{"id":2102,"date":"2013-08-29T17:56:17","date_gmt":"2013-08-30T00:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/?p=2102"},"modified":"2013-08-29T18:00:40","modified_gmt":"2013-08-30T01:00:40","slug":"observations-from-another-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/2013\/08\/observations-from-another-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"Live from WAA: Thoughts from a New Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES, CA., August 29, 2013 \u2013 In a twist of fate, I\u2019m attending this week\u2019s Western Art Alliance (WAA) Conference in the role of artist representative for Scorpius Dance Theatre<\/b><\/a>, a contemporary dance company from my home town of Phoenix, AZ.\u00a0 After a decade of running a statewide service organization and NOT playing favorites among a membership of 240 Arizona arts & cultural organizations, it\u2019s revitalizing for me to focus on the national booking opportunities of just one organization that I’ve long admired.<\/p>\n

\"MattSo for the last 2 days (and with one more to go), I have been standing in a 5-foot wide booth in the \u201ccommons\u201d of the WAA conference hoping to connect with presenters who might be interested in bringing Scorpius to their community and venue.<\/p>\n

As you may know, my forte is selling arts experiences to audiences.\u00a0 Selling artists to presenters is a WHOLLY different experience \u2013 so With the joyous music of artist showcases spilling out of assorted hotel ballrooms, I\u2019m dashing off this blog in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency – hoping to make quick sense of what I\u2019m experiencing.<\/p>\n

Overall, there\u2019s a warm and friendly spirit to WAA.\u00a0 It\u2019s a welcoming and well-organized conference.\u00a0 In case you’ve never been to a booking conference like this, you should know that this meeting forms a \u201cmarket\u201d in which presenters, artists and agents gather to present their services, align tour dates, and negotiate fees.\u00a0 This is very much a relationship business.\u00a0 Successful presenters don\u2019t really \u201cgo shopping\u201d here \u2013 they rely on their past experiences along with insights from artists, agents and peers to gain confidence in the shows that they will book for an upcoming season.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the bottom line, as shared by one agent with whom I’ve been kibitzing:\u00a0 \u201cThe formula here is pretty simple:\u00a0 the presenters are looking for a balance of shows that sell tickets, earn revenue and keep their Boards of Directors from getting aggravated.\u201d\u00a0 <\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, in all fairness – the experience of my own discussions and what I’ve observed by eavesdropping on other booth discussions – is neither comprehensive nor definitive.<\/p>\n

Still, I want to make an observation:<\/p>\n

I’ve heard a lot of agents & artists ask about the presenter\u2019s venue\u2026\u00a0 How many seats? How long have you been there? What\u2019s the closest airport? What do you present?\u00a0 What has been successful for you?<\/p>\n

And I’ve heard presenters ask about artists:\u00a0 What\u2019s their fee?\u00a0 Where else are they scheduled?\u00a0 How is this different from what they toured last time?<\/p>\n

I understand the mechanics of presenting.\u00a0 These are all necessary questions.<\/p>\n

But what I haven\u2019t heard (and, I\u2019m surprised by this) is discussion about the presenter\u2019s artistic or audience-building mission. \u00a0The artists and agents don\u2019t ask and the presenters don\u2019t offer.<\/p>\n