Contact Room for Presenters!

 

It can be a bit daunting, entering that great hall of artists. This year’s version of the Contact Room will be smaller and more cosy, but it can still take guts to start a conversation. Some things to remember:

They are there to meet you. There’s no obligation to book just because you stop to talk. Artists stand a far greater chance of being booked in a community where somebody knows them, and the artists know that. The best use of their time at Showcase is to get to know you.
So be brave, introduce yourself—or get an ATAA board member to introduce you. You have nothing to lose but your chains of shyness.

You don’t have to do it alone. Take a friend with you—even if you’ve come to Showcase by yourself, there are bound to be other presenters in your region who are looking to block book and will be happy to walk around with you.

Feel free to judge. The way artists welcome you to their booth and how they engage you there gives you a taste of what they’ll be like to deal with later. Are they organized? Professional? Friendly?

Do your homework: look through the list of showcasing artists and see who you think would be best in your community. Have some idea of the season you want to book next year, and of the blank spaces. Do you need a good laugh in there? Or an uplifting classical evening? On the other hand, remember to keep an open mind. Showcase offers an opportunity for you to be blown away by something unexpected. (Martin Dubé is a good recent example of that—how many presenters would have come to Showcase saying to themselves, “what we need is a good female impersonator...”?)

At Showcase, go through your delegate package and have a look at the program to find out more about the artists you’re interested in. If there are several of you,

divvy up the best bets, and take notes of your conversation to report to the others.

Enjoy yourself! As Dixie Sankey said many years ago, “My favourite part of Showcase is that I get to actually listen to the acts—when we have our own concert I’m so busy I never have a chance to hear them!”
Be ready to enjoy the artists off-stage as well as on, during meals, at the hospitality suite (in a cabaret setting this year, to save the sleep of the non-partying) and most of all, in the hurly-burly of the Contact Room.