Programming Pitch Sessions

November 14-16, 9:30-11:30 am AST, on zoom

Mark your calendars: APA’s annual Programming Pitch Sessions are taking place this November 14-16, 2023! This year we are taking the Sessions, usually held in person each year in Halifax, online via Zoom!

We know some of you are going to miss the hugs and chit chat that comes with an in person event, but we hope that hosting this event online will make it more financially and logistically accessible and give more of our members access to participate.

What are the Programming Pitch Sessions? This is your opportunity as a member programmer/presenter to pitch artists you would like to see tour the Atlantic Region who you may not otherwise be able to book for a one-off performance in your own venue.

New to the gig? No worries, there is no pressure for you to pitch artists. You are welcome to just hang out in the Zoom room and hear what your fellow APA colleagues are pitching.

Schedule:

The Programming Pitch Sessions will take place November 14-16, 9:30-11:30 am AST each day. That’s two hours per day instead of two long whole days.

November 14 will be dedicated to theatre, dance, circus, spoken word, comedy, and young audiences
November 15 will be specifically for summer programmers
November 16 will be dedicated to all music genres

How it will shake down:

Presenters will have 4 minutes each to pitch an artist using video, persuasive speech, and anything else in your arsenal to convince your fellow presenters to block book your artist!

Following each pitch, we’ll give 1 to 2 minutes for questions.

Presenters must submit their pitches by Tuesday, November 7th, at 11:59pm via this LINK within the following guidelines:

November 14 – a maximum of 3 pitches total per presenter in any of the genres noted above
November 15 – a maximum of 3 pitches total per presenter in any genre for summer programming
November 16 – a maximum of 2 pitches total per presenter in any music genre

Because the number of pitches is much more limited to each organization this year, choose which artists you pitch wisely! Choose artists who can perform in a variety of venue sizes, locations and communities. Take tech needs as well as full price asking fees into consideration … so maybe not Bruce Springsteen or a 20-member circus act from Japan .