Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/216003
On Location CONGRATS TO LOCAL MEMBERS C From left, SAG-AFTRA Actors on the Air members Laurel Levey, Paul Froehler, Madeline Kern, Richard Haylor, Ellen Wacher, Mitchell Berkman, Pamela Salem and Nancy Wood (Luchi Estevez not pictured). ACTORS ON THE AIR Nashville ongratulations to Local Board member Jim Ed Brown, who recently celebrated a milestone as a 50-year member of the Grand Ole Opry. The union has represented Opry members since 1980. The Opry is the world's longest-running radio broadcast, now celebrating its 88th year. Congratulations also go to Nashville's new local president, Pat Alger, who was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame at an event held in Atlanta at the World Congress Center. Alger was inducted with other music greats such as the rock group Kansas and Goodie Mob. T he first Miami Local Actors on the Air radio troupe debuted at the local annual membership meeting Nov. 5. Ellen Wacher, local vice president and organizer of the Actors on the Air project, said, "What makes us unique is that we are now writing our own radio shows — reflecting aspects of Miami's unique cultural mix that are so Miami, such as [member] Mitchell Berkman's original comedy Lola's Hair Salon." At the annual meeting, they held two readings with sound effects provided by Dave Corey, performed an old radio comedy show and then, coming back to the future, they read a segment from Shoreside, an original series and work in progress written by Pamela Salem. This group knows how to combine work and fun and is an example of members networking to enhance their skills. Miami LEARNING THE BUSINESS OF AUDIOBOOKS R eflecting the commitment to organizing audiobook recordings by SAG-AFTRA and the National Audiobooks Steering Committee, the SAG-AFTRA Chicago Local formed a committee in December 2012. Co-chairs Lisa Cordileone and Chuck Stransky, along with staff liaison Jolene Jones, have hit the ground running. Chicago members have already benefited from two events. In June, nearly 100 members attended How to Tell the Story … Audiobooks Today, a workshop lead by SAG-AFTRA staff audiobook negotiators Washington-Mid Atlantic Local Associate Executive Director Jane Love and Associate Executive Director, Labor Counsel News and Broadcast Rich Larkin, with special guest Sean Pratt, a narrator of more than 700 audiobooks. The follow-up workshops, Audiobooks: The Next Chapters, is a four-part series covering the business of audiobook narration. Running through November, the workshops include an industry overview, the recording process, setting up a home studio versus utilizing an outside engineer, dialect training and more. The final session is a master class with the students recording, pulling all of the pieces together. Chicago 78 SAG-AFTRA 72-85_OnLoca_F.indd 78 Top, Jim Ed Brown performs at the Nashville Local's First Tuesday Showcase at the Listening Room; bottom, from left, member Jim Ferguson, National Board member Cece DuBois and Pat Alger at the local office. | Fall 2013 | SAGAFTRA.org 11/14/13 3:00 PM