BuddyPress.org

I am trying to figure out if wordpress+ buddy press is the right choice for our uses. Also looking for theme & plugin suggestions. More specifically if we should go with a wordpress multisite in order to be able to create different pages under the same domain, some of which would utilize different wordpress/buddy press themes in order to cater to their diverse needs. The biggest reason I see for using multisite is because it would help manage all of the “websites” of the domain and allow our users to have a single login- which can then be used to give them proper access to what ever productions, programs etc they are involved in.

The site would cater to a Theater and Performing arts community that stages a number of plays throughout the year as well as a theater festival, creates workshops and other programs for folks in the area and has affiliations with smaller groups who run everything from monthly script readings to a juggling club. People are making alot of things happen in our small community, and they need a way of reaching out to the public (We are imagining a wordpress site) and a way of collaborating online (we are imagining the buddypress back-end)

We are in the process of trying to figure out how we can help organize all of these programs and productions but from what we have read, it seems as thought wordpress/buddy press would work great for the productions we do each year.

Each production has between 10 and 100 participants (actors, set design, musicians etc) involved behind the scenes. If we are doing a production of Grease, we would create a wordpress site for it. This wordpress site could be used for them to blog/promote the show to the public. With the buddy press plugin, the production team could create groups with forums to help organize everything from set design to rehearsal schedules. With buddy press you can create a group for anything from stage crew to a few actors needing to talk about a particular act/scene.

As we are a small community, there is alot of overlap among the actors and behind the scenes crews. My understanding is that a member/user can create a profile and then be given access to the site they need on the wordpress multi-site… so if they are part of a given production, they can be assigned to that production’s website.

Each website would have some freedom to choose their theme, and organize the buddy press backend of their website ( file depository, forums, chat, calendar etc) When the production was all done, we would leave that wordpress site up or take it down, or maybe archive it somehow until we want to do that production again.

We can do the same thing with our summer programs. Allow them to create their own wordpress site, to reach out to the public (their public face). Additonally the instructors and counselors can use the buddy press plugin to organize behind the scenes.

Thoughts? I see alot of people saying that the multisite should be avoided. But it seems as though it would be ideal for our situation.

Any other suggestions? We have yet to find a theme that looks great for our festival. Many would work for the productions we are doing.