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Reference Sources (Background)
The Cambridge Guide to Theatre (1995)
Ref PN2035 .C27 1995
Signed alphabetical entries of various lengths on people, places, terms, etc.
Critical Survey of Drama (2003, 8 volumes)
Ref PN1625 .C68 2003
Extensive signed essays include bibliographies and analysis on playwrights, as well as annotated bibliographies. Volumes 7 and 8 also contain essays on major periods and styles of drama.
Selected Volumes in the Dictionary of Literary Biography
Ref PS129 .D48 and in Literature Resource Center
Entries each include a list of works and a bibliography.
Afro-American Writers After 1955: Dramatists and Prose Writers (1985, volume 38)
British Dramatists since World War II (1982, volume 13)
Elizabethan Dramatists (1987, volume 62)
Jacobean and Caroline Dramatists (1987, volume 58)
Modern British Dramatists, 1900-1945 (1982, volume 10)
Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Dramatists (1989, volume 80)
Twentieth-Century American Dramatists (1981, volume 7)
Twentieth-Century German Dramatists, 1919-1992 (1992, volume 124)
Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts, and Analysis (1998)
Ref PN2035 .P2913 1998
Defines terms related to performance and study of theater. Includes a bibliography.
Drama Criticism (1991, 27 volumes)
Ref PN1721 .D72
Excerpts from critical essays on drama, including notes and works cited.
International Dictionary of Theatre (1992, 3 volumes)
Ref PN2035 .I49
Volumes on Plays; Playwrights; and Actors, Directors, & Designers. This series provides long essays with bibliographies for each of its subjects, along with photos, chronologies, etc.
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama (1984, 5 volumes)
Ref PN1625 .M3 1984
Signed entries with bibliographies and some photos, covering all aspects of world drama.
The Oxford Dictionary of Plays (2005)
Ref PN1625 .P38 2005
Brief entries of 1000 plays, arranged by title. Includes a bibliography, lists of plays by country of origin and by period, and indexes of characters and playwrights.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance (2003, 2 volumes)
Ref PN2035 .O94 2003
Signed alphabetical entries of various lengths on people, places, terms, etc. Suggestions for further reading are at the end of volume 2.
Oxford Reference Online: Performing Arts (current, full text)
Search reference books published by Oxford University Press. Includes The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre and The Oxford Companion to American Theatre, and among others.
Finding Books
The Library of Congress Classification for drama is PN, but books may be located in several places:
| MT955-MT956 |
Musical theater |
| PN1600-3307 |
Drama (including motion pictures) |
| PQ500-591 |
French drama |
| PQ6098.7-6129 |
Spanish drama |
| PR621-744 |
English drama |
| PS330-353 |
American drama |
| PT605-709 |
German drama |
MaconCat
The library's online catalog, providing access to books, journals, music, and movies in the library.
WorldCat
A catalog of books and other materials in libraries worldwide.
Books and articles not owned by our library can be obtained from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan. Allow sufficient time for processing. Average turnaround time is 3-5 days for articles and 3-14 days for books, excluding holidays and weekends. Submit ILL requests well in advance of deadlines.
Locating Articles (Databases & Indexes)
MLA International Bibliography (1926 to present, citation only)
The premier database for literature research. Provides a comprehensive international listing of books, articles, and dissertations.
JSTOR (dates vary by journal, full text)
An archive of over 400 journals in many disciplines.
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (1980 to present, citation only)
Database with citations to articles in the arts and humanities fields.
Project MUSE (generally late 1990s to present, full text)
Coves over 300 journals in the humanities, arts, and social sciences.
Expanded Academic ASAP/Academic OneFile (1980 to present, some full text)
Provides citations to articles from selected popular magazines and scholarly journals in all disciplines.
Websites
American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment 1870-1920 (Library of Congress)
The New Deal Stage: Selections from the Federal Theatre Project 1935-1939 (Library of Congress)
Both of these sites are online presentations of collections from the American Memory project.
The Costumer's Manifesto
Portal to resources on every imaginable topic related to costumes.
Internet Broadway Database
Information on current and past Broadway productions. Look-up by show title, cast, character, song, and more.
Librarians' Internet Index: Arts and Humanities
Select "Performing Arts" to reach a database of librarian-selected websites related to theater.
Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database
Information on Off-Broadway productions. Look-up by show title, cast, theater, awards, company, and more.
Playbill Online
Current information and news about professional theater.
Theater History on the Web (Jack Wolcott, retired U of Washington)
Portal with annotated links related to theater history, arranged by period and topic (such as costumes, lighting, etc.).
Evaluating Sources
Evaluating Sources (R-MC)
Is it POPULAR or is it SCHOLARLY? (R-MC)
Critical Evaluation of Resources on the Internet (University of Alberta Libraries)
Citing Sources
Citing Full-Text from Library Databases (R-MC)
Citation Styles Online! (Bedford St. Martin's)
Includes examples of citations of various online sources in MLA, APA, Chicago and other styles.
KnightCite (Calvin College)
Automatically formats citation information according to MLA, APA, or Chicago styles.