Take the Stage at WAA 2026
Applications are NOW OPEN for showcases and sessions!
We're doing what the performing arts community does best: gathering close, sharing resources, and building collective solutions together. Whether you're an artist ready to showcase your work, a producer wanting to provide more opportunities onsite, or an industry professional with insights to share, this is your moment!
Professional Development Proposals
The Professional Development Sessions at this year’s conference will be co-developed or commissioned by the Professional Development Committee via a letter of interest process to ensure high quality relevant sessions aligned with this year’s conference subthemes or Circles. In addition to professional development, each Circle will also feature an in-person networking session and a themed showcase.
Family: Serving multigenerational audiences with intentional engagements that don't start or end at the matinee — or the stage.
Arts & Entertainment: Mastering the art of pleasing the crowd and delivering on your mission a.k.a keeping it real and paying the bills.
Beyond the Circle: Contextualizing those works that defy boundaries rather than define them, ensuring you can answer the 5 W’s, and even the how.
Each Circle at this year’s conference will include:
The 101: An Online summer session and Written white paper to set the table and provide a base set of knowledge for each Circle so we can make the most out of our time in-person. Note: The PD Committee is curating The 101 via direct research and an invite-based commissioning process. However, you may submit a Letter of Interest if you are still… interested.
Nuts & Bolts Workshops (2): In-person conference sessions that provide demonstrable skill building with quantifiable outcomes or takeaways that are proof-of-work or focus on embodiment or experiential/participatory based learning/engagement
Strategy Session (1) – An in-person conference session focused on a higher-level conversation giving insight on the internal systems and implementation within the chosen Circle. This can take the form of a case study, forum, or other conversation that leads to in-person engagement or reflection.
For more on the conference’s thematic Circles click here.
Juried Showcase Applications
WAA’s Juried Showcase is a core element of our annual conference, shining the spotlight on a wide variety of artists to discover and uncover the next great performance. We encourage applications from all performing arts suitable tour - whether that’s turfing or spoken word; jazz, hip hop, classical, or a range of related music; experimental theatre for audiences of all ages, street art, or circus; as well as tributes, spectacle, and Broadway shows.
As a traveling conference, WAA seeks to highlight the unique performance culture and identity of each city and region we temporarily call home. This year, given Oakland’s unique arts landscape – and that of the wider Bay Area – we hope and expect to see a wide variety of applications representative of the diverse and fertile local/regional ecosystem.
As part of our ongoing efforts to expand the Juried Showcase program, encourage discovery, and highlight the next great performance, in 2026, showcases (as well as pitches and professional development sessions) will be presented thematically. Four showcase sessions, each featuring 4-5 15-minute performances, will be scheduled throughout the conference; each session will be guided by one of 3 themes, or Circles.
For more on the Juried Showcase at this year’s conference click here.
Onsite Independent Showcase Producer Proposals
WAA seeks to partner with three independent showcase producers to expand showcase opportunities for our members during conference! Independent showcases bring attendees together around performance and encourage discovery and bookings. Alongside the Juried Showcase and OFF WAA (shows open to WAA delegates occurring in venues outside the hotel, across Oakland and the Bay Area), the Independent Showcase Program expands the variety of options for programming needs of many kinds and provides opportunities for more artists to be seen.
Independent Producers will activate three spaces on the second floor of conference HQ – Oakland Marriott City Center on the following days:
Tuesday, September 8
Wednesday, September 9
Thursday, September 10
For more on Independent Showcases at this year’s conference click here.
Conference Application Info Session
Still got questions? We've got more answers. Join us for the Conference Application Info Session where we'll walk through what you need to know for WAA OAK 2026. Whether you're curious about Conference Circles, wondering what makes a strong application, or need clarity on timelines and requirements, this is your chance to get the details directly from the WAA team. Let's circle up and figure it out.