What is your role for THE Conference, and how has the past year been since the past event?
“I have had the privilege to work as THE Conference Director since our launch in 2022. Each year, we have been blown away by the interest and engagement from across the live event industry, and that was absolutely the case this year. This December, we are welcoming almost 80 sponsors and partners to campus as well as growing the audience to over 1,000 attendees. We look forward to welcoming everyone back, showcasing some new experiences, and maintaining the connectivity among our attendees that defined the past two years.”
What can attendees expect from the 2024 version of the event?
“We know that many attendees come in a day early, so this year we will be offering training, round tables, and activities on 3 December before the Welcome Party. We are also doing less content in the big studio and increasing the number of deep dives and activity-based sessions throughout THE Conference based on feedback from attendees at last year’s event. Attendees can continue to expect inclusive social events, diverse voices, and an emphasis on making the industry better for the next generation in live. There have also been some big changes on the Rock Lititz campus. Since last year’s conference, the Academy of Live Technology has opened on campus. Attendees can expect to attend sessions and social events in that brand-new space as well as interact with some of the students’ projects. There will also be content held in the new Studio 3, a medium-sized rehearsal space that opened this year. Additionally, the campus has gone through a revamp to improve parking and traffic. Walking through campus between each session will be faster and easier.”
Are there any suggestions from attendees from the previous two years that you are enacting for the 2024 event?
“We take our attendees’ feedback very seriously and work each year to integrate it into planning. At the forefront of a lot of our attendees feedback was making sure that we continue to strike a balance between our vendor and production voices. We instituted a new ticket policy this year to try and stay true to that promise. We also increased the number of activities, increased the amount of time between sessions, and added more healthy, plant-based options to the menu.”
What are some of the aims of the Advisory Board that you announced earlier this year?
“THE Conference Advisory Board members worked with us throughout the year to add new insight into the planning and execution of the event. From content to speaker suggestions, we had them take a front seat in the planning process to ensure that we continue to grow and innovate. We are so excited to have Jason Danter, Angie Warner, Malcolm Weldon, Giovanni Vargas, Jerome Crooks, and Andrea Espinoza on this inaugural board.”
What are you most looking forward to for the 2024 edition?
“We have a large number of new speaker voices joining THE Conference this year. I am really proud of the content that the team, led by Rachel Hales, is putting forward this year and the speakers who have agreed to be a part of it.
“There is such a wide variety of perspectives that I think will foster some truly important conversations. But if I am being honest, it is likely the moment my team turns on Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You at the very end of the finale party and sings at the top of their lungs. It’s silly, but it means we pulled off another successful year for this amazing industry.”
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