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Theatre Research Resources
Online Catalog
Use the online catalog to find materials in the Z. Smith Reynolds Library on your topic. Search the catalog by Author or Title in the basic search tab, or by keyword or phrases in the Guided Keyword search tab.
Most Theatre books have a Library of Congress call number in the PN section on Reynolds 5, though some scripts and historical studies will be shelved in the literature section (PR for British, PS for American, Reynolds 3). Some call number sections to look at include:
- PN1530 - The Monologue
- PN1551 - The Dialogue
- PN1600-1989 - Drama-Theatrical
- PN2000-3307 - Dramatic Representation. The Theatre
- PR621-739 - History of English Literature. Drama
- PS330-352 - History of American Literature. Drama
Each book record in the online catalog also contains Library of Congress Subject Headings, which can help you locate books on a similar topic. Click on the subject heading in the online catalog to go to a list of books that share that subject heading. Some examples are:
- Acting History
- Dramatic criticism
- English drama (Comedy) History and Criticism
- Theater Ireland Dublin History
- Experimental Theater
- Performance art
- Dramatists, English Early modern, 1500-1700 Biography
The names of individual playwrights, actors, plays and theatres are also included as subject headings:
- Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. Taming of the Shrew
- Shepard, Sam, 1943-
- Bernhardt, Sarah, 1844-1923
- Hansberry, Lorraine, 1930-1965 Criticism and interpretation
- Old Vic Theatre (London, England)
- Antigone (Greek mythology) Drama
Reference Resources
Use Reference Resources to get background information on a play, actor, playwright, theme or terminology. Many of these sources include bibliographies which list additional books and journal articles that would be useful for further research on the topic. All Reference materials are shelved on Wilson 4. These are selections from the available resources:
- American Theatre 1969-2000 Ref PN2277 N5 H57 2001
- Cambridge History of British Theatre (3 vols.) Ref PN2581 C36 2004
- Chronology of American Musical Theatre (2 vols.) Ref ML1711.8 N3 N62 2002
- Critical Survey of Drama (8 vols.) Ref PN1625 C68 2003
- Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts and Analysis Ref PN2035 P2913 1998
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Encyclopedia Britannica Online
(good for broad topics)
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Encyclopedia of Religion
(for broad religious topics)
- European Writers (14 vols.) Ref PN501 E9 1983
- Female Dramatists Ref PN471 P37 1998
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International Dictionary of Theatre
Ref PN2035 I49 1992
v.1 Plays; v.2 Playwrights; v.3 Actors, Directors and Designers
- McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama Ref PN1625 M3 1984
- Oxford Companion to American Theatre Ref PN2220 B6 1992
- Oxford Companion to the Theatre Ref PN2035 H3 1983
- Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance (2 vols.) Ref PN2035.O94 2003
- World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre (6 vols.) Ref PN1861 W67 1994
Literary Criticism Sets
Each volume in these sets contains a years worth of literary criticism focused on their respective subject areas. Each volume contains a cumulative index.
CA, CLC and DLB are included full text in Literature Resource Center, an online database (see below).
The Index Counter is located next to the Reference Desk, Wilson 4.
- Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism (CMLC) Ref PN610 C53
- Contemporary Authors (CA) Index Counter Z1224 C6
- Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC) Index Counter PN771 C59
- Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) Index Counter PS221 D52
- Drama Criticism Ref PN1601 D59
- Literature Criticism from 1400-1800 (LC) Index Counter PN86 L53
- Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism (NCLC) Index Counter PN761 N5
- Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (TCLC) Index Counter PN771 G27
- Shakespearean Criticism (SC) Ref PR 2965 S43 1984
Reviews
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IIPA-International Index to the Performing Arts
(Search; select from Document Type; select Theater Review, Favorable, Mixed or Unfavorable) reviews in scholarly journals, newspapers, trade publications and magazines
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LexisNexis Academic
(Guided Search; Arts and Sports News; Book, Movie, Music & Play Reviews, etc.) reviews in newspapers
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National Theatre Critics' Reviews (formerly New York theatre Critics' Reviews)
Ref PN2000 N76 (indexes are in the back by year)
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New York Times Theater Reviews
Ref PN 1581 N41 (indexes in back for title, personal name, corporate name [festivals, theaters])
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ProQuest
(Advanced Search; More Search Options; Document Type - choose Review-Theater Review) reviews in magazines, scholarly journals, and newspapers
For current reviews, browse the Theatre journals in Current Periodicals in the ZSR Library.
Back to topDatabases, Indexes, and Bibiographies
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Alternative Press Index
"Indexes over 250 alternative, radical and leftist (or left wing) publications, including periodicals, newspapers and magazines, in the areas of cultural, economic, political and social change."
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Academic Search Premier
"Provides abstracts, indexing, and full-text for journals covering the social sciences, humanities, education, and more."
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International Bibliography of Theatre
Ref Z6935.I53 (for books, articles, dissertations on theatre)
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Humanities Index
(in print at Ref AI3 H8x)
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Humanities International Index
"An index to creative, critical and scholarly English-language literary journals and magazines (primarily American and Canadian). Most of these journals are either not indexed elsewhere or are indexed only partially in other indexing services. All publications are indexed in their entirety - including fiction and poems."
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IIPA (International Index of the Performing Arts)
"Indexes and abstracts over 130 international performing arts periodicals from 9 countries, as well as performing arts articles and obituaries appearing in The New York Times and The Washington Post. Covers nearly all aspects of the world of the performing arts, from the most scholarly studies to the latest crazes."
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Literature Resource Center
"Provides access to biographies, bibliographies and critical analysis of authors from every age and literary discipline. It covers more than 90,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,000 of the most-studied authors. Literature Resource Center combines Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature, and other reference sets into a single service."
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MLA (Modern Language Association) International Bibliography
"Indexes articles, books, chapters of books, conference proceedings, dissertations, and working papers on topics relating to literature, modern languages, folklore, and linguistics."
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ProQuest
"Contains articles covering the humanities, social sciences, sciences, and business. Databases include Research Library, Ethnic NewsWatch, and ProQuest Religion."
Full Text Plays
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American Drama (1714-1911)
"Over 700 plays by dramatists such as Thomas Paine, Edward Hitchcock, and James Lawson."
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Arden Shakespeare
"The Arden Shakespeare includes: the complete text of every play and poem in The Arden Shakespeare second series; facsimile reproductions of each page of early folio and quarto texts for every play and poem (where these are available); also, in some cases, such as Hamlet, a further quarto text; and five supplementary texts key to the study of Shakespeare."
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English Drama
"Contains 4,000 plays by 1,200 authors from the late thirteenth century to the early twentieth century."
Websites
After you have consulted books and journal articles, you may also want to use web resources. Take a look at Evaluating Web Resources as you evalute the websites you find. These sites contain reliable information:
- A Thumbnail History of Commedia dell'Arte
- American Society for Theatre Research
- Infomine (search Visual and Performing Arts)
- Internet Broadway Database (IBDB)
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Literary Resources on the Net
(has Renaissance, Theatre and Drama and other categories)
- London Theatre Guide
- New Deal Stage: Selections from the Federal Theatre Project 1935-1939 (Library of Congress)
- New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
- Records of Early English Drama (REED) Centre for Research in Early English Drama
- Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
- Society of London Theatre
- Theatre History
- Tony Awards
- Voice of the Shuttle
Locating Journals
Find out if the Library subscribes to the journal you need through the journals page. If we subscribe to the journal, the catalog will display information regarding print and/or electronic versions of the journal. You can also use the "subject browse" feature to view journals by subject (selected journals only).
Remember, if Reynolds Library doesn't have a journal (or book) you need, request it via Interlibrary Loan. Current theatre periodicals are located in the Periodicals Room, Section II, alphabetical by title.
Back to topNeed Help?
Good luck in your search! If you are not finding enough information, ASK:
- Kaeley McMahan, Reference, 758-4661, AIM: kaeleymc
- Request a Personal Research Session
- call the Reference Desk for help at ext. 5475