Performing Arts Discovery (PAD) Showcase 2025 — Applications are Open!
International Showcase Opportunity for US-Based Performing Artists
Applications for the 2025 cycle of the Performing Arts Discovery (PAD) Showcase program are open!
PAD Showcase introduces international presenters to U.S.-based performing artists, with the goal of generating overseas touring opportunities.
If you are a U.S.-based performing artist ready to tour your work, this opportunity may be for you. If selected for the program, you will work with our video production team to create a live performance video to be promoted via an online showcase platform and throughout the year at international performing arts events. Videos are yours to use for your own promotional purposes, a benefit that is ideal for performers with limited digital assets.
In addition to the online showcase, PAD Showcase artists receive a one-year complimentary WAA membership, year-round professional development offerings, and support to attend the 2025 WAA Annual Conference in Los Angeles, CA.
U.S.-based artists and ensembles from all music, dance, and theater disciplines, with a demonstrated capacity to tour internationally, are eligible to apply.
Applications open on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 and will close at 5pm PT on Friday, January 17, 2025.
PAD encourages those who identify as BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+ to apply.
PAD will offer information sessions, to walk you through the application process, on the following dates:
· Online Info Session*: Thursday, December 12, 2024 at 10:00am PT;
· In-person Info Session at APAP: Saturday, January 11, 2025, 12:30 to 1:30 pm ET, in Concourse G at the Midtown Hilton.
You can see the work of previous PAD Showcase cohorts here.
The PAD program is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the International Trade Administration’s (ITA) Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP), and is managed by WAA on behalf of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations.
More information is available at the PAD webpage and questions can be directed to WAA’s PAD Program Manager, Ed Bourgeois, at ebourgeois@westarts.org