We're launching a new feature called groups on the National Theatre Wales site today. Here's some of our thinking behind it.

This community now has nearly 500 members from all over Wales and the world. We're a diverse bunch in the theatre scene - we have writers, actors, directors, enthusiasts, musicians, other companies, people "formerly known as the audience" and more.

Our aim with this site is to encourage good conversation among likeminded people. With only the one central place for all discussions, it could start to get a bit noisy. So we think it would serve us well to have smaller communities within the larger network.

You can still do everything that was possible before. For instance, we are still using the main forum for general interest discussions. But now, joining a group is a way to focus your interest and conversation down to something more detailed and specific. You can think of a group as being like a room at a party. If you're familiar with Facebook groups, the groups on this site behave in a similar way.

Do you run your own theatre company? If you want a presence for your company on this network, starting a group is the best way. One benefit is you can also message everyone in your group with news and upcoming events. People who see your group can join immediately without needing any extra admin from you. Alternatively you can invite people to join your group.

If you have any questions or queries about creating and running a group, get in touch with myself or Carl.

Enjoy!