Help
If you're lost or confused, this page should help you get back on track. If you're not lost or confused, then this page might tell you something you don't already know about show_DB. Read on!
The Basics
show_DB can be quite a daunting site at first, with a lot of information thrown at you. Don't be scared, we've done our best to make it easy and intuitive. To get around, remember these simple rules:
- If it's underlined, it's a link. You can click on it to move around the site.
- If it's in a list, clicking on a name will always take you to a page telling you more.
- Your back button will always work, so if you end up somewhere you don't want to be just click 'back'.
Should you ever get really lost, then the menu will always be visible on the left of the page.
Using Lists
Shows
Show lists are used on the homepage and the list of shows. They are all the same, and come in four columns. The show's name (You can click this to see more about the show), the date of the first performance, whether the show was a play, pantomime, musical or review, and finally a 'more information' column.
Lists are usually sorted by the date of the show, but in some places you can click a column header to sort the shows differently.
Actors
Actor lists look slightly different, depending on where in the site you are. They will always show the name of the actor (Click it to see more about the actor), and may also show the years the actor has been seen in Whitkirk Arts Guild (On actor lists and search results), or the role the actor played (On show detail pages).
These lists are sorted by the surname, then the first name of the actor.
Roles
Every actor's detail page shows a list of every show they have taken part in (Click the name to see more), and what roles they had in that performance. This list is always in chronological order.
Posters and Images
A show may be associated with a poster, photographs or newspaper clippings. You will be told if these are available in the 'More' column of any show list, as well as in the details box at the top of any show details page.
Poster availability is shown by a small, clickable version of the poster.
'More' Icons
Around the site, you may see several icons in the 'More' column of show lists. These can be clicked to leap straight to the content, and mean:
There are some photographs available to view for this show.
There are newspaper clippings available to view for this show.
There are reviews available to read for this show.
There are video clips available to view for this show.
Searching
To search show_DB, simply go to the search page and enter what you're looking for. If we can't find an exact match in the database we will even search for things which sound like what you're looking for, so don't worry too much about perfect spellings.
I'm still stuck!
If you are still confused, feel free to get in touch by using the contact page and we'll do our best to help you out.