Who Are "Presenters"?

"Presenters" are those individuals or groups that present or promote performing arts events, such as program directors, executive directors, festival directors, or club owners. The breakdown of different types of presenters can seem convoluted, so I will narrow them down and use, say, a solo or small music ensemble as the artist searching for performances.

SMALL presenters include: coffeehouses, restaurants, house concerts (booking usually by other artists sometimes), libraries. The presenter profile is:

Small
--coffeehouse or restaurant owner
--staff
--not consistently accessible
--constantly changing
--not booking decision-maker
--not performing arts professional
--genre not well defined
--no budget

MIDLEVEL presenters include: clubs, bars, coffeehouse circuit, school productions. The presenter profile is:

Midlevel
--club booking agent
--club owner
--small non-profit org/volunteers
--not easily accessible
--not performing arts professional
--genre fairly well defined
--has no presenting budget/charges at door

FESTIVAL presenters include: outdoor and indoor festivals & cultural events. The presenter profile is:

Festival
--organization/booking committee
--festival program director
--some for-profit, some non-profit org/volunteers
--accessibility varies
--usually performing arts professionals (i.e., they know what they are doing)
--genre very well defined
--has presenting budget
--annual event

BIG presenters include: performing arts centers, theatres, huge festivals, corporate events. The presenter profile is:

Big
--program director or executive director
--PAC board
--difficult if not impossible to contact during the year (only accessible at conferences)
--performing arts professionals
--genres fairly well defined
--larger presenting budget

More descriptive elements of presenters to come. Some of the questions that will be covered are
1. What's a presenter's mission & responsibility?
2. What exactly DO they do and how do they do it?
3. How do I interact with various presenters? Are their temperments all the same?
4. Are they all honest and forthright? Should I be honest and forthright with them?
5. What are the important things I need to know about presenters specifically (trends, budgets, when they are booking, their funding, etc.)?

Cheers.

Bear Claw