Editorial

Equity Leadership Transition

Teresa Brown resigns, leaving a legacy of effective communication and industry collaboration.

Regretfully we note the resignation of the Executive Director of Actors’ Equity, Teresa Brown.

From the Techos’ Guild point of view, Teresa has been, in her quiet and relaxed but sharply-focused way, a highly effective operator and communicator for her organization. In a relatively short time she established a much more visible profile for Equity than has been the case for many years. In my experience (including being an Equity member for a decade, and involvement in the negotiation of the first ever wage award for backstage crew in government-subsidised theatres), not since the days of Don Farr has an Equity official appeared on so many film sets and in so many theatre rehearsal rooms!

Those of us who dealt with Teresa regularly found her genuinely friendly, direct but not pushy, and always sincere and charming. As someone new to the industry she threw herself into getting to know the scene, to the extent of paying for her own tickets to almost every show in town. She was a marvelous networker, but not just for herself and Equity - she was as keen on introducing people like Megan and me to other players in the game as she was on meeting them herself. Her understanding of the need for all the organizations in the industry to work together cooperatively was another breath of fresh air in a scene often famous for its factionalism.

Naturally we wish Teresa the absolute best wherever her career takes her next. We also wish Equity’s new Executive Director the best, and look forward to developing as effective and enjoyable a relationship with him/her as we have had with both Teresa and Equity as a whole.

            \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*

A farewell, though hopefully not from the wider screen industry, but also a WELCOME - to NZTECHO.

You’ll see in this issue some articles by Rowena’s replacement, David Welch. David has a passion for both film-making and music, the latter reflected in his writing for music magazines. He’s enjoying talking to crew people - we trust you’ll enjoy the results.

Tony F.

No items found.