LibGuides: Theatre: Background Information

Using this Guide

Welcome to the research guide for
Theatre

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Background Information on your topic
How to find books on theatre studies and theatre criticism
Sources for finding peer reviewed journal articles and theatre reviews
Ways to locate plays online and in print
Streaming media databases
Data & primary sources
Citing and writing
Visual research

If you need assistance identifying additional resources, search terms or strategies, you can schedule an appointment at https://barnard.libcal.com/appointments/mwisner or email me at mwisner@barnard.edu.

Image: Stage photograph of unidentified theatrical performance. ca. 1970s - 1980s. BC17 - Student Activities and Student Life, 1910 - 2000; Series 01; Barnard Archives and Special Collections, Barnard College.

Reference Sources

British Black and Asian Shakespeare Performance Database
A free database that contains searchable information about practitioners, plays, theatre companies, and the roles played by black and Asian performers in the UK from 1930 to 2015. It draws on performance archives, production reviews, documentary evidence and personal interviews with practitioners and other members of BAME communities.
Eighteenth century drama: censorship, society and the stage
Eighteenth Century Drama features the John Larpent Collection from the Huntington Library -- a unique archive of almost every play submitted for licence between 1737 and 1824, as well as hundreds of documents that provide social context for the plays. Explore the Larpent plays, papers of prominent theatrical figures of the period, including correspondence, financial documents, and portraits. Cross-reference this with essential searchable databases created from information in The London Stage 1729-1800 and A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers & Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800.
Gale Biography in Context
A comprehensive database of biographical information on over 320,000 people from throughout history, around the world, and across all disciplines and subject areas. It combines nearly 415,000 biographies from more than 780 volumes of over 130 respected Gale Group sources such as Contemporary Authors, Encyclopedia of World Biography, Newsmakers, Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television, Contemporary Musicians, Historic World Leaders, Notable Twentieth-Century Scientists, Contemporary Black Biography, Religious Leaders of America, International Dictionary of Art and Artists, Writers Directory, and many more, with over 2.5 million full-text articles from 250 magazines.
Internet Broadway Database
Created by the Research Department of The Broadway League, the national trade association for Broadway, IBDB provides a comprehensive database of shows produced on Broadway, including all "title page" information about each production. IBDB also offers historical information about theatres and various statistics and facts related to Broadway.
Internet Off-Broadway Database
The Lucille Lortel Archives produce the IOBDB. They contain complete Off-Broadway seasons dating back to 1958. As of March 2012, over 6,000 shows have been entered. For this archive, Off-Broadway refers to any production that has satisfied the following requirements: "Played at a Manhattan theatre with a seating capacity of 100-499, intended to run a closed-ended or open-ended schedule of performances of more than one week, and offered itself to critics and general audiences alike."
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. In addition to performances in playhouses, it covers dance, opera, radio, film, television, and popular performance, including carnivals, circus, and public executions. Entries range from short definitions of terms to lengthy considerations of genres and movements, such as feminism and psychoanalytic criticism. Entries on cities and regions place performance in its local social and political context. Searches can be done by keyword or through a browsable A-Z list. Written in accessible language.
Play Index
Index to more than 30,000 plays written from Antiquity to the present and published from 1949 to the present; includes mysteries, pageants, plays in verse, puppet performances, radio and television plays, and classic drama. Unique search limits include gender and number of cast members, genre, document type, and grade interest level.
Theatre in Context Collection
The collection includes 40,000 pages of monumental reference works, encyclopedias, images, flyers, playbills, postcards, scrapbooks, and other resources.

Theatre

Using this Guide

Welcome to the research guide for Theatre

Use the side navigation to find:

Reference Sources

Welcome to the research guide for
Theatre