“We were craving for something like this, and the conference just of the Performing Arts Managers Conference. “It gave us a voice in IAVM that we never had.” Photo credit: Bruce Challgren
Larry Henley, PAMC chairperson and director of artistic program-
ming at the UNLV Performing Arts Center, says the biggest change in the conference over the years has been the growth of programming. “It used to be that everyone did the same thing, sat in the same work sessions and lectures,” he says. “Now we have more concurrent ses- - ing professionals.” camp. This is an opportunity for professionals to get their hands dirty and get back to the basics of what it’s like operating a performing arts venue. Jack Hagler, partner with Schuler Shook in Dallas, was asked to
jobs that many managers have little to no hands-on experience with these days. What makes the boot camp so unique, Hagler says, is that attendees are actually pulling ropes, setting lights, and hanging stage curtains. It’s not simply information shared with them in a classroom “Boot camp has remained a huge attraction for attendees,” Hagler
says. “It’s good to remind managers what it takes to be in the trench- es.”
Boot camp, which one year was presented as an Iron Chef-style competition to get managers thinking about food service, has gone from being a pre-conference extra session to part of the three-day con-
ference. One reason for that is the necessity to reduce the conference length from three-and-a-half days to two-and-a-half, Henley says. It is a part of the conference that attendees have grown to expect so orga- depleting the quality. “Travel budgets are not what they used to be so we want to keep this
continued to meet our colleagues’ expectations and standards.” Still, there is no lack in programming and networking opportunities.
Where organizers depended on industry veterans to lead workshops those early years, today more and more presenters come from outside theater and venue management. “The schedule isn’t as lengthy but the quality is still excellent,”
many of the best professionals in the business.” One tradition the conference has maintained has been to highlight
the performing arts history of the host city. When PAMC took place in New York, for example, the focus was Broadway. This year’s con- ference will focus on the history of theater in Chicago and includes a The rise in number of corporate sponsors is another positive change
PAMC organizers have experienced. Where they were happy to get sponsorship deals around $5,000 in the past, today IAVM is garnering Hagler says. The event has shown such great success, he says, that corporate sponsors come to them instead of PAMC having to recruit
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