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Theatre Alive!
Mary Wayne-Thomas
Research Steps
- Get a topic, either assigned from your professor or of your own choosing. Eventually this should take the form of a research question, ie, "What is the impact of...," "How did...change..."
- Look in general reference resources, such as Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, to get background information. Dates, keywords, important people or ideas will be important as you start to use more subject specific sources and databases.
- Look at subject specific reference resources. These will cover your subject in more detail and depth and will include useful bibliographies. For Theatre, this will include resources such as International Dictionary of Theatre and Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance.
- Search the library catalog using keywords and terms learned from the reference resources. Look for call number areas and subject headings that cover your topic.
- Search in general and subject specific databases for journal articles and book chapters. IIPA and Literature Resource Center are two important databases.
- After you have a good background on your topic, use scholarly websites such as Voice of the Shuttle to search for appropriate web resources.
Notes on the Research Process
Remember to write down bibliographic information as you go so that you don't have to go back to find it when you are writing your paper.
You may need to look outside the Theatre subject area to find sources. English, history, religion, art, classics and psychology may all be useful areas for research.
Check the bibliographies in all your sources for additional resources.
You may need to broaden or narrow your topic depending on how much and what type of information you find as you research.
Back to topOnline Catalog
Use the online catalog to locate materials in the 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. For this course, you may also be looking in other sections, including B (Religion) and E and F (American History). Some call number sections to look at include:
- BF1562.5-1584 - Witchcraft
- PN1590 B5 - Hollywood Blacklist
- PN1600-1989 - Drama-Theatrical
- PN2000-3307 - Dramatic Representation. The Theatre
- PR621-739 - History of English Literature. Drama
- PS330-352 - History of American Literature. Drama
- PS3525 I5156 - Miller, Arthur
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:
- Blacklisting of entertainers United States
- Ibsen, Henrik, 1828-1906
- McCarthy, Joseph, 1908-1957
- Norway History 1814-1905
- Puritans Massachusetts Biography
- Salem (Mass.) History Colonial Period, ca 1600-1775
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 Decades Ref E169.12 A419 1994
- American Theatre 1969-2000 Ref PN2277 N5 H57 2001
- Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts and Analysis Ref PN2035 P2913 1998
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Encyclopedia Britannica Online
(one of several; good for broad topics)
-
Encyclopedia of Religion
(for broad religious topics)
- Female Dramatists Ref PN471 P37 1998
- International Dictionary of Theatre Ref PN2035 I 49 1992 (v.1 Plays; v.2 Playwrights)
- McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama Ref PN1625 M3 H1984
- Oxford Companion to American Theatre Ref PN2220 B6 1992
- Oxford Companion to the Theatre Ref PN2035 H3 1983
- The 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
-
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
-
LexisNexis Academic
(Guided Search; Arts and Sports News; Book, Movie, Music & Play Reviews, etc.) reviews in newspapers
-
National Theatre Critics' Reviews (formerly New York theatre Critics' Reviews)
Ref PN2000 N76
(indexes are in the back by year)
-
New York Times Theater Reviews
Ref PN 1581 N41
(indexes in back for title, personal name, corporate name [festivals, theaters])
-
ProQuest
(Advanced Search; More Search Options; Document Type - choose Review-Theater Review) reviews in magazines, scholarly journals, and newspapers
For current reviews, browse the Theater 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."
-
International Bibliography of Theatre
Ref Z6935.I53
(for books, articles, dissertations on theatre)
- Humanities Index in print at Ref AI3 H8x
-
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."
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:
- American Society for Theatre Research
- Infomine (search Visual and Performing Arts)
- Internet Broadway Database (IBDB)
-
Literary Resources on the Net
(has Renaissance, Theatre and Drama and other categories)
- Theatre History
- 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