Performing arts managers and agents are the glue that binds the performing arts. They ensure that communities across the nation have access to the very best avant-garde, classical, and modern performing artists in the world. Agents and managers find artists concert halls, theaters, and festivals in which to perform. They arrange regional, national, and international tours for choreographers, composers, dancers, directors, orchestras, theater companies, singers, and youth ensembles. They find artists the stages on which to perform so that audiences can hear, experience, and share in the work.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT – Welcome to NAPAMA!

eleanorNAPAMA is comprised of a diverse group of managers, agents, self-managed artists, affiliated business vendors, and presenters – all industry colleagues in the field of the live performing arts. Our shared goal is to maintain a healthy and productive business environment for all. NAPAMA actively develops timely professional education sessions presented at industry convenings. We monitor, investigate, and report back to our membership on the ever-changing landscape of taxes, immigration, licensing, insurance, and contract law. Representing the unique perspective of the artist manager, we serve on industry boards, advisory committees, program committees, and showcasing committees throughout the field. We were the first in the industry to create a standard with our Ethical Guidelines. Discounted legal services are available through your membership with NAPAMA’s Legal Affairs Advisor Brian Goldstein of FTM Arts Law. Steered by an all-volunteer board, we are here to offer guidance, support, and assistance whenever possible. If you aren’t already member, I do hope you will consider joining this important network of colleagues to access a wealth of information and knowledge.

All the best,
Eleanor Oldham, President




2010-2011 USArtists International Guidelines Available

July 25th, 2010 No comments

Program Supports Sending U.S. Performing Artists to Festivals Abroad

Baltimore, MD – July 20, 2010 – Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts announce the availability of guidelines for the 2010-2011 cycle of USArtists International(“USAI”), which provides support for American dance, music, and theatre artists who have been invited to participate in significant international festivals and engagements that represent extraordinary career opportunities anywhere in the world outside of the United States and its territories.

Guidelines for USAI are available online here. The deadlines for the program are September 7, 2010 for projects taking place between November 1, 2010 and October 31, 2011; December 13, 2010 for projects taking place between March 1, 2011 and February 28, 2012; and April 22, 2011 for projects taking place between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012. Applicants must be designated by the I.R.S. as a 501(c)(3) organization, or have a fiscal agent that is designated as a 501(c)(3) organization.

USAI is committed to ensuring that the impressive range of creative expression of American performing artists is presented before a broad international audience. The program works to strengthen the creative and professional development of American artists by providing opportunities for the exchange of ideas and best practices with their colleagues in other countries, exposure to new audiences and performing arts programmers, and access to the international marketplace.
In 2009-2010, USAI supported seventy-one ensembles performing at festivals throughout the world. Companies have participated in the Apositsia Festival, Russia; Bali Arts Festival, Indonesia; Beijing Modern Music Festival, China; Dublin Dance Festival, Ireland; Edinburgh International Festival, United Kingdom; London Jazz Festival, United Kingdom; Lyon Dance Biennial, France; Pan-African Dance and Music Festival, Rwanda; Sauti za Busara, Tanzania; Soorya Dance and Music Festival, India; Spoleto Festival, Italy; Universal Forum of Cultures, Chile; Wangaratta Jazz Festival, Australia; and others. Artists have included a wide range of dance, music and theatre artists – from  Philadanco of Philadelphia to the Mark Morris Dance Group of New York, and from the Minnesota Orchestra to SFJAZZ of San Francisco, California. A complete listing of artists and festivals can be found at www.midatlanticarts.org.

In the United States, the public and private sectors work collaboratively to support the arts. USAI continues that important tradition with support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
About Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation fosters and supports arts programming for the benefit of arts organizations, artists and audiences and encourages exchanges that link the arts resources of the mid-Atlantic region to the rest of the nation and the world.  The Foundation was created in 1979 and is a private non-profit organization that is closely allied with the region’s state arts councils and the National Endowment for the Arts. It combines funding from state and federal resources with private support from corporations, foundations, and individuals to address needs in the arts from a regional perspective.  The region includes nine states and jurisdictions:  The District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia and West Virginia.

www.midatlanticarts.org
About the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the nation’s largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases.

http://www.nea.gov/
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation

Karen Newell
Director of External Affairs

email: karen@midatlanticarts.org

phone: 410.539.6656 x104

BIG WIN!! Your membership at work.

July 24th, 2010 No comments

NAPAMA and other arts organizations are constantly advocating for issues important to our collective memberships.  Check out this article from the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/23/arts/music/23visa.html?ref=arts

New Consular Visa Fees

June 16th, 2010 No comments

Implementation of new MRV Application Fees

On June 4 the Department of State is implementing new MRV application fees for nonimmigrant visa applicants. The new fee schedule is tiered to reflect the higher unit costs involved in the adjudication of certain nonimmigrant visa categories which require a review of extensive documentation and a more in-depth interview than other categories, such as tourists (B-2) and business visitors (B-1).

The fee schedule is tiered as follows:

  • MRV Fee – $140:00;
  • Petition Based Applicants (H, L, O, P, Q, R) – $150:00;
  • E-1, E-2 & E-3 visa applicants – $390.00
  • K Visas – $350.00

Please click on this link for further information, including a list of FAQs.
K visa applicants should follow this link for further information.

Letter from NAPAMA and other organizations to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

May 26th, 2010 No comments

To: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (opefeedback@uscis.dhs.gov)

From: Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Dance/USA, League of American Orchestras, North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents, OPERA America, Performing Arts Alliance, Theatre Communications Group

Re: Comments on “Clarifying Guidance on ‘O’ Petition Validity Period Revisions to the Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM) Chapter 33.4(e)(2) AFM Update AD10-36”

Click here to read the full letter (.pdf format)

$13,000 Maine Performing Arts Fellowship deadline is approaching

May 26th, 2010 No comments
The $13,000 Performing Arts Fellowship Award deadline is approaching.
Please help get the word out to Maine performing artists who might be
interested. This is a fantastic opportunity.
Individual Artist Fellowship award in the Performing Arts, Deadline June
04, 2010.
The Individual Artist Fellowship rewards the excellence of a Maine
artist with a $13,000 award. The award is also designed to promote
public awareness of Maine’s creative sector by highlighting the work of
the grantee.
The fellowship award is designed for performing arts creators. The grant
identifies a creator as an artist who produces the majority-share of a
creative original work. For example, a composer qualifies but a musician
does not; a singer/songwriter qualifies but a singer does not; a
choreographer qualifies but a dancer does not; a set designer qualifies
but a set carpenter does not; a theatre director qualifies but a theatre
actor does not; a film director qualifies but a cameraman does not.
These examples are meant to illustrate the concept of ‘majority-share of
a creative original work’ and are not intended to limit the kind of
applicants beyond that point.
Playwrights and screenwriters may apply to the Performing Arts
Fellowship if they play an important part in the production of the work.
Otherwise playwrights, screenwriters, poets and other literary artists
should apply for the Literary Arts Fellowship. There are also
fellowships for the visual arts and for the traditional arts.
You can learn more form the grants page on the Maine Arts Commission
website.
http://mainearts.maine.gov/grant_individualfellowship.aspx

Gary Lindsey Retires:

May 26th, 2010 No comments

As many of you will know, our colleague, Gary Lindsey, recently announced the closing of his office in May.  We send him our very best wishes for the future.  His contact information follows this short summary of his career:

Gary began his career in the booking field in 1973, finding engagements for Michael Uthoff and Lisa Bradley (formerly with the Joffrey) of the Hartford Ballet. Prior to that, in 1970, he worked as Assistant House Manager for the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and as the first administrator for Lar Lubovitch, producing Lar’s seasons at the Public Theater and taking the troupe to the Spoleto Festival (Italy) in June, 1991.   In addition, he had the opportunity to work with Rudy Perez, Louis Falco and the Joffrey Ballet.

The National Endowment for the Arts’ Dance Touring Program in the 1970’s was very helpful for touring companies, their managers and agents.  Indeed, it was through this program that Gary got involved with the Hartford Ballet.

Gary believes that the difficulties facing those who were working with dance companies once the Dance Touring Program was phased out, impacted our industry significantly; and, does to this day.

With thirty-seven years in the business, he’s been “in the trenches”, working with the changes that our field has seen.  Specifically, it’s been frustrating to Gary that current presenters seem not to be educated about dance as a discipline; and, hence, don’t know the artists and the companies that are active today.  This makes it difficult for one to engage artists and companies if there isn’t a knowledge-base about their work in the presenting field.

Throughout Gary’s professional career as a manager and an agent, he maintained, and continually updated, a database of 6,000 presenters.  As he enters retirement after almost 40 years, his experience tells him that only about 1,000 of those on that list know and care about dance.

Gary takes pride in that he always represented artists and companies that he felt were the best at what they did and delivered a quality performance to the audiences that paid to see them.  His parting recommendation to those still active in the professional performing arts is the importance of knowing what artist or attraction to secure for your season; who to call to secure that artist or attraction that’s right for your needs; and, when to make that call.

A letter we received from Gary:

Dear Friends:
With my retirement as president of Gary Lindsey Artist Services, Inc. later this month, my website, www.LindseyArtists.com will close, effective on May 8, 2010.
If you still want to contact me, my AOL email addresses will be active in the foreseeable future:
LindseyArtists@aol.com (for those presenters interested in my former artists)
LindseyArt@aol.com (for artists and companies which GLAS has represented over the past 25 years).
If you would like to correspond via my personal email address, please send me a request to one of the above AOL email addresses, and I will respond by sending you my personal email address.

Mahalo,
Gary

A Lasting Legacy of Recession

May 20th, 2010 No comments

Great article by Michael Kaiser:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-kaiser/a-lasting-legacy-of-reces_b_578363.html

NAPAMA Annual Membership Meeting: 6/7/10 (NYC)

April 8th, 2010 No comments

Monday, June 7th — 4:00-6:00pm

Location:
Roy Arias Studios (www.royariasstudios.com)
300 W. 43rd Street (Studio 500 A) Cross Street is 8th Ave.
New York, NY

Exec. Board Meeting, 11:00am-Noon
Board Meeting, 12:30-3:30pm

Classical Action/Broadway Cares “Up our Alley” Bowling Event: Join the NAPAMA Team
Monday June 7th from 6.30pm – 9.30pm at Bowlmor Lanes, 110 University Place between 12th & 13th Streets.   Contact Laura Colby, laurac (at) elsieman.org,  for more information and to sign up!

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