Research Guides: Theatre Studies: References Sources

Finding Immediate Help

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Biographical and Contextual Information

Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
This encyclopedia provides authoritative and up-to-date information about theatre and performance from ancient Greek theatre to the latest developments in London, Paris, New York, and around the globe.
Oxford Companion to American Theatre
This companion to American theater contains short articles on actors, playwrights, venues, plays, producers, directors, theatrical movements, and more in the United States.

Theatre in Context Collection
O’Dell’s Annals of the New York Stage, the Oxford University Press Companion series, and Greenwood’s American Theatre Companies series are just a few of the many in-copyright sources included in the Theatre in Context Collection. Placed alongside thousands of playbills, posters, photographs, and related theatrical ephemera, users will be able to paint a more comprehensive picture of the life and evolution of dramatic works.
Gale in Context: Biography
Online biographical reference database in the fields of literature, science, business, entertainment, politics, sports, history, current events and the arts.Biographical information on over one million people throughout history, around the world.
Oxford Reference Online
Provides full-text access to dictionaries, language reference, Islamic studies and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press.
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
The Oxford English Dictionary is the authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is a guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Search authoritative entries on a number of topics.
Credo Reference
Online collection of dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographical sources, quotations, bilingual dictionaries, and measurement conversions covering topics from the arts to the sciences.

Online Bibliographies

Oxford Bibliographies
Oxford Bibliographies presents constantly updated articles that contain citations (with annotations) and commentaries for sources across the disciplines. Users can search topics and gather relevant journal article and book citations, online resources, data sources, and more.
MLA International Bibliography (MLAIB)
The MLA International Bibliography provides bibliographic records for books, book chapters, journal articles, and dissertations published in the fields of modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics. Full text is available for some articles. The MLAIB covers items published from around 1920 to the present.
International Bibliography of Theater & Dance with Full Text
The International Index to Performing Arts Indexes journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, and monographs in theatre and the performing arts and covers 1984 to present.
World Shakespeare Bibliography Online
The World Shakespeare Bibliography Online provides annotated entries for all important books, articles, book reviews, dissertations, theatrical productions, reviews of productions, audiovisual materials, electronic media, and other scholarly and popular materials related to Shakespeare and published or produced from 1960 to the present. The scope is international, with coverage representing every country in North America, South America, and Europe and nearly every country in Asia, Africa, and Australasia.

Bibliographies in Print

A Guide to Reference and Bibliography for Theatre Research.
(Z5781 .B14 1983 Non-circulating also avail. online via HathiTrust Annotated bibliography of both general (Part 1) and specialized (Part 2) theater resources. Concentrates on the U.S. and Canada.
Theatre and allied arts; a guide to books dealing with the history, criticism, and technic of the drama and theatre and related arts and crafts,
Main Collection Offsite (Z5781 .B18 1967 ) also avail via HathiTrust. Annotated references to over 6,000 books (and parts of books) published in English between 1886 and 1948
Performing arts books, 1876-1981 : including an international index of current serial publications.
Reference Z6935 .P43 Non-circulating also online vai HathiTrust. Gives bibliographic descriptions, but no annotations, for approximately 50,000 books published in the U.S. Arranged by subject, with title index.
Performing Arts Research: A Guide to Information Sources.
Z6935 .W5 Non-circulating. Reference sources in theater, film and dance, with short annotations. Grouped by type of resource (dictionaries, indexes, etc.). This is Volume 1 in Gale's Performing Arts Information Guide Series;
American and English Popular Entertainment.
Main Collection Offsite (Z7511 .W53 )

Other useful theatre bibliographies include:

Allen, Richard F. Teatro Hispanoamericano: Una Bibliografia Anotada
Bobst Ref1 Z1609.D7 A44 1987
Asian Theatre: A Study Guide and Annotated Bibliography
Bobst Ref1 Z3008.D7 A84
Fordyce, Rachel. Children's Theatre and Creative Dramatics: An Annotated Bibliography of Critical Works.
Bobst Ref1 Z5784.C5 F67 and Bobst Z5784.C5 F67
Grimes, Ronald L. Research in Ritual Studies: A Programmatic Essay and Bibliography.
Bobst Z5118.R5 G75 1985

Online Indexes

Play Index
Use this source to locate plays published individually or in anthologies published from 1949 to the present. Play Index covers a wide range of plays written in or translated into English, including mysteries, pageants, plays in verse, puppet performances, radio and television plays, and classic drama.
Performing Arts Periodicals Database
Performing Arts Periodicals Database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 210 international journals in the performing arts dating from 1864 to the near present.
Arts & Humanities Database
Arts & Humanities Database features hundreds of titles covering Art, Architecture, Design, History, Philosophy, Music, Literature, Theatre and Cultural Studies.

Reference Books Stored Offsite

Offsite books can be called back to Bobst when requested from the Library's catalog; they typically arrive within two days.

Play Annuals

Best plays of ... 1894- .
- Call Number: PN2266 .A2 B5
- Description: For each season, digests and provides critical comments on select plays. Also has information about the theater in several US cities, with an extensive entry on Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in New York City. Lists the Pulitzer Prize winners and Drama Critics Circle Awards.

Resources About Playwrights

Contemporary Dramatists. K.A. Berney, editor. 6th Ed. Chicago, IL: St. James Press, 1999.
- Call Number: PR737.C57 6th Ed.
- Description: Provides information for over three hundred living dramatists who publish in English. Entries include a brief biography, list of publications and professional activities, and a critical essay about the dramatist and his or her work. No reprints or revivals are included.
International Dictionary of Theatre. Edited by Mark Hawkins-Dady. Chicago: St. James Press, 1991.
- Call Number: PN2000.I474 1991 vols. 1-3; Volume II: Playwrights
- Description: Volume II includes information on 485 playwrights from all periods and nationalities, selected for inclusion by an academic advisory panel. Entries include a brief biographical sketch, list of works, a bibliography, and a critical overview with cross-references to Volume I [see below] where appropriate.
Performing Arts Biography Master Index. 2nd ed. B. McNeil & M. C. Herbert, eds. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1982.
- Call Number: PN1583.M37 1982
- Description: Lists citations to biographical reference sources in the performing arts (e.g., biographical dictionaries, encyclopedias), including theater, film, television, dance, music, puppetry and magic.

Resources about Plays

Critical Survey of Drama. Frank N. Magill, editor. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press.
English Language Series, Revised Edition: PR623.C75 1994 v. 1-7
Foreign Language Series: PN1625.C74 1986 v. 1-6

Description: Information about individual dramatists, dramatic works, and overview essays concerning trends in drama.

International Dictionary of Theatre. Edited by Mark Hawkins-Dady. Chicago: St. James Press, 1991.
- Call Number: PN2000.I474 1991 vols. 1-3: Volume I: Plays
- Description: Volume I includes information on over 600 plays (concentrating on English-speaking world), selected for inclusion by an academic advisory panel. Entries include dramatist, date of first publication and production, translations into English and a bibliography relating to the piece. Also provides a critical essay with plot summary.
Theatre World. 1944- .
- Call Number: PN2277.N5 A17
- Description: An illustrated yearbook, with production photographs, of the American theater, listing productions performed each season. Includes cast, production credits, dates of run, brief performer bios and obits, with a list of awards. Emphasizes New York City, but also includes information on other cities and traveling productions.

Reviews

Guide to Critical Reviews, by James Salem. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1979 ; 1984.
- Call Number: Z5782.S34 1984 parts 1-3
- Description: Provides critical reviews of Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway production from 1909-1982.
- Organization: Arranged alphabetically. Part 1: American Drama, 1984 - indexed by playwright; Part 2: The Musical, 1909-1974 - indexed by title; Part 3: Foreign Dr

Complete Reprints of Reviews

Theatre Record. 1981 to date. Bi-weekly. Titled London Theatre Record from 1981 to 1990. Avail. OFFSITE
- PN2596.L6L66 (1981 on microfiche in Microforms Center--MF5)
New York Theatre Critics' Reviews. 1958 to 1996. Weekly. Titled National Theatre Critics' Reviews from 1995 to 1996.
- PN1601.N4 (1940-1957 on microfilm in Microform Center, LL2--titled Critics' Theatre Reviews from 1940 to 1942.)