org

Hawaii Branch Office 
949 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 105
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 596-0388
bching@sag.org

Important: We Don't Want to Lose Track of You

Keep us up to date with your current contact information. If your email address is not listed with the Hawaii Branch, you are not getting the latest news on productions, conservatory workshops and what’s going on. If you have changed your email address, please send us your new one so we can keep you informed.