Going Global: Insights Into Markets, Festivals & Trade Shows

Heading into an international market, festival, or trade show can be exciting, but knowing how to prepare can make the difference between showing up without aplan and making the most of the opportunity.

In this 60-minute online session, featuring a conversation between industry experts Ryhna Thompson (Envision Management & Production) and Marcie Januska (The Old Trout Puppet Workshop) who will pull back the curtain on what it really takes to prepare for international industry gatherings.

From researching a new market to navigating the room once you arrive, we’ll cover the questions you should be asking, the things you should anticipate, and the details that are easy to overlook.

What do you wish someone had told you before your first international market?

You’ll learn:

• How to research a market and prepare with purpose

• What to expect at festivals, trade shows, and international gatherings

• How to navigate the environment, make connections, and make your time count

• Common surprises and lessons learned from experience

• How to turn an international gathering into meaningful relationships and future opportunities

Whether you’re preparing for your first international market or looking to sharpen your approach, you’ll leave with practical insight you can put to work before you board the plane. Come with your questions. Leave with a better sense of what’s ahead & how to be ready for it.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Ryhna Thompson: Over the course of the last 2 and a half decades, Ryhna has been an artist, manager, producer, entrepreneur, leader and change maker in the cultural and creative industries. Under the banner of Envision Management & Production, Ryhna works with artists to conceive, produce, manage and share musical projects, most often in the realm where music intersects with film, animation, theater, literature and interactivity - and all in the context of building authentic, long-term careers.

Projects have ranged widely from Kid Koala’s Nufonia Must Fall (a stage production adapted from his graphic novel involving the real-time creation of a film through the choreographed work of a team of puppeteers, crew, live scored by Kid Koala and a string quartet); Richard Reed Parry’s Quiet River of Dust Dome show (a live music performance immersed in 360 film); Floor Kids (a hand drawn animated breakdance video game now available on 5 platforms); to The Pathwaves Digital Literacy Incubator (an initiative aimed at empowering Canadian musicians to make lifelong careers in music more possible and equitable).

Valuing cultural diplomacy, Ryhna has produced tours on 5 continents. Always keen to contribute to her communities and to support a healthy, sustainable, positive and innovative creative economy, she has sat on numerous non-profit boards and committees including serving as President of the Music Managers Forum Canada. A lifelong learner, Ryhna has engaged in numerous professional development experiences since graduating from McGill University and is a Leadership Fellow with the Association of Performing Arts Professionals. Eager to pay forward her learnings, Ryhna has served as a mentor and speaker at conferences and in educational settings in both North and South America, Europe and the Middle East.