Black Diaspora: Marýa Wethers

Black Diaspora events are open to a Black-and Afro-Latinx-identified audience only.

Representation Matters: Working with a Creative Producer or Booking Agent

Have you ever wondered what working with a Creative Producer and/or Booking Agent means? And what is the difference anyway? How do you know if/when to consider working with someone in either role?

This workshop will discuss the different roles of a Creative Producer or Booking Agent, including types of responsibilities and support, offered and various payment structures. We will also cover topics related to “Dance Touring 101” – What do I need to know to be ready to tour? How do I initiate relationships with potential presenting partners? How do I create a touring budget, including determining an artist fee? Are there other resources available to support national and international touring?

About Marýa Wethers

Marýa Wethers (she/her) has lived and worked in Lenapehoking (NYC) since 1997 as contemporary dance artist, independent creative producer, and curator. As a dancer, Marýa received a 2017 NY Dance & Performance (“Bessie”) Award for Outstanding Performance with the Skeleton Architecture collective. As a curator, she conceived and created the three-week performance series Gathering Place: Black Queer Land(ing) at Gibney and curated for Mount Tremper Arts Watershed Lab Residency (2019 & 2018), Queer NY International Arts Festival (2016 & 2015), and Out of Space @ BRIC Studio series for Danspace Project (2003-2007). Her writings have been published in Configurations in Motion: Performance Curation and Communities of Color (2016 & 2015) organized by Thomas F. DeFrantz at Duke University and the Movement Research Performance Journal 25th Anniversary Issue #27/28 (Spring 2005). She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a BA in Dance, minor in African-American Studies, 1997.

About Black Diaspora

Conceived by curator Eva Yaa Asantewaa during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter uprising, Black Diaspora launched its first activities in September 2020 as a Zoom-based peer support program serving up-and-coming, Black-identified dance and performance artists from various cultural backgrounds and aesthetic traditions.

With the support of Gibney, Black Diaspora has offered numerous peer group discussions, workshops led by notable guest artists, and conversations between artists. We celebrate the resourcefulness, accomplishments, and generous wisdom of Black creatives, educators, and activists.

Photo of Marýa Wethers by Scott Shaw.