Best Bets: Theater Reference Sources
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Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and PerformanceCovers theater, the peforming arts, and popular performance from ancient times to the present. Biographies, short definitions, and lengthy articles that include bibliographies.
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Oxford Companion to Theatre and PerformanceConcise and updated version of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance.
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Oxford Dictionary of PlaysBasic information on specific plays and on genres.
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Performing Arts Databases (Library of Congress)Guide to performing arts resources at the Library of Congress.
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Theatre in Context This link opens in a new windowO’Dell’s Annals of the New York Stage, the Oxford University Press Companion series, and Greenwood’s American Theatre Companies series are just a few of the many in-copyright sources included in the Theatre in Context Collection. Placed alongside thousands of playbills, posters, photographs, and related theatrical ephemera, users will be able to paint a more comprehensive picture of the life and evolution of dramatic works.
More Theater Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
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The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Stage Actors and Acting
Acting is widely acknowledged to be the central art of the theatre and has a long and vibrant history. With over one thousand entries, this is the first encyclopedia of stage actors and acting around the world. More than one hundred renowned international contributors provide biographical, historical and technical information about actors both familiar and obscure whose work has been crucial in the development of acting methods and traditions from classical theatre to the present day. Entries on key directors, theorists and teachers, and on the elements and genres of acting provide insights into the history of acting as an art and its current practice. Including a chronological list of actors that spans the past two thousand years and many diverse countries and cultures, this Encyclopedia offers a fascinating and unique overview of acting onstage that will be of interest to anyone who attends or practises theatre.
Call Number: Online -
Cambridge Guide to American Theatre
Call Number: PN 2221 .C36 2007 (print, Lauinger, 5th floor)
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Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia (online)Information about plays, playwrights, and theater practitioners, hosted by Athabasca University, its editorial board is comprised of theater scholars from across Canada.
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Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama
Call Number: Ref. PN 1861 .C65 2007 (print, Lauinger Library 3rd floor) -
Historical Dictionary of Contemporary American Theater, 1930-2010
Call Number: Online -
Key Concepts in Drama and Performance
An invaluable companion which enables the reader to acquire and understand a vocabulary for discussion and critical thinking on all aspects of the subject. The clear explanations of the concepts support students in their practical and theoretical explorations of the subjects and offer insights for research and reflective writing.Key Concepts in Drama and Performanceis an accessible and wide-ranging reference source for students of drama, theatre or the performing arts.
Call Number: PN 1579 .P53 2010 (print, Lauinger, 5th floor) -
Oxford Companion to American Theatre
Call Number: OnlineOnline and in print at Ref. PN 2220 .B6 2004 (Lauinger, 3rd floor)
Literature Resources
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Literature Resource Center (LRC) This link opens in a new windowBiographies (plus criticism) of world authors and works throughout history and across all literary genres including drama.
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Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism This link opens in a new window Alphabetically arranged entries on literary critics and theorists, critical and theoretical schools and movements, the contributions of specific countries and historical periods, and nonliterary fields of inquiry shaped by literary theory and criticism. Entries consist of a critical essay addressing the subject's historical and philosophical importance and a selective primary and secondary bibliography.
Related Research Guides
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Yale University Library Guide: Theater Studies and DanceA stellar resource
