SAG-AFTRA NY Formerly NY Actor/StandBy NY • Winter 2013 • Volume 2 • No. 1 New Media Rescues Soaps Welcome home, All My Children and One Life to Live! You were sorely missed. By Janette Gautier etween 2009 and 2012, New York month in Connecticut. Programs actors lost our last four daytime dramas: will be 30 minutes in length Guiding Light, As the World Turns, and shown on Hulu and iTunes All My Children and One Life to Live. via The Online Network, with BAMC left New York after 40 years for a supposedly episodes becoming available in new life in Los Angeles, unfortunately, a year and April. Also reported in the press a half later, it was cancelled. Just last year I wrote is that many of the contract a fond farewell to OLTL, which was canceled in players are returning to parts that January 2012 after more than 10,000 episodes made them fan favorites nationwide, and hundreds of thousands of jobs for actors. We including Debbie Morgan, Darnell thought soap operas would never be seen here Williams, Thorsten Kaye, Jill Larson and again. I’m delighted to say we were wrong! Vincent Irizarry of AMC; Erica Slezak, Robert Prospect Park Productions, which acquired the Woods, Hilary Bailey Smith, Kassie DePaiva rights to All My Children and One Life to Live, (see interview on page 6) and Robin Strasser of has announced plans to bring them to the Internet. OLTL. Fans are rejoicing and so is SAG-AFTRA. Agreements have been reached with Both One Life to Live and All My Children were SAG-AFTRA and other unions. According to the creations of Agnes Nixon. In 1968, Nixon said she various press reports, shooting starts later this was “tired of the restraints imposed by the WASP-y, noncontroversial nature of daytime Young Performers Get drama.” Using Lesson In Negotiating classic soap opera page 3 formulas, she UPDATE: Legislative emphasized the page 4 ethnic and socio- economic diversity BROADCAST SPOTLIGHT: Christine Nagy of 106.7 LiteFM of the people of page 5 Pine Valley and Llanview, Penn. “I AM A NEW YORK ACTOR” Fans will be elated Kassie DePaiva page 6 to learn that Nixon will be acting as Hurricane Sandy Hits Home an advisor for for Traffic Reporter her shows’ new page 9 incarnations online. UPDATE: Audiobooks – Janette Gautier is page 10 a SAG-AFTRA National and New York Local Tribute to Martha Greenhouse Board member. page 11 SAG-AFTRA NY NEW YORK COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE Ed Fry Co-Chair Liz Zazzi Co-Chair Sam Freed Anne Gartlan Mike Hodge John Metaxas Jeff Spurgeon ValerieMacon Sharon Washington MEMBERS SHOW LOVE FOR 30 ROCK AT SAG AWARDS New York-based comedy 30 Rock garnered two trophies at the 19th Annual SAG Awards in January. EDITORIAL STAFF Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series recipient Tina Fey, second from Richard Baldwin left, poses with, from left, SAG-AFTRA New York Co-President Mike Hodge, New York Co-1st Communications Coordinator Vice President Rebecca Damon and National Co-President Roberta Reardon. Alec Baldwin was the recipient for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series. Bernadine Goldberg Manager, Member Outreach Victoria Pistone Q+A: Graham & Hodge Manager, Communications ////// ew York Co-Presidents Holter Graham and Mike Hodge discuss the state of our union since the historic merger, which will reach its one-year anniversary at the end of this month. N.Y. Local NCommunications Co-Chairs Ed Fry and Liz Zazzi had a chance to interview them together. CO-CHAIRS: Thanks for talking with us. We are other in the best traditions of the union. We held the now coming up on one year since the two former first merged membership meeting, seeing who we organizations were formed into one new are now and what we want to achieve together. We union, SAG-AFTRA. What do you see as settled into a regular schedule of New York our most significant accomplishments? Local Board meetings, getting to know each other, identifying differences, developing QUESTIONS? MIKE HODGE: The first thing is, new policy, generally getting our work “We did it.” But the more important done. With TV and film, seeing that we’re COMMENTS? discovery is how different we were as as strong as ever with more opportunity all COMPLIMENTS? organizations. AFTRA had autonomous the time. We’ve prepared for the commercials local offices. SAG was a national organization contracts negotiations. New York’s last two We’d like to hear from you! with branches and divisions with some autonomy. daytime shows are back and will begin their new Send them and your SAG-AFTRA attempts to marry the best of both lives as pioneer online dramas under a deal with suggestions for philosophies. For instance, we have complete Prospect Park. And we’ve worked with New York topics you’d like to see covered in autonomy over how we want to govern ourselves dancers who were pivotal in helping the union future issues to — our Local Constitution and Rules of Procedure achieve its first-ever music video agreement. This have been completed and are being utilized, which doesn’t mention any of the committees that have [email protected] means we can decide our schedules and governance. gotten to work, as well. Like I said, quite a bit. But our finances are centralized, which means they Please write can be invested to greater value, giving our finance There have been noticeable staff changes in New NEWSLETTER department a greater economic efficiency. York. How are all the members in entertainment, in the subject of your email. broadcast information and entertainment, and HOLTER GRAHAM: Quite a bit. We wrote and sound recordings doing as a result? GRAHAM: Cover art - hand & cell phone: adopted our new Local Constitution. With Hurricane Change is never easy, and it has hurt me Victor Zakharevych/Thinkstock.com; Sandy, the strongest hands reached out to help each continues on page 10 >>> hand & tablet: ekinyalgin/Thinkstock.com 2 // SAG-AFTRA NY // SAGAFTRA.ORG N.Y. Young Performers Get a Lesson in Collective Bargaining hile SAG-AFTRA members and rehearsal under the staff were busy preparing for watchful eyes of Gadea the 2013 commercials contracts and Touretz, who made Wnegotiations, the next generation of negotiators sure the agreed upon was being groomed at a seminar titled Let’s working conditions Make a Deal: Young Performers “Mock” were being upheld. Negotiation Workshop. Hosted by the New The final product, York Local’s Young Performers Committee, called Work Together, the event was held on Saturday, Dec. 8 at was set in a subway the local office at 260 Madison Avenue. car stopped between Sponsored by a grant from the Screen stations by a depressed Actors Guild-Producers Industry Advancement train conductor Cooperative Fund, the event was coordinated who was too sad to by the co-chairs of the New York Local Young continue driving. The Performers Committee — Alan Simon, New passengers attempt to York Local Co-President Holter Graham and cheer up the conductor, From left, Kezia Dacosta, Katya Savina, Victoria Pannell and Lee Bryant — along with Manager of Member ultimately learning Alestair Shu rehearse their dance moves for the performance. Outreach Bernadine Goldberg and Manager of that they need to work Communications Victoria Pistone. together to get the best results. far the union extends over what I do and how The day began with a panel of industry After the show, it was time to get “paid.” much I’m protected as a union member.” experts who gave The young performers “When I started in films as a young performer, career advice for young “It’s been really cool received their negotiated someone explained Coogan laws to me the day performers. The panel to see how far the compensation of fruit I signed with the union, and I’ve felt protected consisted of Carly Hugo, union extends over and candy, but two of the ever since.” said Graham. “The kids at the event producer at The Group what I do and how dancers discovered they had astonished me with their focus and dedication Entertainment; Denise received only half their due to each other. SAG-AFTRA Senior Advisor Simon, acting and career much I’m protected in chocolate coins. After the John McGuire said he may frame the mock pay coach at Simon Coaching as a union member.” situation was remedied, they schedule our kids came up with, because even Group; and Victoria Kress, — Isabelle Goodman were asked what they would seasoned negotiators could learn from it.” head of the youth division at do if that happened on a Committee Co-Chair Simon said, “We thank Don Buchwald and Associates. real job. Kezia Dacosta immediately responded, the IACF for their sponsorship of these ongoing After the panel, the mock negotiating “Call the union!” seminar events these past almost 20 years. It commenced. The young performers, who Parents and children were equally enthusiastic has helped us to educate our young performers ranged in age from 7 to 17, were separated into about the day. Young performer Isabelle on being both better union members as well as three teams, each led by a SAG-AFTRA staff Goodman said, “It’s been really cool to see how better business people.” mentor. The three guest panelists represented the management side. The teams were assigned to negotiate a specific aspect of a short MOCK NEGOTIATION performance the young performers would give > PAY RATES Three-day rate: Clementine at the end of the day. Day rate: One bag of chocolate coins Scale: A box of raisins The red team was led by Business Residuals: One bag of chocolate coins Series Regular: Cherry candy Representative of Theatrical Contracts Jackie cane and a bag of fruit snacks Ultra-low budget film:One box of raisins Gadea and negotiated what the performance Stunt: Cherry candy cane or fruit snack topic would be.