Event instances

Add the individual dated occurrences of an event: what audiences see as showtimes

An event instance is a single dated occurrence of an event: what audiences see as a showtime. One event can have many event instances: a production with a four-week run has roughly 30 instances. A one-off concert has one. The terms "performance" and "event instance" mean the same thing in Basker. The canonical product term is event instance.

Event instances belong to an event. The event holds the editorial detail (synopsis, creative team, programming context), and each instance holds the date, time, and any per-night specifics.

What an event instance contains

The instance editor has six tabs: Instance Detail, Content, Booking, Theme Settings, Custom Attributes, and SEO. The Instance Detail tab carries the core fields:

Event (required): the parent event the instance belongs to.
Title and Description: optional overrides for special performances such as opening nights, captioned performances, or post-show talks.
Venue, Duration, Company: optional overrides for tour dates, runouts, or co-productions.
Start Date (required) and Timezone: the showtime.
Season, Series, Works: optional overrides. Instances inherit these from their event by default.

The right-hand sidebar carries:

Slug with a Generate from title toggle.
Main Image: uploaded or picked from the media library.
Hide Event Instance?: hides the instance from the public site without deleting it.
Hide Start Time?: hides the start time on the public site (useful when the time is not announced yet).

By default an instance inherits everything from its parent event. You only fill in the fields that need to differ.

Add an event instance

Open the parent event

Open the event you want to add an instance to. Switch to the Instances tab, which lists existing instances. Or open Event Instances under Event Model in the main sidebar to start a new instance there.

Start a new instance

Click to create a new instance. If the parent Event is not already set, pick it on the Instance Detail tab.

Set the date and time

Enter the Start Date. Pick its Timezone. Along with the parent Event, Start Date is the only other required field. Most instances need nothing else, because they inherit the rest from the event.

Set any overrides

Override the Title for special performances. Override the Venue for tour dates or runouts. If the instance differs from the event's defaults, override the Company, Season, Series, or Works.

Add a main image, hide rules, and content

If the main image differs from the event's, set a per-instance Main Image in the sidebar. Toggle Hide Event Instance? or Hide Start Time? if needed. Use the Content tab to add content blocks for this instance.

Save

Click Save Draft. When the instance should go live, click Publish. Publishing the parent event can also publish its instances. See Drafts, preview, and publishing. Once published, the instance appears in listings that your theme generates from upcoming-event data.

Worked examples

Two examples where overrides are useful.

Touring date with a different venue

A production runs at your home venue for three weeks, then takes a single date at a partner venue across the city. The event's primary venue is your home venue. The touring date is one event instance with the Venue field overridden to the partner venue. Audiences see the right venue on every listing: the home venue for the three-week run, the partner venue for the one-off. You do not have to duplicate the event.

Opening night with a different title

The production is Remarkable Theatre Summer Show. Opening night includes an after-show talk and appeals to a different audience. You want it to read as "Remarkable Theatre Summer Show: Opening Night" in listings and search, instead of blending in with the rest of the run. Override the Title on that single event instance. The instance shows the override. Every other instance still inherits from the parent event.

Recurring instances

For a production with many instances on a regular pattern, add the first instance, then duplicate it to create each additional date. Adjust the date on each duplicate.