WAA Academy: Your Professional Journey Starts Here
New Professional Development Opportunities at WAA^LA
Before unveiling our full Professional Development program for WAA^LA, we begin with a new element of Conference programming: WAA Academy. With four streams of Professional Development opportunities, it’s a deep dive into programming that takes careers to the next level. Held on the Opening Day of the Conference, September 2, sessions offer a perfect taste of the full WAA experience, exploring leadership, marketing, social justice, and community-building.
Conexiones Sin Fronteras Symposium, 2024; credit: Victor Karam
WAA19; credit: Corporate Close Ups
AfroFutures in the Arts | September 2, Tentatively: 9am to 3pm
This one-day symposium brings together Black artists, administrators, and leaders navigating the intersection of history and futurism in today’s cultural and political landscape. Sessions will examine how we balance past wisdom with the urgency of progress to shape new models. Through fellowship, connection, and hands-on learning, we will create strategies to strengthen our impact and visibility in our field. Together, we will cultivate a cohort of performing arts professionals, artists, and community leaders committed to advancing Black performance in the West, nationally, and abroad. This is a closed session available to Black-identifying participants. Click here to learn more about the impact and importance of affinity group and closed caucusing.
Contra Tiempo: Movement for the Movement in Los Angeles | September 2, Tentatively: 10:30am to 2:30pm
Gain a deeper understanding of the ecosystem of lasting powerful partnerships between artists and organizers at this offsite workshop at Community Coalition, a social justice space in South Los Angeles. See a part of the city that is often overlooked, but critical to understanding Los Angeles as one of the most vibrant centers of multi racial coalition building work in California and across our country. Open to all, participants travel to the site from WAA^LA HQ..
Marketing Workshop | September 2, Tentatively: 10:00am to 12:15pm
Two morning sessions, grant insights into selling the show: Seven Secrets to Selling Shows looks to a new resource – behavioral science – to seek marketing strategies, while Building Trust in Ticketing supports venues’ efforts to improve customer confidence.
Leadership Seminar | September 2, Tentatively: 1:30pm to 4:00pm
Two afternoon sessions pose essential questions in their exploration of what it takes to lead. What Does It Mean to Lead is an experience-driven session that aims to arm arts leaders with the tools to navigate the changing landscape. Bringing Humanity to Leadership looks to new and future human-centered leadership models to bring a sense of purpose and clarity.
Registration for WAA Academy sessions is separate from, and does not require, conference registration.
How to Register
You can register for each of these opportunities either as a standalone event or on an existing conference registration.
New Conference Registration
When registering for the first time after you can click on 'Select Ticket Options' (shown in image below) once you have added your pass to your registration in your cart to select your add-ons.
Existing Conference Registration
After logging into the WAA Member Portal you can either go through the registration again click on Events > My Event Registrations and selecting Modify. Afterwards, you can clicking on 'Select Ticket Options' (shown in image below) on the pass in your name cart and select your add-ons!
WAA Academy Only
If you aren’t attending WAA^LA 2025, you can register for the standalone WAA Academy programming by clicking here.