Eunbi Kim; photo credit: Maria Baranova
Los Angeles skyline
See It First At WAA
As the first conference in the North American booking season, you’ll be the first to see the latest performances available to tour and learn about the new artists and shows represented by nearly 200 agencies. WAA agents represent a diverse range of genres from classical music to contemporary dance to theatre and more. You’ll also participate in fun networking receptions, informative workshops, and exciting forums—all designed to inspire and strengthen the performing arts field.
Lean Into Community
What sets WAA apart is that we’re more than a trade show, we’re a community. Business gets done at WAA, but not at the cost of relationships. People take center stage at WAA, which is why you’ll find our attendees connecting, sharing, and laughing, and leaning in… a lot! Read for yourself why our colleagues choose to come to WAA.
Rooted In The West, WAA Welcomes The World
You’ll feel our West Coast vibes the minute you step up to the registration table. Historically a regional conference, WAA attracts professionals from around the world. But what unites the presenters, artists, agents, arts consultants, and vendors that come to WAA is the shared love of the performing arts and the common belief that the performing arts are essential to the daily lives of those we serve. We’re also an open and affirming community, we value inclusion and promote diversity of thought, expression and culture that is inherent in our world.
MY WAA EXPERIENCE: COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES
Why WAA? Hear from long-time attendees about the benefits of attending, tips on getting the most out of your WAA conference experience, and what makes WAA unique.
WHY WAA?
Every year, hundreds of performing arts professionals gather to discover the next great performance. WAA’s annual conference combines the best of continuing education, marketplace, and festival programming into a dynamic four-day event. Presenters at every stage in their careers learn what it takes to effectively program live performances that resonate with today’s audiences, and artists get booked to perform on stages throughout the West and beyond.
We’ve put together two resource guides to help you get oriented and fully engaged with the WAA conference and broader community. Each guide walks through unique program elements at this year’s conference and offers tips on how to build momentum in your first three years of participation.
These guides provide relevant information based on what work you would do at this event or ones like it in mind. Click the one that best fits your role to get started. And as always, if you have any questions or need additional support, our team is happy to help.
You can reach us anytime at membership@westarts.org.
SAVE THE DATES FOR FUTURE WAA CONFERENCES
WAA 2026 | Oakland, CA
September 8 - 11, 2026
WAA 2027 | Los Angeles, CA
September 7 - 10, 2027
PAST WAA CONFERENCES
We bring our annual conference to a different city each year, making the most of the West’s vibrant performing arts infrastructure. We strive to produce an annual conference inspired by the city’s unique arts, culture, community, and infrastructure, and each year convene a Host Committee of local performing arts professionals to provide insight on and connections that help inform the scope and direction of the event.
