User Guide

What Is GreenRoom?

GreenRoom is a WordPress plugin that handles the entire bio collection process for theatre productions. You create a show, import your cast and crew, and each person gets a unique link to submit their bio, headshot, and social media info. Producers and stage managers can track submissions, send reminders, and export everything in the format their playbill needs.

No one needs a WordPress login. Producers manage their show from a public dashboard. Cast and crew submit bios from a simple form. You control everything from the WordPress admin.

Getting Started

Install the Plugin

1. Download GreenRoom from WordPress.org (or upload the ZIP file via Plugins > Add New).
2. Activate the plugin. You’ll see a new GreenRoom menu in your WordPress admin sidebar.

Configure Settings

Go to GreenRoom > Settings to set up your defaults before creating your first show.

Organization & Email

• Organization Name — your theatre’s name. Available in email templates as {org_name}.
• From Name and From Address — the sender identity on all outgoing emails. If left blank, WordPress defaults apply.

Important — Email Delivery

WordPress sends email through your web host by default, which is unreliable and frequently lands in spam. For dependable delivery, install WP Mail SMTP (free) and connect it to Gmail, SendGrid, or another mailer. This is strongly recommended before sending invitations to cast and crew.

Bio Limits

• Limit Mode — cap bios by word count or character count.
• Maximum / Minimum Length — enforce bio length (e.g., 100 words max, 10 words min).
• Cast / Staff Sections — when enabled, people are grouped into Cast and Staff on the dashboard and in exports. Turn this off if your production doesn’t separate the two.
• Pronouns — adds an optional pronouns field to the submission form.

Name & Role Formatting

• Controls how names and roles appear in exports (uppercase, bold, italic, title case, etc.).
• These only affect exported output, not what the person types.

Headshots

• Allow Headshot Upload — enable or disable the photo upload on the submission form.
• Minimum Dimensions — recommended minimums for print quality. Photos below these dimensions show a warning but are still accepted.
• Auto-delete After Closing — automatically removes headshot files from your server when a show’s closing date passes, freeing disk space.

Weekly Reminder Time

• Choose the day of the week and hour when automatic weekly reminders and producer status updates go out. Defaults to Monday at 9 AM.
• The settings page shows the exact date and time of the next scheduled send so you can confirm a change took effect.

Email Templates

• Customize the subject line and body for each email type: Invitation, Reminder, Confirmation, Producer Status Update, Editor Notice, and Dashboard Link.
• Use placeholders like {first_name}, {show_title}, {deadline}, and {submission_url}.
• Leave blank to use the built-in defaults.

AI Formatting

• Requires WordPress 7.0 with an AI service configured.
• Options: Off, Admin Only, or Everyone.
• When enabled, a “Clean Up with AI” button appears on the bio form that fixes grammar, applies third-person voice, and italicizes show titles.

License

• Enter your Pro license key here to unlock unlimited shows and people.
• The free plan allows 1 active show and up to 50 people per show. All other features are identical.

Creating a Show

1. Go to GreenRoom > Shows and click Add New.
2. Fill in the details:
   • Show Title — the production name (e.g., “Long After Crystal Night”).
   • URL Name — auto-generated from the title. Used in web addresses and file names.
   • Producer — name and email. This person receives weekly status updates and gets their own dashboard link.
   • CC (Stage Manager) — optional. Receives copies of producer status emails and gets their own dashboard link.
   • Editor (Playbill) — optional. Receives an email with export links when the bio deadline passes.
   • Bio Deadline — the date and time after which cast and crew can no longer submit or edit their bios.
   • Final Performance — optional. After this date, the show moves to the Archived tab. Leave blank for ongoing productions.
3. Click Create Show.

After saving, you’ll see Copy Link and Send Link actions next to each person’s row. Use these to share or email dashboard links.

Adding People

There are three ways to add cast and crew to a show.

CSV Import — Recommended for Large Casts

1. From the show’s bio page, click Import CSV in the toolbar.
2. Upload a CSV file or paste CSV data directly. The format is four columns:

   Name	Email	Role	Section
   Jane Smith	jane@example.com	Adelaide	cast
   Tom Jones	tom@example.com	Stage Manager	staff
   Sara Lee	sara@example.com	Choreographer / Ensemble	both

   • Section must be cast, staff, or both. If left empty, cast is assumed.
   • A header row is optional — it’s detected and skipped automatically.
   • Multiple rows with the same email add multiple roles to that person.
   • If the same email appears as both cast and staff, the section is automatically set to both.
3. Click Import. You’ll be taken to the bio list for that show.

Add One at a Time

From the show’s bio page, click Add Person in the toolbar. Enter a name, email, role, and section.

Production Dashboard

Producers and stage managers can also add people from their public dashboard using the same form or a CSV upload.

Returning Members

When you add someone whose email GreenRoom has seen before, their previous bio is automatically pre-filled as a starting point. The person still needs to visit their link and submit before the bio appears publicly.

Sending Invitations

After importing people, click Send Invitations in the toolbar. This sends a personalized email to everyone who hasn’t been invited yet, with a unique link to their submission form.

• People who have already been invited are skipped.
• You can resend to a specific person from their row in the bio list.
• Invitations are not sent after the deadline has passed.

The Bio Submission Form

When a person clicks their link, they see a form with:

• Their name (editable if they need to correct it)
• A rich text editor for their bio (with character/word count enforcement)
• An optional headshot upload (JPEG, PNG, or TIFF, up to 10 MB)
• An optional pronouns field and social media links
• A countdown showing how much time remains before the deadline
• An AI cleanup button (if enabled) that polishes grammar and formatting

Text pasted from Word, Google Docs, or other sources is automatically cleaned — formatting, styles, and metadata are stripped, and the text flows as a single paragraph. Italic formatting on show titles is preserved.

If a paste would exceed the bio length limit, it is rejected with a visible warning explaining why.

After submitting, they receive a confirmation email and can return to edit their bio any time before the deadline.

The Production Dashboard

The production dashboard is a public page (no WordPress login needed) where producers and stage managers manage their show. Share the link via the Copy Link or Send Link actions on the show edit form.

From the dashboard, they can:

• View submission status — see who has submitted and who hasn’t, at a glance.
• Send invitations and reminders — to individuals or in bulk.
• Add people — one at a time or via CSV import.
• Edit names and roles — inline editing, no page reload needed.
• Reorder the cast list — drag and drop for “in order of appearance” programs.
• Change designations — move people between Cast, Staff, and Both.
• Withdraw and reinstate — remove someone from the show without deleting their data.
• Export bios — in any supported format, directly from the dashboard.

Tracking Submissions

From the WordPress Admin

Go to GreenRoom > Shows, then click Bios next to a show. The toolbar shows:

• The deadline date and time
• How many bios are submitted vs. pending
• Action buttons: Add Person, Import CSV, Send Invitations, Send Reminders, AI Format All

The bio list is grouped by Cast and Staff (if designations are enabled), with a separate section for withdrawn people.

Automatic Emails

• Weekly reminders are sent automatically to anyone who hasn’t submitted, on the day and time configured in GreenRoom > Settings > Weekly Reminder Time (default: Monday at 9 AM).
• Weekly status updates go to the producer (and CC/stage manager) with a list of who’s submitted and who’s still missing, on the same schedule.
• Editor notification is sent once, automatically, when the deadline passes.

Manual Reminders

Click Send Reminders to immediately send a reminder to everyone with a missing bio. This respects a 60-second cooldown to prevent accidental double-sends.

Exporting Bios

When bios are ready, use the Export bar on the bio list page (or the production dashboard) to download in any format:

Exports only include submitted bios. People who haven’t submitted are excluded (but listed in the CSV’s “Still Waiting On” section).

Displaying Bios on Your Website

Use shortcodes to display bios directly on your WordPress site.

Single Show

[greenroom show="long-after-crystal-night"]

Replace the slug with your show’s URL name (visible on the show edit form). Displays submitted bios grouped by Cast and Staff, with headshot images and social links. When headshots are enabled, bio text wraps around the image.

Optional attributes let you control what’s displayed:

Examples:

[greenroom show="long-after-crystal-night" section="cast"]

Cast bios only (heading is automatically hidden for single-section views).

[greenroom show="long-after-crystal-night" section="staff" title="no"]

Staff bios only, no show title.

[greenroom show="long-after-crystal-night" headings="no" headshots="no"]

All bios without section headings or headshot images — useful for a text-only program page.

When the global Cast / Staff Sections setting is turned off, the shortcode automatically merges everyone into a single list with no section headings, regardless of these attributes.

Show List

[greenroom_shows]

Lists all active shows with links and deadline dates. Use status="all" to include archived shows.

Theme Customization

To customize the output, copy the template files from the plugin’s templates/ directory into a greenroom/ folder in your theme:

• greenroom/shortcode-show.php — single show display
• greenroom/shortcode-shows-list.php — show list display
• greenroom/submission-form.php — bio submission form
• greenroom/production-dashboard.php — production dashboard

The plugin’s CSS classes are all prefixed with .grbios- so they won’t conflict with your theme. Add custom styles in your theme’s stylesheet or Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS.

Managing Headshots

For Submitters

The submission form includes a headshot upload area (if enabled in Settings). Accepted formats: JPEG, PNG, TIFF. Maximum size: 10 MB. A warning appears if the image is below the recommended dimensions, but the upload is still accepted.

For Admins

From the bio edit page: Admins can upload, replace, or remove a person’s headshot using the WordPress media library picker. Select an existing image or upload a new one. The image’s title and alt text are automatically set to the person’s name, and the description is tagged “Uploaded with GreenRoom” for easy identification in the media library.

From the Headshots page: Go to GreenRoom > Headshots to see all uploaded headshots across all shows. You can:

• Filter by show using the dropdown
• View a full-size image in a new tab
• Download individual headshots
• Delete one or many headshots (with bulk select)
• See total storage used

The Auto-delete After Closing setting (in GreenRoom > Settings > Headshots) automatically removes headshot files when a show’s closing date passes.

AI Bio Formatting

When enabled (requires WordPress 7.0 with an AI connector configured), the AI formatter:

• Fixes spelling and grammar
• Converts to consistent third-person voice
• Italicizes show titles (e.g., Shrek the Musical)
• Preserves all names and facts

Single bio: Click “Clean Up with AI” on any submission form or admin bio edit page.

Bulk format: Click “AI Format All” on the bios toolbar to process all unformatted submitted bios at once.

AI-formatted bios are flagged so they aren’t processed again on subsequent bulk runs.

Free vs. Pro

To upgrade, enter your license key in GreenRoom > Settings > License. Each key is tied to one WordPress site domain.

After the Show

When the Deadline Passes

• Cast and crew can no longer submit or edit bios.
• The editor receives an automatic email with export links (if configured).
• Admins can still edit bios from the WordPress admin, including saving bios that exceed the length limit (a warning is shown but the save is not blocked).
• The production dashboard becomes read-only for exports.

When the Closing Date Passes

• The show moves to the Archived tab on the Shows page.
• Dashboard links expire 7 days after the closing date.
• Headshots are auto-deleted if that setting is enabled.
• All data (bios, people, roles) is preserved in the database.

Deleting a Show

• Pro mode: People are detached from the show but kept in the database with their bios. They can be reused in future shows.
• Free mode: People and all their data (bios, roles, headshots) are permanently deleted with the show.

Troubleshooting

“This production link has expired”

The show’s closing date has passed and the 7-day grace period is over. The admin can still access everything from the WordPress admin.

“This production link is invalid”

The link is incorrect or the token has been regenerated. Check the show edit page for the current links.

Emails Not Arriving

• Use WP Mail SMTP. WordPress’s built-in mail function is unreliable and routinely filtered as spam. Install WP Mail SMTP (free) and connect it to a real mailer (Gmail, SendGrid, Mailgun, etc.) before sending invitations.
• Check GreenRoom > Settings for correct From Name and From Address — they should match what’s configured in your SMTP plugin.
• Check spam/junk folders — even with SMTP, first-time senders can land there.
• Check the bio list: if a person’s Invited column shows —, their email was never sent. Use Send Invitations to retry.

Bio Form Shows “Read Only”

The deadline has passed. Admins can edit bios on behalf of submitters from GreenRoom > Bios.

Headshot Upload Fails

• Maximum file size is 10 MB.
• Accepted formats: JPEG, PNG, TIFF only.
• There’s a 5-second cooldown between uploads.

CSV Import Skips Rows

• Each row needs at least 3 columns: name, email, role. Section is optional.
• Section must be cast, staff, or both (case-insensitive). Leave it blank to default to cast.
• Duplicate emails within the same show are skipped (use multiple rows with the same email to add multiple roles).

Quick Reference

Admin Menu

Key URLs

Shortcodes