Keynote Announcement: W. Kamau Bell
Renowned Oakland native kicks off this year’s conference!
With his mantra, “Who’s With Me?”, and celebrated work across stages, screens, and streets advocating for justice and lifting up connection and community, we can’t think of a better way to root the week.
W. Kamau Bell is a stand-up comedian, director, producer, husband, and dad. For seven seasons, he was the host and executive producer of the five-time Emmy Award-winning CNN docu-series United Shades of America. In 2023 he won an Emmy for his HBO documentary 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed. He also won a Peabody Award for his 2022 Showtime docu-series: We Need to Talk About Cosby.
He is the co-author of the New York Times bestselling book, Do the Work: An Antiracist Activity Book, and the author of The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6' 4", African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama’s Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian. His newest writing project is the substack newsletter, Who's With Me? His comedy special, Private School Negro, is available on Netflix.
Kamau is on the board of directors for DonorsChoose, a nonprofit that helps teachers raise money for class projects, and Live Free, a nonprofit dedicated to ending gun violence, mass incarceration, and mass criminalization. Kamau is also the ACLU’s Celebrity Ambassador for Racial Justice. In 2023, Kamau and his wife Melissa Hudson Bell co-founded Who Knows Best Productions, a media production company in Oakland, CA. He cares too much and sleeps too little.
Early Bird Registration Now Open!
Circle Up in Oakland to do what the performing arts community does best: gather close, share resources, build collective solutions to individual problems, and discover the next great performance!
WAA OAK features three thematic Conference Circles linking showcases, professional development, and networking opportunities:
Arts & Entertainment: Tribute shows, nostalgia, holiday, Broadway, and more that balance financial and artistic considerations.
Youth & Family: Serving multi-generational audiences with intentional engagements that don't start or end at the matinee.
Beyond the Circle: Navigating, promoting, discovering, sharing work that defies definition, crosses boundaries, and goes... beyond.
Choose Your Own Adventure
The Commons is the hub of the conference and this year we're giving it more room to breathe. We've expanded the hours that The Commons will be open, so that you have more opportunities to schedule the meetings that matter, without scrambling around a narrow window of time or fighting for a couch in the lobby. Also, there is no distinction between "Open" and "Accessible" like at other conferences, so exhibitors don't have to be mandatorily stationed at their booths during specific times but can choose what works best for them.
Some programming will run concurrently and that's intentional. The Commons is located next to the showcases and down the hall from the breakout rooms, making it easy for you to jump between meetings, showcases and sessions. This gives agents, artists, and presenters alike the flexibility to connect, discover, and do business at your own pace.
Check out this year’s Conference Detail Schedule!
Oakland Marriott City Center | WAA HQ
We’re pleased to announce that you can now book your room at the Oakland Marriott City Center, headquarters for WAA OAK at our specially-negotiated rate. Located in the heart of Downtown Oakland, it's where all the WAAction will go down, with easy access to uptown, downtown, Jack London, and other nearby vibrant neighborhoods. Our conference HQ offers a range of amenities and experiences – indoor golf, anyone? – to make your stay comfortable and relaxing. Get the scoop here.
WAA's room rate this year is $236/night (~$275 including taxes and other fees).
Upcoming Webinars
May 15: The World of WAA
The World of WAA is our annual session with insider information about how members do business and connect at the conference. After getting you up to speed we’ll also breakout into smaller groups for role based and friendly conversation led by a cast of longstanding WAA members for even more detail
Hosted by:
Lindsay Kratz, Opus 3
Max Gustafson, Presidio Theatre
June 5: Exhibitor’s Brief
A brief webinar for those exhibiting at this year's conference. This specialized webinar is about the timeline for utilizing decorator services, WAA exhibitor restrictions and guidelines, as well as information on drayage and materials handling.