APAP continues to develop performing arts forums and festivals

December 27, 2013

With the Association of Performing Arts Presenters’ (APAP) annual membership conference and gathering of performing arts professionals fast approaching, APAP president/CEO Mario Garcia Durham is understandably upbeat.

“Registration is up, and the exhibit halls are sold out,” says Durham. “There’s a lot of energy around our field. People want to participate at APAP.”

APAP|NYC 2014 is set for Jan. 10-14 at the New York Hilton Midtown and Sheraton New York Times Square hotels, where more than 3,500 performing arts professionals will converge for the performing arts trade’s premier gathering. Over 1,000 major performing artist showcases will be held at the hotels and around the city, and the Hilton’s Expo Hall will feature nearly 400 exhibitor booths.

Additionally, over 80 professional development sessions, keynote speeches and preconference forums--many of which are free and open to the public—are slated.

“There are a couple areas I’m really happy about,” says Durham. “One is the fact that in the past, there’s been a bit of a distant relationship between the field and Broadway, but over the past couple years we’ve been reaching out and this year we have sessions on the schedule featuring [Tony Award-winning director Diane Paulus and [composer/lyricist] Stephen Schwartz.”

“On the music end, we’re really happy with what’s happened with Jazz Connect,” Durham continues, speaking of the Jazz Connect Conference at APAP|NYC 2014, organized by JazzTimes in conjunction with the Jazz Forward Coalition and being held at the Hilton Jan. 9-10.

“It’s the same thing that happened with [international new theater festival] Under The Radar, which was incubated at APAP and became so successful that it’s now an independent gathering. Over the years we’ve likewise offered space for the jazz folks to gather, and last year over 1,000 individuals participated at the Jazz Connect preconference event. Using the Under The Radar model, this year is the last year it’s under our umbrella, and next year it’s on its own—and that’s fantastic. It’s a wonderful and exciting new development for the field of jazz.”

Durham also points to the two-day World Music Preconference, organized by marketing firm Rock Paper Scissors, which will be the largest gathering of world music professionals in the U.S.

“That’s something that may spin off and become its own conference as well,” he says. “We’re so large, as one of the international anchor conferences that has existed for so long, that we’re able to do that at relatively little costs for these developing forums."

Durham further cites other festivals held in conjunction with APAP, including globalFEST, again featuring 12 world music groups on three stages at Webster Hall on Jan. 12.

“My approach is, ‘Let’s join hands and support each other’s works,’ and this year we’re working with seven festivals,” says Durham. “It’s really cool—and a friendly joint venture—marketing each other's works and growing our audiences.”

Durham looks for the month of January, via APAP|NYC, to continue growing as “a major, major gathering of arts professionals and especially performers from around the world.”

And he admits to, then discounts, any fears from the impact of electronic media on live performance.

“At times I’ve been afraid of how the field of electronic media, in all its forms, would affect the performing arts,” he concedes. “The argument is that people will focus not on live performance but on electronic delivery—like the Metropolitan Opera in New York has been doing. But after all the dust settles, it always comes back to the fact that people want the live experience—which is so reassuring, because that’s exactly what our field is about: bringing people and audiences together.”

“Young folks coming into our field care about the personal connection--and I’m really happy about that,” concludes Durham.