By Kevin Krein, Faribault Daily News


Dick Kettering, with Shattuck-St. Mary’s, is more than willing to explain the difference between a promoter and a presenter.

“A presenter is an arts organization,” Kettering said. “It’s connected to a community arts center, a college or university, or sometimes a stand alone theater. They bring in outside groups to use the facilities, and it’s so much more than the performer saying, ‘Show me to the stage and where’s my check.’”

Kettering, through Shattuck-St. Mary’s, is a part of the Minnesota Presenters Network — a group that will had its summer conference in Faribault last week, at both the Paradise Center for The Arts, and at The Inn at Shattuck.

He said that last year, the MPN held a joint conference with the Wisconsin Presenters Network in La Crosse.

“When the MPN was looking for a place to host the state conference this year, Ryan Heinritz (former executive director of the Paradise Center) and I said ‘Come to Faribault’,” Kettering said. “We think the Faribault community is unusual because it has not one, but two presenting organizations.”

Before his arrival in Faribault as the new executive director of the Paradise Center, Carter Martin worked at Vitterbo University in La Crosse, and was at the joint network conference last year.

This year, he said that it is an honor for Faribault to be chosen as the host.

“The conference is great for everyone in the Presenters Network because it gives them a chance to see up close and in person what is going on at different venues around the state,” Martin said.

He also said it is a great networking opportunity.

“It’s a chance to put name with faces. A lot of times, we do our dealings by phone and email,” he said. “So it’s great once a year to come together and to meet up, to share ideas and stories; and to find out what works and what doesn’t work.”

Martin also said it is a benefit for the city of Faribault.

“It’s a nice feather in the cap for Faribault,” he said. “And that is a tribute to the thriving arts scene that we can have, the level of facilities that allow us to do great things.”

Martin said that it’s an opportunity to show off the Paradise Center and the facilities at Shattuck, and to boost the local economy during the conference. “These folks are going to be in town, eating in our restaurants and checking out our main street. They are going to be a part of our community for three days,” he said.

The conference offers professional development opportunities, as well as a chance for multiple presenters to “block book” a national touring artist.

“Block booking is a way to get an artist to come to all the theaters in the area,” said Jennie Knoebel, the executive director of the Paramount Theatre in Austin, as well as the Austin Area Commission for the Arts.

“The presenters can get a better deal to book the artist, and it works out better for the artist to have multiple shows in the region,” she said.

Knoebel said the Paramount has been a part of the Presenters Network for a number of years, and she has been in her position since 2012. She is on the board of directors for the Network, and said that it’s an opportunity to have a deeper relationship with the other people on the board and the organizations they represent.

“The summer conferences are a good time to share ideas and troubleshoot situations that may be coming up,” she said. “We’re the only arts organization in Austin, so this is a good opportunity to be able to hear from others in similar roles.”

The conference ran Wednesday through Friday afternoon.

Each night of the conference there are scheduled showcases of talent throughout the state who are looking for presenting partners. Kettering said that it gives each presenting group a chance to see what is out there, and what kind of reaction it gets from an audience.

“At a previous Presenters Network conference, I saw a roller dance team,” he said. “I never would have thought to book them for Shattuck until I saw them at a showcase. I was blown away.”

Both Kettering and Martin said that members of the Paradise Center are able to attend, free of charge, both evenings of showcases if they are interested.

 —Distributed by the Associated Press.