Frequently Asked Questions
Content
For everyone
What is THEATRIS?
How can I use THEATRIS?
Which information can I find or enter on THEATRIS?
Who can register on THEATRIS?
What is the pricing of THEATRIS?
How can I support THEATRIS?
What are the colours for?
Why do some things look so strange? Is THEATRIS not finished yet?
For stakeholders
I want to participate! What should I do?
What should I do to create content on THEATRIS?
Where do I find help on the input fields?
How do I use the field…?
What should I consider as an event organizer?
Why can't I just add my colleagues to a group or an event but have to create a profile for them first?
Why am I supposed to create profiles for others? What does "Allow claiming" mean?
How to create dates?
Should I rather create one date with several parts/repetitions or seperate date pages?
What should I keep in mind about photos?
What are the single license types for photos for?
What is an announcement?
Why does my profile not show in the list of profiles?
Why is there no map on my profile?
How can I manage my content on THEATRIS?
How can I edit my content on THEATRIS?
How can I translate my content on THEATRIS?
How can I delete my content on THEATRIS?
I'm not registered on THEATRIS yet but there already is a profile for me. Why is that? How can I claim it?
How can I report faulty or problematic content?
What does "TaSS" mean?
For everyone
What is THEATRIS?
THEATRIS is a web platform for the independent performing arts in Saxony-Anhalt. It offers a statewide event schedule, an index of all players in the state, a production archive, a magazine area, profile pages for artists, companies and locations as well as sub-pages with details on single productions and projects. THEATRIS is being developed and run by Landeszentrum Freies Theater Sachsen-Anhalt e. V. (LanZe) and has been funded by the Ministry for Infrastructure and Digital Affairs of the State of Saxony-Anhalt as part of the Digital Agenda for the State of Saxony-Anhalt as well as by the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States within the program KULTUR.GEMEINSCHAFTEN with funds from the Minister of State for Culture and the Media within the program NEUSTART KULTUR.
How can I use THEATRIS?
THEATRIS is designed to provide you with information and invite you to discover the independent performing arts in Saxony-Anhalt. Most of the features like the event schedule, the index of all players in the state, the production archive and the magazine can be used for free and without any restrictions for everyone interested. An account is only needed to create a bookmark list or if you are a stakeholder yourself and want to create content on THEATRIS.
Which information can I find or enter on THEATRIS?
THEATRIS offers profiles of independent theater makers and locations in Saxony-Anhalt, pages about single productions and projects as well as dates related to the independent performing arts in the state. This is the basis for a statewide event schedule, an index of all players and a production archive altogether accomanied by a magazine area. Profiles can be created for single artists, groups or locations and contain texts, photos, contact information, keywords, press quotes as well as a list of all contributors in case of a group profile. Furthermore, locations can enter their opening hours, information on accessibility or hygiene regulations. For productions or projects pages containing texts, a gallery, links, a list of the contributors, information on the duration, language, recommended age, accessibility or bookability as well as press quotes, can be created. Dates can be set up with their location, date and time, a ticket link, entrance fees, information on the organizers, accessibility and safety and marked as an opening night to highlight them.
Who can register on THEATRIS?
Everyone can register on THEATRIS and create an account to compile a bookmark list for example. Profiles can be created for people and groups working in Saxony-Anhalt. Place of residence or office are irrelevant.
What is the pricing of THEATRIS?
THEATRIS can be used for free! And this won't change. LanZe as operator of THEATRIS is a non-profit organization and regional association of the independent performing arts, theater education, amateur theater and artistic work with, for and by children and youngsters in Saxony-Anhalt. The association is institutionally funded by the State of Saxony-Anhalt and also raises further funds for projects and single undertakings. This is why we provide THEATRIS for free and seek to manage the editing, development and the support of the stakeholders as part of our activities. Still, we are always very happy about support of any kind!
How can I support THEATRIS?
First of all: Thank you! THEATRIS always needs support and it is great that you are thinkiing about helping us to improve and continue to run the platform! You can help us in many ways - not only with money, but of course a solide funding is very important.
Advertise THEATRIS! – THEATRIS pursues the goal to become THE online platform for the independent performing arts in Saxony-Anhalt. Whenever someone wonders what to do tonight, the answer should be: "Let's have a look on THEATRIS!" So, tell your friends and colleagues that THEATRIS exists and can be used for free. We want many people to discover the independent performing arts in Saxony-Anhalt because this doesn't only help THEATRIS but also all cultural workers in the region.
You have suggestions or found a mistake? – Modern web projects are actually never "finished". We want to develop THEATRIS further and are therefore happy about positive or negative comments and proposals. Please send us an email to info@theatris-lsa.de or use the contact form.
You want to support us financially? – This is wonderful and helps us to improve THEATRIS and keep it up and running also beyond 2023! LanZe as a non-profit organization can issue contribution receipts for donations. If you want to donate to THEATRIS, please send us an email to info@theatris-lsa.de.
What are the colors for?
The colors represent the single sections and associations that LanZe represents and supports as a member. Magenta stands for the professional independent performing arts and BFDK, yellow for the independent theater education and BUT, cyan for the theater by, for and with young people and ASSITEJ as well as BAG Spiel und Theater and dark blue for the amateur theater and BDAT. The independent performing arts are colorful!
Why do some things look so strange? Is THEATRIS not finished yet?
Clear answer: No! THEATRIS is based on its users and their content and therefore never completely finished. We are constantly working on the advancement and optimization of THEATRIS. If you find mistakes or problems or you have suggestions for improvement we'll be happy to receive your feedback. Please send us an email to info@theatris-lsa.de or use the contact form.
For stakeholders
I want to participate! What should I do?
This is great! To participate in THEATRIS, please create an account first by clicking on "Login" in the upper right cornern and then on "Create new account". Then you can enter your account information and after sending the form yo will receive an email with a link to set your password. Open the link, click on "Login" and enter a password of your choice. Afterwards you are registered, logged in and ready to go! Now you can create profiles for you and your colleagues, locations, porductions and projects as well as dates and you are part of the THEATRIS community. Welcome!
What should I do to create content on THEATRIS?
First, you need an account. After registering and logging in, you can click on "My account" in the upper right corner and choose which type of content you want to create via the red buttons.
We have divided the input fields into several tabs and marked all mandatory fields with an asterisk. All other fields are optional but we recommend to take some time and fill them in as well, so that your content on THEATRIS can be presented in the best way an be found easier.
The data on THEATRIS is structured and linked with each other. This is why it is advisable to follow this order when creating content:
1. Create profiles
2. Create productions and projects
3. Create locations and organizers if needed
4. Enter dates
Profiles can only be linked in productions and projects if they have been created before. So, if you want to enter the cast of your current project, you have to create profiles for everyone first. Afterwards you can choose them in the project. The same apllies to group profiles.
For dates it is necessary to mention the location and organizer. Here, you also have to create these profiles first before they can be linked.
Where do I find help on the input fields?
No worries: We know that all these many fields can be confusing at the beginning. With some practice it will be easier and faster soon! To support you, we have put texts below the fields in many cases or little questions marks next to them that display further information upon clicking. Here you can find explanations on what the single fields are for. If you still have questions, the next paragraph will provide you with further information. And if all of this doesn't help, just send us an email with your questions to info@theatris-lsa.de or use the contact form. We are happy to help you!
How do I use the field…?
"Active since": … asks since when you have been working in the independent performing arts.
Address: … serves to locate your profiles. IMPORTANT: Without a location, your profile will not show in the list of all players! But it is not necessary to enter your complete address - a city or municipality is enough. If everything went right, you will see a map on your profile with an icon indicating your (approximate) location.
"Allow claiming": … flags the content as belonging not to yourself but serving as a placeholder for someone else. Like this you can create profiles for all contributors to a production you have created to link them in the cast list for example and afterwards your colleagues will have the possibility to claim them after they have registered on THEATRIS.
Alternative text: … serves for screenreaders to read to people with visual impairments what is shown on a picture. So, this is very important! Please take some time to describe the contents of your photos well and also see the paragraph "What should I keep in mind about photos?".
Attribution: … offers you the possibility to determine the source and authors of your photos and decide if and how they may be used by others. Information on creative commons licenses can be found here for example: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/
Bookable event: … flags whether a production is bookable and can be invited. Afterwards you can link profiles of contact persons, upload a technical rider and enter details about the most important parameters like setup and breakdown time and technical requirements.
Custom section title: … offers the possibility for group profiles or locations to determine what shall be displayed above the list of contributors (e. g. "Team" or "Members").
Event description: … refers to the title of the production or project you want to create a date for.
Focus: … provides a selection of keywords that you can assign to your contents and that can be used to search for them and find them selectively. Please, definitely take a moment for this!
Gallery: … offers the possibility to add images to your content that can then be browsed. You can also add videos from YouTube or Vimeo. After choosing and uploading the photos or videos, you can drag and drop them by clickiing to change their order of appearance. You can also edit the caption and alternative text by using the pen icon.
Legal information link / Legal information: … offers space to state your legal notice / imprint as a link to your own website or free text. For event organizers it is mandatory to state a legal notice.
Link text: … replaces the URL by a linked text if needed (e. g. "Click here for tickets").
Logo:… will be displayed next to the profile image in the format 1:1.
Main Credit: … offers the possibility to flag one profile as the main responsible for a production or project, e. g. if they are supposed to appear under the label of a certain group. Like this you could for example assign "Production X" to "Comapny Y" and then add all single contributors with their roles additionally. Then the remark "by Comapny Y" would be shown below the title "Production X".
Main image: … is the image that will be displayed as a banner across the upper area of your contents below title and sub-title. The original file will be rendered into the format 2:1 and cropped. After uploading or by using the pen icon at the image thumbnail in editing mode, you can change the position of the little white cross shown in the image to choose which section shall be used for clipping.
Member: … serves to link other profiles as members of a group or contributors to a production. In order for this to work, these profiles have to be created first. Upon typing their titles you will then see automatic suggestions and can choose the right profile by clicking.
Organizer: … determines the profile that is responsible for a certain date. It is necessary to state an organizer to create a date. Organizers have to provide a legal notice (as link or text) in their profiles.
Premiere: … serves to flag one date as opening night of a production or project in order to highlght this date in the event schedule.
Profile image: … is the image shown as a square below the main image as well as in links to this profile. The original image will be rendered into the format 1:1 and clipped. After uploading or by using the pen icon at the image thumbnail in editing mode, you can change the position of the little white cross shown in the image to choose which section shall be used for clipping.
Role (Member): … serves to determine which role the linked profile has within a group or production (e. g. "Director" or "Management" or "Snow White").
Role (Profile type): … flags whether a profile is for an artist or an organizer. It is also possible to select both options if you are working as an artist and hosting your own events. For a profile to be selectable as organizer for a certain date, the checkbox "Organizer" must be activated and a legal notice (as link or text) must be provided. Locations are automatically activated as organizers.
Section: … serves to assign contents to the single sections of the independent performing arts represented by LanZe. Each section will be displayed by a certain color accomanying the respective contents. It is possible to choose multiple sections - the independent performing arts are colorful!
Social media accounts: … offers you the possibility to connect your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube profiles. IMPORTANT: Please only enter the part of the URL after ".com/" into the field!
Status: … serves to flag whether a production or project is still active or already archived.
Tagline/Headline: … will be displayed below the title of a content and offers the possibility for further information like "Company XY - Theater in public space" or "Production Z – An interactive play".
TaSS: … flags a production as part of the TaSS program. Further information can be found in the paragraph "What does TaSS mean?".
Type: … flags whether a profile is for a single artist or a group. For group profiles the single members can be linked afterwards.
What should I consider as an event organizer?
Event organizers are legally obliged to provide a legal notice. To do so you can add a link to the legal notice on your own website under "Profile" > "Add contact data" > "Legal information link". Alternatively, information can only be entered in the field "Legal information".
For a profile to be selectable as organizer of a certain date, the checkbox "Organizer" must also be activated under "Basic information" > "Profile type" > "Role". For locations this is automatically set.
Why can't I just add my colleagues to a group or an event but have to create a profile for them first?
Profiles are important to structure and link the data on THEATRIS. Like this is is possible for example to collect all contributions of a certain person to different projects. Otherwise there would be no possibility to detect in retrospect that "Jane Doe" in "Production A", "Project B" and "Workshop C" is actually the same person. If "Jane Doe" would then come, create a profile and ask that all these contents are linked to her profile, every single one of these contents would have to be researched by hand, changed and updated. We avoid this by using profiles that have to be created first before they can be linked. This might seem a little difficult in the beginning but it will facilitate and speed up the handling of THEATRIS and its data in the future.
Why am I supposed to create profiles for others? What does "Allow claiming" mean?
Before a person, a group or a location can be mentioned and linked in a content, a profile needs to be created first. An explanation of why this is can be found in the previous paragraph. So, if you want to enter the cast of your current production, you have to create profiles for everyone who shall be linked first. But these profiles don't have to be filled in completely right away. For the start it is enough to enter the respective title and location. This doesn't take all too long. To show that the profiles that you create for others are not your own, you can activate the switch "Allow claiming". Like this the profile is flagged to be only an entry in the database and placeholder without a real person behind it for the moment. Whenever the respective person will then join THEATRIS, they have the possibility to claim the existing profile with all data already existing.
How to create dates?
To be able to create a date you have to create the corresponding production or project first. Afterwards it is the easiest way to open the production or project via "My account" > "My content" and click on "Add date" in the paragraph "Upcoming dates". Like this all relevant information from the production or project will be copied automatically into the date.
Should I rather create one date with several parts/repetitions or seperate date pages?
This depends on the type of the dates: If multiple dates for one production or project are completely identical (same location, same organizer etc. - for example recurring shows of a production at the same theater), it is sufficient to create one date page for it and add a series of multiple dates. Like this all information will be displayed identically for every single date and you can save time. But if the dates differ with regards to their content, you have create separate pages for them. For example you can create a separate date for an opening night and flag it as a "Premiere" to highlight it. Also for different locations or organizers or to add a different ticket link for every date it is necessary to create separate date pages.
What should I keep in mind about photos?
First you should make sure that your photos have a good resolution. Images that are smaller than 1,000 pixels in width or height might be displayed blurred and are not recommendable.
In the captions you can decribe the photos briefly, so people know what they are seeing. For photos that show persons it also makes sense to name them in the caption.
Please also take some time to add alternative texts to your photos. These are used by screenreaders (assistance software reading out screen displays) to enable people with visual impairments who can't see images to get an impression of what is shown there. How good alternative texts should be designed can be found here for example: https://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/
What are the single license types for photos for?
THEATRIS offers the possibility to define rights for fotos differently. "All rights reserved" marks that your images must not be used without your consent. The other license types allow the use by others under certain conditions. More information can be found here:
Creative commons licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/?lang=en
GNU General Public License: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License
What is an announcement?
Announcements allow you to point out and highlight the latest events regarding you and your work. They will be displayed in your profiles as well as in the magazine and on the landing page. You can use them for announcing opening nights or calls like "Participants for new projects wanted!" for example.
To create an announcement, open the respective profile via "My Account" > "My content" and click "Add announcement".
Why does my profile not show in the list of profiles?
This could be because you have not entered a location in your profile. As the list of the profiles is linked to the map, profiles without a location are not displayed. But it is not necessary, to publish your complete address. A ZIP code or the name of your city is enough.
Why is there no map on my profile?
To have a map displayed on your profile and also have it shown in the overview of all profiles, your geographic location has to be identified by our system. It is not necessary to enter a complete addres though - the name of the city or municipality is sufficient. If your profile doesn't display a map, you either haven't entered a location under "Address" or the system can't identify your location. In the second case it can help to check the name of the city you entered and delete possible appendixes (e. g. only "Halle" instead of "Halle (Saale)" or "Thale" instead of "Thale OT Friedrichsbrunn"). It's best to try it out and check whether the displayed position is right. If evertything doesn't work, please send us an email to info@theatris-lsa.de or use the contact form.
How can I manage my content on THEATRIS?
To manage your content on THEATRIS, log in and click on "My account" in the upper right corner. After scrolling down a little, you will see all contents you have created under "My content". You can open them by clicking.
How can I edit my content on THEATRIS?
To edit your content on THEATRIS, log in and open the content you want to edit (see previous paragraph). In the upper right corner next to the title of the content you will see an icon with three dots in it. Click it and choose "Edit".
How can I translate my content on THEATRIS?
THEATRIS is available in German and English and thereby offers you the possibility to communicate your contents to an international audience. The standard language of THEATRIS is German. To translate your content on THEATRIS into English, log in and open the content you want to translate. In the upper right corner next to the title of the content you will see an icon with three dots in it. Click it and choose "Translate" and afterwards click "Add" in the row "English".
In case you need help or a start for the translation, translation tools can be helpful. An automatic translation can be found under https://www.deepl.com/en/translator for example and an extensive dictionary under https://www.leo.org/englisch-deutsch.
How can I delete my content on THEATRIS?
To delete your content on THEATRIS, log in and open the content you want to delete. In the upper right corner next to the title of the content you will see an icon with three dots in it. Click it and choose "Delete".
I'm not registered on THEATRIS yet but there already is a profile for me. Why is that? How can I claim it?
THEATRIS uses profiles to structure and concentrate the correspondign data. So, if you want to enter the cast of a production, you have to create profiles for everyone first before you can link them in the production. The profiles don't have to be filled in completely but only with a title and location and serve as placeholders. Accordingly, it is possible that someone has already created a profile for you to link you in a production for example. This information is then already part of the profile. To show that the creators have created the profile for someone else, usually they have allowed claiming for it. To claim the profile for yourself, register on THEATRIS first and log in afterwards. When you open your profile then, you will see an icon with a little flag in it in the upper right corner next to the title of the profile. After clicking it, a dialogue will open where you can send us a message and ask for the transfer of the profile to your account. We will check your request and make you the owner of the profile. Then you will be able to see the profile in your account and edit it.
How can I report faulty or problematic content?
If you should happen to find faulty or problematic (racist, sexist etc.) content on THEATRIS, we ask you to let us know as soon as possible. To do so, please click on the symbol with the megaphone in the upper right corner of the content you want to report. This will open a dialogue where you can send us a message regarding the cause of your report. We will then check your report.
What does "TaSS" mean?
"TaSS" is an abbreviation for the program "Theater als Schule des Sehens". For more than 10 years now, TaSS has been bringing theater to elementary and special schools in rural areas and thereby focused on young students or thos with special needs.Especially in the rural areas of Saxony-Anhalt schools are facing great logistic and financial challenges when trying to offer a theater visit to their students. This is why TaSS offers to convey professional mobile theatre shows for children to the schools right on site in their premises. Like this around 30 to 35 guest performances of independent theater makers per year are facilitated for elementary and special schools in rural areas.
The funding of the performances is supported mostly by grants of the State of Saxony-Anhalt. Schools only pay a little participation fee. Further information can be found here: https://www.lanze-lsa.de/macht/projekte