Subject Research Guides
Theater
For additional resources on drama as literature, please see the Subject Research Guide for English.
Getting Started: Selected Reference Sources
Use these sources at the beginning of your research to get an overview of a topic or to identify synonyms or related terms that will apply to your topic. Later, return to these sources to clarify concepts or define new vocabulary. Many of these sources include bibliographical references that may prove helpful.
Brewer's Theatre
Ref PN2035 .B74 1994b
London : Cassell, 1994.
A glossary of general and technical terms, theater jargon and slang, as well as brief biographies of major world dramatists, capsule summaries of major plays, and facts about famous theaters and drama companies.
The Facts on File Dictionary of the Theatre
Ref PN2035 .F27 1988
New York : Facts on File, c1988.
A concise dictionary of British and American dramatists, actors, directors, and the major theaters in which they worked.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
Ref PN2035 .O92 2003
Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2003.
Authoritative information about theater and performance from Ancient Greece to the present. Covers performance in theater, dance, opera, radio, film, and television. Includes definitions of terms; detailed overviews of genres, movements, and critical approaches; and entries on cities and regions as well as social and political contexts.
Oxford Reference Online: Performing Arts
Selected Oxford University Press reference books available online and searchable as a group. Includes The Oxford Companion to American Theatre, The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare, and The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. You may also wish to search Oxford Reference Online: Literature which includes several guides to world literature as well as The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms and A Dictionary of Writers and Their Works.
International Dictionary of Theatre
Ref PN2035 .I49 1992
Chicago : St. James Press, c1992-
Concise essays on major plays. Includes bibliographic information for further research.
The Cambridge Guide to African and Caribbean Theatre
Ref PN2969 .C36 1994
Cambridge ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1994.
The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre
Ref PN2220 .C35 1993
Cambridge ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1993.
The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre
Ref PN2860 .C35 1993
Cambridge ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1993.
The Cambridge Guide to Theatre
Ref PN2035 .C27 1995
Cambridge ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1995.
The Cambridge Guides are comprehensive guides to the history and practice of theater arts and include information on major playwrights, works, theatrical traditions, theory, theatrical companies and practitioners, venues, and events. They also include entries on the origins of theater traditions, including folk drama and street theater; the work of actors, directors, and designers; and theatrical production including lighting and sound, technical theater, theater architecture, and theater design.
The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre
Ref PN1861 .W67 1994
London ; New York : Routledge, 1994-
Exhaustive, six-volume encyclopedia documenting artistic development in theater around the world from 1945 to the present. Includes articles on playwriting, music theater, dance theater, theater for young audiences, puppet theater, design, architecture, technology, training, criticism, and scholarship. Includes volumes devoted to European theater, North and South American theater, African theater, theater of the Arab world, and Asian and Pacific theater. The final volume is a combined bibliography and index.
McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama
Ref PN1625 .M3 1984
New York, N.Y. : McGraw-Hill, 1984.
Dated but useful encyclopedia includes brief biographies of playwrights and critical analyses of their major plays. Entries also include complete playlists for dramatists and bibliographic information for further research.
The Reader's Encyclopedia of World Drama
Ref PN1625 .G3
New York, Crowell [1969]
Classic but idiosyncratic guide that treats drama as literature, not as theater, excluding information about the performance of dramatic works. Includes information on playwrights and their major plays as well as short surveys of national dramas.
The Dictionary of Literary Biography
Ref PS221 .D5
Detroit, Mich. : b Gale Research Co., c 1981-
Immense collection of volumes of biographical and bibliographic information about writers of all types. Volumes are organized by theme or subject, so the best way to approach this resource is to search for an author in the latest volume having a cumulative index (you will see this information on the volume's spine). The index will give you the volume number where you can find your author. Authors are alphabetical by last name within each volume. If you don't find what you need here, ask a librarian for assistance.
Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television
Ref PN2285 .C58
Detroit, MI : Gale Research Co., c1984-
Biographical and career information on more than 11,000 professionals currently working in the entertainment industry, including performers, choreographers, directors, technicians, writers, composers, producers, executives, designers, critics and more.
Masterplots
PN44 .M33 1964 (note: not shelved in Reference Room)
New York, Salem Press [1964]
Masterplots II: Drama Series
PN6112.5 .M37 1990 (note: not shelved in Reference Room)
Pasadena, Calif. : Salem Press, c1990.
Synopses of plays, arranged alphabetically.
Finding Books
Bridge
Bridge is the shared online catalog of the libraries of Carleton College and St. Olaf College. It provides an access point to the books, periodicals, government documents, and electronic resources available at Carleton or St. Olaf. When searching in BRIDGE, it is important to understand that BRIDGE can look for the titles of journals, but not for the articles within those journals.
Library of Congress Subject Headings are the words and phrases you can use to do a subject search in BRIDGE (as opposed to a keyword search, where you may use any words you like).
When starting out, it is often helpful to do a word search on your topic, and then to examine the subject headings of the results you find relevant. BRIDGE displays these subject headings as links and clicking on one of them will automatically conduct a subject search for that particular topic. If you have trouble finding relevant sources using a word search, try consulting the printed volumes of Library of Congress Subject Headings in the reference collection.
WorldCat
Search WorldCat, an online catalog for libraries throughout the world, to take your search beyond Northfield.
Finding Articles
Use databases and indexes to locate articles and book chapters on your topic. Gould Library does not subscribe to all of the titles listed in these resources. If we don't have what you're looking for, take advantage of our InterLibrary Loan Services.
International Index to the Performing Arts (citations, abstracts; 1864 - current)
Index and abstracts of articles on dance, film, drama, television, the arts and entertainment industry, stagecraft, magic, musical theater, and performance art.
Academic Search Premier (full-text articles, citations; varying dates)
Scholarly, multi-disciplinary journals.
ProQuest Research Library (full-text articles, citations, abstracts; varying dates)
General database with full-text available for many of its offerings. Good for locating reviews or articles on theater and drama geared toward a general audience.
Finding Historical Reviews
American Periodicals Series Online
Selections from American magazines and journals published from 1741 to 1900. Includes many reviews or "notices" of American theatrical productions of the time. To search for reviews only, type "review" in one of the search boxes and then, using the drop-down menu next to it, change the scope of the search box to "document type." You can then enter your search term (author, title of work, etc.) in the next search box.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers (full-text newspapers)
This database includes the full text of The New York Times from 1851 to 2003, The Wall Street Journal from 1889 to 1989, and The Los Angeles Times from 1881 to 1985. You will find contemporary reviews for plays and performances in these newspapers as well as news articles about the theater world. To search for reviews only, type "review" in one of the search boxes and then, using the drop-down menu next to it, change the scope of the search box to "document type." You can then enter your search term (author, title of work, etc.) in the next search box.
Readers' Guide Retrospective (popular magazine index)
This index includes citations of reviews in popular magazines from 1890-1982 including such titles as Newsweek, Time, Life, The New Republic, The New Yorker, and The Nation. This is not a full-text database, though, so you will need to find the cited review among the bound periodicals on the library's third floor or request the article through Interlibrary Loan if we do not own the magazine.
New York Theatre Critics Reviews
Microfilm Periodicals, 3rd floor (1940-1957)
Bound Periodicals, 3rd floor (1960-1994)
New York, N.Y. : Critics' Theatre Reviews, inc.,
Complete reviews from the following New York publications and television stations whenever covered by the critic: New York Daily News, Wall Street Journal, Time, New York Post, Women's Wear Daily, WABC-TV, CBS-TV, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, and Newsweek.
A Guide to Critical Reviews
Ref PN1707 .S34 (various dates)
New York, Scarecrow Press (various dates)
An index to reviews published in U.S. and Canadian periodicals of plays and musicals produced in New York. Note: index only, does not contain full text.
Web Resources
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/lpa.html
Research guides, digital collections, information on primary sources, and dozens of links to Web resources from a major performing arts library.
Library of Congress Performing Arts Encyclopedia
http://www.loc.gov/performingarts/encyclopedia/
Research guides, bibliographies, digital collections, information on primary sources, and links to Web resources from the performing arts division of the nation's library.
The Internet Broadway Database
http://www.ibdb.com/
This official database for Broadway theater information provides records of productions from the beginnings of New York theater to the present. Includes details on pertinent people involved in the theater as well as interesting facts and statistics about individual productions.
The Lortel Archives (The Internet Off-Broadway Database)
http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm
A catalog of shows produced in New York, Off-Broadway. The database is a work-in-progress and currently contains data from 1958 to the present.
Tips for Citing Internet Sources
Carleton's page of links on citing Internet resources. Also recommended is Sources: Their Use and Acknowledgment from Dartmouth College.
This Research Guide By:
Matt Bailey- Media Resources Coordinator
- x7670
- mbailey@carleton.edu
- Library 465
