APAP conference 2007, New York

In January 2007, Anita Clark, Head of Dance at Scottish Arts Council, led a delegation of Scottish dance and theatre practitioners to New York for the 50th annual conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP). The visit was organised in partnership with the British Council in Scotland.  The purpose of the visit was to network with potential international partners and to research the possibilities APAP presents for Scottish companies.

APAP is a major conference and showcasing event drawing representation internationally from performing arts companies and presenters.  The conference involves performing arts decision-makers from across North America and around the globe who actively engage touring artists to perform in their communities.

Five delegates were supported through funding from the Drama department, including Alexandra Stampler-Brown, from Scottish theatre company Stellar Quines. 

Alexandra Stampler-Brown reflects on some of her experiences at APAP 2007.  Arriving in New York 'When our company, Stellar Quines, was asked to join a Scottish delegation to visit the APAP conference in January 2007, we were very excited about this opportunity to promote the company in New York and find out more about the American market.  For many of the delegates it was the first visit to New York, as it was for me and we were very happy to travel in a group and stay in the same hotel. All musical instruments, banners, promo DVDs and CDs, marketing material and boxes arrived with us and a convoy of yellow cabs headed for the Holiday Inn Midtown Manhattan. That evening we all tried to stay awake and fight the jet lag as long as we could and enjoyed a lovely dinner together. Drama at the conference The first day of the five-day conference in the Hilton Hotel was for signing in, studying the comprehensive conference pack (including popcorn and South African wine), and scheduling your days ahead. I attended a ‘freshers’ session which was basic, but useful, in order to get started with the exchange of business cards and promo packs – I certainly did not want to carry all those heavy packs back to Scotland again! Representing a theatre company and looking for other like-minded people was a bit of a challenge though. Studying the programme book and the showcase listings, there was almost nothing under ‘drama’ and a great focus on music and dance. Theatre happened only at a small ‘fringe’ festival called ‘Under the Radar’, an event tracking new theatre at Off-Broadway theatres around NY. This theatre festival symposium ended at the time I got my APAP pack so I unfortunately missed the opportunity to network with the theatre sector, most of them left mid way through APAP as the ‘Under the Radar’ event had finished. The ‘Under the Radar’ festival is by invitation only and comprises 15 performances of international artists and groups, performed at The Public Theatre, 59 E 59, The Kitchen and St. Ann’s Warehouse. The hit show of this year was Anne Bogart’s ‘Radio MacBeth’. Otherwise, I spent the conference days attending seminars and panel discussions about audience development, international promotion and promoters visits. I saw some very good dance at a  showcase performed by six Canadian companies. The other showcase performances I attended were of rather low quality, but very well promoted. I got the impression that more efforts went into the promotion and marketing of the shows rather than the artistic product. And there was the ‘Resource Room’, three huge halls full of booths where the promoters, agents and presenters offered their work. This was a very business like selling place, full on and direct. You had to be quick to step into the ‘sales talk’ and tell a bit about yourself – you would have waited for a long time to be asked about your own business. Selling Stellar Quines   Because of the sheer size of the APAP conference (around 4000 delegates) it was not very easy to connect to people and you did not meet familiar faces. There was not such a chatty atmosphere like there is at CINARS in Montreal. Agents and promoters had prearranged meetings weeks in advance, so it was almost impossible to spontaneously arrange meetings. If your organisation was not represented by an agent, or, if you did not have your own booth, then a very long table covered with promo material was a good spot for distribution of promo packs. Nobody picked up any of my promo packs at the British Council booth so I handed them out whenever I spoke to people at the booths or via the distribution table. The delegates were very interested in music and dance, not so much in theatre and new work that won’t have a ‘long life’ or is not part of a repertoire. The conference was very focused on the American market and productions from Americans for Americans. APAP feels almost too big and does not allow a newcomer to step in quickly. Overall, the visit gave a very good insight into the different dynamics of the American market and, most of all, was a great opportunity to connect with the other Scottish delegates. We regularly met, had dinner together and shared our experiences and contacts throughout. If you are from the theatre sector and you are planning on going, make sure you are attending the ‘Under the Radar’ programm rather than the APAP conference only, and you’ll get a lot out of it. New York is a very welcoming place, safe and easy to get around – but practice your loud selling voice!' Alexandra Stampler-Brown, General manager, Stellar Quines