Wow, that sucks. I knew things were a bit chaotic this time around, but didn't think it would be that bad. I'm going to email my local chapter and see if they have more info.

UNIMA's reliability is totally dependent on what branch you're dealing with. My local one has been disorganised, but with new committees every year it's dependent on the local personalities and how the committee functions from year to year. Whispers about the China branch and HQ have been that they've been a bit crazy too. But I'd take a guess that the American branch is pretty stable. I would only write off certain sections of UNIMA. The South African branch seems to do well; they manage to present a big festival every year.

I just got the following from the President of UNIMA Australia:

Well mainly it's because the deadline they set - and I think it was clearly stated on the website - was March 31.  But that was for people wanting to go the Congress.... As a general person from the public wanting to see shows  you might be able to just rock up...I'm not 100% sure about that.  I would send queries to Unima SG <sgi@unima.org>.  Fabrice will/should answer any questions.