A Custom Website for Divadlo Mir by the Rocketeers from Ostrava

The result is a fully scalable, unified, and user-friendly system. Behind it is a story of collaboration that grew beyond the usual client-supplier relationship.

In this interview, Vojtěch Baránek, who led the project and the development team, talks about the technical challenges, what meetings at the theatre were like, and what “Dopamine Board” and “golden maze men” mean in his office.

Vojta, how did the collaboration with Divadlo Mír begin?

Divadlo Mír approached us directly. After looking around the market, they found that only a handful of studios in the Czech Republic could build such a complex system within their budget. They also liked that we were from Ostrava, just like them. After a few meetings, we connected both personally and technically, shook hands, and got to work.

How many people worked on the project?

Quite a few people from the ProRocketeers team contributed, although not everyone was involved for the entire duration. Some joined for specific phases or helped with particular implementations. I would especially like to mention and thank Martin Polák, Jirka Vala, and Vojta Ferák for their key contributions.

What were the main requirements and goals?

The main goal was to modernise the theatre’s existing systems and bring them together. The idea was to give Divadlo Mír’s customers a single system and the friendliest possible user experience, while offering more benefits to MírPlay subscribers.

The first phase connected the theatre website to MírPlay, which was technically demanding. The new system draws on five years of experience at Divadlo Mír and on their vision for how it should develop. They can now put those ideas into practice, something no off-the-shelf system could offer or support. The theatre wanted to streamline the process of putting performances on sale and configure different sales options to fit its needs, based on years of experience with its previous ticketing system. We built the entire system around the theatre’s experience and requirements.

One of the usual advantages of custom development is that the customer owns the finished work. The software belongs to Divadlo Mír, and they can use it as they see fit (we hope they will continue working with us ✌️).

What was the biggest challenge at the start of the collaboration?

First, we had to understand Divadlo Mír’s requirements properly, map them in detail, and analyse them. We needed to agree on shared terminology, especially for theatre-specific terms, and understand both their current processes and the way the old system worked. We also explored what the new system could offer. That allowed us to show the theatre’s team features and solutions they often did not know were possible, and significantly improve how they used the system.

What were the biggest technical challenges?

One of the most complex tasks was unifying user accounts so that each person would have a single profile for buying tickets on the Divadlo Mír website and for using MírPlay.

From a technical perspective, the biggest challenge was probably optimising the system to handle the extreme rush when ticket sales opened. For example, dozens of performances of the comedy Hráči sold out in just 24 hours. Because we build our applications with scalability and performance in mind, everything went smoothly.

Another complex area was refunding tickets when unexpected events occur. These situations are rare, but they do happen, for example, in connection with the floods in September 2024. The process involves fairly complex logic: issuing refunds, rescheduling a performance, and putting tickets back on sale.

Across all our projects, we aim to use the latest technologies that have also stood the test of time. They make our work easier and ensure reliable management and room to expand in the future. This project was no exception.

What does the system run on, and why did you choose this approach?

The system is built primarily on the Next.js stack, specifically its latest version with the App Router. We made full use of what the latest Next.js has to offer: React Server Components, server actions, and partial rendering. The system also includes a back office for managing website content. The administration is tailored to Divadlo Mír and can manage not only individual pages, but also ticket sales, which are closely integrated with the website. We followed proven best practices, resulting in a very fast, user-friendly solution that scales out of the box.

Which custom features did you build?

User-friendliness was a key requirement. The system is ready to sell tickets not only for Divadlo Mír, but also for other theatres. For example, it can sell tickets to visiting companies’ performances at Divadlo Mír, as well as to Divadlo Mír performances hosted by other theatres. Those tickets may or may not be sold through the Divadlo Mír system. Either way, visitors always see the date of the touring performance on the website. If an external provider handles the sale, the system automatically redirects the user to the right platform.

What do you see as the biggest benefit of the new system?

For the audience, the main benefit is having one overview of the programme, regardless of who handles ticket sales. For the theatre, it is the extensive range of sales and pricing options that can be configured for different performances, theatres, and combinations of the two.

What were the biggest difficulties during development, and how did you resolve them?

Unfortunately, at the beginning we did not have the right people in the right roles, which affected the initial phase most. Later, the entire visual design changed. That is not unusual, of course, but it did affect project planning. In general, we try to avoid fixed scopes and prices because new requirements or better technical solutions often emerge during development. Clients may have a clear idea, but sometimes it is technically impossible, or there is a much friendlier way to do it. In other words, they do not know what they do not know. That is when flexibility matters. At times, the gap between the original idea, the brief, and the final implementation made things a little difficult.

Even with those obstacles, we always managed to move forward in a positive atmosphere.

Weekly in-person meetings between me and the Divadlo Mír representatives proved essential. I showed them what we had built in demos, and together we discussed what the system could do next and looked for the best solution. In my experience, in-person brainstorming is always the most productive.

How did you work with the Divadlo Mír team?

We worked most closely with marketing director Honza Lipovský on the website’s look and content, aiming for pixel-perfect precision 😄, the greatest possible accuracy, with no deviations from the design (editor’s note). We usually discussed the sales side of the website with Verča Kusa, one of the system’s main users. A huge thank-you to both of you for the great collaboration.

What was development like at the ProRocketeers office?

From the moment I took over the project, I tried to bring the good atmosphere from our theatre meetings back to the office. Sometimes the team worked late into the evening, but because we pulled together, we made it to the finish line.

During the final stage, when things got really intense, we created our “Dopamine Board”. It was a regular wipe-clean board where we wrote down tasks that kept appearing every few minutes during final testing. Whoever solved something got their dopamine hit by erasing that task. When we stayed late into the night, Fidorka wafers and pizza kept us going. Some tricky issues called for more than the Dopamine Board, so we created a standing-ovation “Golden Maze Men Board”, where we awarded golden maze men to one another. I would also like to thank colleagues from other projects who joined in and helped on their own initiative, drawn in by the great atmosphere.

What did you enjoy most about the project?

Working with the Divadlo Mír team was great. The best part was that we all shared the same goal: to build the best possible product for its users.

We got along as people, and we handled every challenge in a positive atmosphere. Communication was pleasant, practical, and often fun, and that definitely shows in the result.

Are you planning to add new features to the website in the future?

The website is ready for various new features that we discussed during development. Whether they go ahead is up to Divadlo Mír. They are a very creative team, so I would not be surprised if something new appeared soon.

Which technologies will play a key role in the future of websites for cultural organisations?

I see the future in a unified experience that still feels distinctive to each theatre, exactly what Divadlo Mír has done. They want all their systems to look consistent, welcoming, and on-brand, creating the best possible fan experience and avoiding the blandness of generic systems.

Has this project changed how you feel about theatre?

Before the project, I knew about Divadlo Mír, but I did not have any particular connection to theatre. After working together and getting to know the people behind the scenes, the theatre has gained a new fan.

Thanks for the interview. We wish Divadlo Mír and all ProRocketeers’ future projects every success!