Circle Up!

We don't retreat; we CIRCLE UP to share what's working; to solve what's broken; to route tours together. We're stronger when we circle up.

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.

Criteria

Given the limited opportunities for in-person sessions and the curated nature of the program, the PD committee will prioritize proposals that take advantage of being face-to-face. Not only will the session tie closely to this year’s conference themes and format, but successful proposals should have the following characteristics:

• The learning will be clear, timely, with tangible takeaways
• The exchange between attendees and the speaker will be rich
• The experience is tailor-made for professional adult learners.
• The session is aligned to WAA’s values of: Informed, Inclusive, Innovative

 Compensation & Commitment

This year, as part of their work, the Professional Development Committee will be more hands on through the selected proposals by directly working with session proposers to ensure quality. Each Circle will have a sub-committee focused on curating and focusing the topics of import for each one. 

Breakout leaders and white paper writers will not be required to register for the conference or become members; however, both are highly encouraged. WAA will not be able to provide direct travel or accommodations support for selected applicants beyond the provided cash stipend for their work with the committee.

• In-person sessions: $500 cash stipend or conference registration waiver.
• The 101: $1,000 cash stipend or conference registration waiver.

Additional necessary speakers for a session are eligible for conference registration waiver of 25% as part of their participation. This year we are hoping to reduce the amount of panel discussions focusing on direct presentations, hands-on learning, or forums or salons focused on solutions instead of reflections.

Note: If your Letter of Interest is selected you should be prepared to work with the Circle Subcommittee to finalize the proposal, either synchronously through meetings or asynchronously from March through April. The time commitment in peer review will likely be ~3-4 hours of work in preparation.

Tentative Timeline

• Open Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2026
• Deadline: Friday, February 6, 2026
• March: Notification of Selection &  Initial Feedback
• April: Second Committee Review & Finalization of Titles, Description, and Information.
• May: Sessions Published for Conference Attendees

Inquiries/Questions

FAQs: Click Here

For membership or general application questions please contact membership@westarts.org 

WAA will host an online Q&A session with information on applications for independent showcasing, juried showcases, and professional development sessions on January 27 at noon PST (1p MT, 2p CT, 3p ET). Register for the application info session at this link