NAAA - A Brief History
The North American Actors Association (NAAA)was formed in 1997 in direct response to the dissolution of the North American Artists Committee, the advisory sub-committee of British Equity that had dealt with issues relevant to North American actors based in the UK. With the removal of this committee, the North American acting community felt they had lost a voice within the industry. The need remained for a group to address the issues and problems that affected these actors as expatriate workers in a foreign industry – and thus NAAA was born, an independent, non-profit organization, run by and for North American actors resident and working legally in the UK.
From the beginning, NAAA has set out to be an information resource, aimed at assisting casting professionals with sourcing the genuine North American actor who form the NAAA membership. To this end, a comprehensive database was set up to provide free casting information to producers and casting directors, a service that proved an instant success. Following on from this, in 2002, NAAA published its first face book containing the photos and agent details of all its members, which was distributed at low cost amongst entertainment industry professionals. The book turned out to be so popular that a decision was made to publish a new edition bi-annually, with the next one due out in May 2004. In 2003 the NAAA website was re-launched, complete with members’ photos, to offer instant online casting assistance.
In addition to supplying a service to the greater industry, NAAA provides a social and professional network to its members. Activities include industry guest speaker series, social gatherings, a weekly email information bulletin, and an annual playreading festival of new North American work cast from within the association.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of NAAA is that it is entirely self-run, led by an eleven-strong Steering Committee, including a Chief Executive at the helm. With no other funding up till now other than a low annual membership, the association has gone from strength to strength on nothing but sheer enthusiasm and passion of the members involved. The continued success of the North American Actors Association, even without outside assistance, shows the relevance of its presence in today’s international entertainment industry.