ADR Agency
ADR Productions, Inc. began in 1983 with three creative forces, Amos Kotomori, Doug Kaya and Ray Sasaki, Jr. The trio produced fashion shows and extravaganzas across Hawaii and on the U.S. mainland, until disbanding when their goals led them in various directions. Ray Sasaki remained as the sole owner and led ADR into a period of significant growth. In 1991, he took a risk with a young model and actor who was more interested in what was happening behind the scenes versus what was in front of the camera, Ryan Brown, who joined Sasaki and for the next five years, ADR’s growth surged. Ryan later purchased the agency from Sasaki in 1998, and re-branded the ADR Model & Talent Agency to the ADR Agency, where, representing models and actors in Hawaii, California, Portland, Las Vegas and New York, its scope of work would become global. In 2008, Ryan asked a long-time ADR talent, Eric Nemoto, to teach classes offered by the agency. Ryan eventually accepted Eric’s proposal to create an “acting gym,” wherein weekly classes would be taught to whoever would show up to ADR’s office, which had moved to its Kaneohe location. After ADR closed this office and operated only out of its Bethel Street location, Eric taught his acting gym class out of the theater he founded, TAG – The Actors’ Group. Then, when the world was hit with COVID in March of 2020, in-person classes ceased altogether. Ryan re-connected with Eric to resurface the acting gym via offering Zoom classes through ADR which began in late July 2020. During this time, Eric began to reflect on his lessons and finally wrote the book on acting that he had thought about doing for a long time. “Just Act – The ADR Actors Gym” was completed in February of 2022. The Zoom classes continued throughout the pandemic until late 2022 when in-person classes started up again in the ADR Bethel Street office. They then relocated the class to Rick Bernico’s Hawaii Profiles photography studio on Fort Street Mall in March 2023, where it continues to be taught the first three Thursdays of every month. In the filming of all of his movies and videos, Eric counts on his long-time association with Ryan and ADR for casting the perfect actors and models to be in his production shoots. Teaching the ADR Actors Gym, also enables Eric to recruit new, refreshing talent for the continuing movies he produces through LegacyVision Films.
Comments are closed.