TheaterReview.Com Frequently Asked Questions

THEATERREVIEW BACKGROUND

• What is TheaterReview.Com?
  
• Who is TheaterReview.com?
  
• Why theater and not theatre?
  
• I’m a web geek. What sort of technology are you using to do this site?
  

HOW TO

• I want to review a play! How do I do it?
  
• How can I add a show/company/venue/person/cast&crew list to TheaterReview?
  
• I’m a local Actor/Director/Stage Manager/etc., how can I get listed on TheaterReview.Com? Do I send you my resume or what?
  
• The information about me/my company/my venue/my show is wrong! How can I change it?
  

PHILOSOPHY

• What do the numerical ratings mean in the reviews?
  
• I want to be an anonymous reviewer because I’m afraid everyone will hate me.
  
• What stops people from giving themselves glowing reviews?
  
• What stops people from giving vengeful reviews?
  

THEATERREVIEW BACKGROUND

What is TheaterReview.Com?

TheaterReview is an Atlanta community resource aimed to provide the following services:

• A forum for public feedback on Atlanta theater productions, which should serve to spread the word on fantastic productions and provide constructive criticism for weaker ones.
• Information on the theater arts scene, including show information, audition notices, etc.
• Interactive theaterographies of Atlanta arts personnel.
• A Skill and Resume database to provide theater companies a means to find personnel.
• Forums for discussion of theater related topics.

Who is TheaterReview.com?

Because TheaterReview is an American site.

Actually, either spelling is correct according to www.dictionary.com, but www.theatrereview.com was already taken. Otherwise, we would have grabbed both.

The database is the open source MySQL engine (www.mysql.org). The language we use to generate the web pages is a PERL derivative known as PHP3 (www.php3.com). They’re neat-o keen, and they’re both free as can be.

HOW TO

Sign up for a user account (it’s free!). Then, after logging in, go to the production page and click on "REVIEW THIS PRODUCTION".

It’s that simple.

The following can be added on our SUBMISSIONS page:

• Productions
• Companies
• Venues
• People
• Cast or Crew listings
• Images (for People, Productions, Company or Venues)

All submissions appear on the site immediately except for images, which require moderator approval.

If you are a theater company manager or staff, you can request administrative powers be added to your user account for your company. This will give you the ability to add and make changes to company info, production info and cast & crew info. Send us an email with your username and company you would like to administrate. Administration is done by logging in and going to the YOUR ACCOUNT page.

If you are a Person who is listed in our PERSON database, you can also request administrative powers be added to your user account for your PERSON record. This will give you the ability to add and make changes to your Person information, including name spelling, email address, gender, skills, image, and resume. Send us an email with your username and Person you would like to administrate. Administration is done by logging in and going to the YOUR ACCOUNT page.

If you are not already listed in our Person database (and be sure to check! There’s lots of folks in there…), then you can add your Person info (or the Person info of someone you know) by going to the SUBMISSIONS page. You can also add an image (digital headshot) and skills on this page.

If you are already listed, and want to add credits, the way this is done is by adding productions and then yourself as a cast & crew member of those productions on the SUBMISSIONS page.

If you are a Person who is listed in our PERSON database, you can request administrative powers be added to your user account for your PERSON record by sending us a note. This will give you the ability to add and make changes to your Person information, including name spelling, email address, gender, skills, image, and resume. Send us an email with your username and Person you would like to administrate. Administration is done by logging in and going to the YOUR ACCOUNT page.

If you are a theater Company manager or staff, you can request administrative powers be added to your user account for your company by sending us a note. This will give you the ability to add and make changes to company info, production info and cast & crew info. Send us an email with your username and company you would like to administrate. Administration is done by logging in and going to the YOUR ACCOUNT page.

If you are a Venue manager or staff, request changes through our webform. We have not yet implemented administrative powers for Venues.

If you are not associated with the Person, Company, Venue, or Production in question, you can submit corrections by sending us a note.

PHILOSOPHY

A subject of much debate on this site. What's in a number?

For the record, this is the "official" webmaster's guideline for numerical ratings of productions, bearing in mind that no one is beholden to this system if they don't want to be. You can also chose to not have a rating in your review, by selecting NR.

• 0 - No artistic merit; An insult to the name "theater". The theater company in question should have killed the show before opening, or shortly thereafter.
• 1 - Little artistic merit. Sloppily or poorly produced, acted and/or directed. There may be a tiny segment of society that would find value here, but the vast majority would demand their money back and/or never return to see something at that theater again.
• 2 - Weak, but with some redeeming qualities. There may be highlights, but overall does not satisfy. This may include shows with stellar acting/directing/technical and a weak script, or vice versa. Also may be a show that is done well overall, but just does not appeal to the reviewer in question. Some people hate Shakespeare, some people hate Musical Comedies, no matter how well they are done. See the review for details.
• 3 - A "good" show. Enjoyable, worth the price of admission. Satisfactory performances, pleasing technically. A mixture of strong and weak qualities, averaging out to a solid show worth getting out of the house and seeing.
• 4 - A "great" show. Exceptional, a should-see, enthusiastically recommended. There may be a noticeable weak aspect to the piece (an actor, a scene, a plot point) or a questionable choice made, but that is overwhelmed by the totality.
• 5 - Excellence distilled into theatrical form. A must-see, important piece of theater, or at the very least a perfect example of the genre. No apparent flaws.

And of course, the .5 increments are thrown in as well, for that "better than great, but not quite excellent" shows.

The general public does not have access to user info, and it never will. However, because we maintain the databases here at TheaterReview.com, we are privy to the user info, which we promise not to divulge to any living (or dead) soul without your permission.

That said, don't be surprised if an anonymous review is not taken as credible as one with a name to back it up.

Nothing except their own conscience. Shame, shame!

If you click on the reviewers link, you will see a great many single-review reviewers, folks who popped on, wrote a single glowing review and were never heard from again. While we don't mean to discourage first-time reviewers, understand that newbies will not enjoy the credibility of old-timers.

The icons next to a reviewers name indicate, in general, how many reviews have been made. By clicking on a reviewer's username, you will see all the reviews they've written, and for what theaters. If a reviewer has written 1 or 2 reviews, and they are all for the same theater, we may not be inclined to let their reviews carry the same weight as someone with a greater breadth of reviewership.

Bias and bile are, alas, part of human nature. We are trying to hold back the chaos here at theaterreview by pruning reviews which contain obvious personal attacks. However, we are not psychoanalytical enough to be able to reliably tell a sincere, bad review from a biased, vengance-driven one. Sometimes it is easy, sometimes it is a grey area. If you see a review that is questionable, please let us know and we will review it.

Question not answered or corrections for our database? send us a note