Last night (July 13, 2023), after the announcement of the SAG-AFTRA actor’s strike, I took to Twitter to ask several Star Trek actors if the strike would affect their ability (per union strike rules) to attend the Star Trek fan convention in Las Vegas (#STLV) in August. STLV is the biggest Star Trek event for fans each year, and over a hundred Star Trek (and this year, also, The Orville), actors, showrunners, writers, etc. are scheduled to attend.
At STLV, lots of fans pay good money for autographs and photo ops with their favorite Trek actors. If union strike rules forbid attendance by actors, that would impact a lot of fans who have already doled out money for the show.
So, I went to the Elonverse (i.e. Twitter), to ask Star Trek actors if they can attend. I got two responses, and both made my day!
First, Chase Masterson (Leeta from DS9) responded:
Then, Armin Shimerman (Quark, also from DS9) responded:
In both cases, their responses are exactly what I wanted, and needed, to hear.
Thank you to Chase Masterson and Armin Shimerman for clarifying their ability to attend STLV. Note that the Star Trek Las Vegas event is put on by Creation Entertainment, and is NOT (thankfully) an officially recognized or sponsored event by ANY of the studios. That, I believe, enables the actors to attend and make their fans hearts happy!
Let us hope that our Star Trek actors and the rest of SAG-AFTRA win their battle against the Ferengi-like Studios!
Live Long and Prosper!
PS. Check out my review of Strange New Worlds S2 Episode 5