Cambridge Guide to Theatre

Information on theatre past and present in all parts of the world.

Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre (Online and 792 H254O/Undergrad Library Reference, English Library Reference, and Modern Languages Library Reference).

Covers all aspects of theatre worldwide and throughout the ages.

International Bibliography of Theatre: 1982-1999 . Ed. Benito Ortolani. New York: Theatre Research Data Center, 2002. (Q016.792 IN8/ English Library Reference).

Lists theatre books, book articles, dissertations, journal articles and other theatre documents published between 1982 and 1999. Arranged by genre of theatre, with subject index and geographical index.

Oxford Companion to American Theatre (Online and 792.0973 B644o2004/ English Library Reference).

Covers the American stage from its beginnings to the present; includes playwrights, plays, actors, directors, producers, songwriters, famous playhouses, and dramatic movements.

American Drama Criticism: Interpretations, 1890-1977. Eds. Floyd Eugene Eddleman and Helen H. Palmer. 2nd ed. Hamden, CT: Shoe String Press, 1979. [Four supplements to the Second Edition (1984, 1989, 1992, 1996).] (016.81209 AM35 / English Library Reference)

Citations to criticism on dramatists and their work. Organized alphabetically by author.

A Guide to Critical Reviews. Part I: American Drama, 1909-1982. By James M. Salem. 3rd ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1984. (016.8092 SA3G1984 / English Library Reference).

Citations to reviews of American plays performed on Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off Broadway. Arranged alphabetically by playwright.

A Guide to Critical Reviews. Part III: Foreign Drama, 1909-1977. By James M. Salem. 2nd ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1979. (016.8092 SA3G1973 / English Library Reference).

Provides citations to reviews of modern foreign plays performed on Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off Broadway. Arranged alphabetically by playwright.

International Index to the Performing Arts (IIPA)

Full-text citation index for performing arts periodicals. Includes both English and foreign language materials. For best results, search for a play title in the Keywords field.

New York Times Theatre Reviews. New York: New York Times, 1971-. (Q.792 N485. For 1971-date: English Library Reference; for 1920-date: Undergraduate Library Reference)

Full text reprints of Times reviews.

Playscripts

Asian American Drama

Documents the Asian American experience, from its beginnings to contemporary playwrights, together with associated material such as playbills.

Black Drama

Contains full text of 908 plays written from the mid-1800's to the present by 171 playwrights from North America, English-speaking Africa, the Carribean, and other African diaspora countries. They are accompanied by reference materials, significant ancillary information, a rich performance database and images.

Database of Nineteenth-Century English Plays

The Rare Book and Manuscript Library at UIUC has 1,505 English plays and promptbooks published, for the most part, during the nineteenth century (actual publication dates range from 1780-1905). Genres represented in the collection include farce, burlesque, comedy, melodrama, and tragedy. Most of these plays are not in the UIUC online catalog, so use this database to find the call numbers.

English Prose Drama Database Chadwyck-Healey, 1996.

Contains the full text of more than 1600 works written by more than 350 different authors. The database includes plays, masques, entertainments, and certain closet dramas.

English Verse Drama Database Chadwyck-Healey, 1996.

Contains the full text of more than 2,000 works by nearly 450 named authors and approximately 230 anonymous works from the late thirteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century.

Index to Plays in Periodicals. Dean H. Keller. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1979. Supplement: 1977-1987 (016.80882 K28i1979 / English Library Reference)

Provides citations to plays published in periodicals from the early 20th century through 1987. Also see Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections below.

Inter-Play

An On-line index to Plays in Collections, Anthologies and Periodicals.

Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections: An Author and Title Index to Plays Appearing in Collections Published Between 1900 and 1985. By John H.Ottemiller. Eds. Billie M. Connor and Helene G. Mochedlover. 7th ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1988. (016.8082 OT8I1988 / English Library Reference).

Provides citations to plays published in collections from the early 20th century through 1985. Provides separate author and title indexes.

Play Index. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1949-1992. (016.80882 P69 / English Library Reference)

Multi-volume work which indexes plays by author, title, and subject. It also includes a cast analysis index, which allows the user to locate plays by type of cast and number of players. Each volume covers a particular date range. See also Index to Plays in Periodicals above.

Biographies

American Actors and Actresses. By Stephen M. Archer. Detroit: Gal, 1983. (016.79143Ar24a/English Library Reference).

Lists and describes major published sources of information about American actors from the beginning of American professional theatre to 1983.

American and British Theatrical Biography. By J.PWearing .Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1979. (792.0295 W375A/ English Library Reference and Central Reference).

Directory for locating biographical information about historical figures in American and British theatre.

Contemporary Dramatists..Ed. K. A. Berney. 5th ed. London and Washington, DC: St. James, 1993. (928.22 V78C1993/ English Library Reference).

Provides brief biographical and bibliographic information for dramatists, as well as contact information when available.

Dictionary of Literary Biography

Information about playwrights and bibliographies for further reading.

Notable Names in the American Theatre. Ed. W. Rigdon. Clifton, N.J.: J.T. White, 1976.

Excellent source for information about people who were famous before 1976. (927.92 N843 1976/Central Reference and English Reference).

Stage Deaths: A Biographical Guide to International Theatrical Obituaries, 1850-1990. George B. Bryan. Westport: Greenwood, 1991. (016.7920922 ST132 / Central Reference and Main Reference).

2-volume comprehensive elist of theatrical figures' birth/death dates, and where their obituaries were published.

Stage Lives: A Bibliography and Index of Theatrical Biographies in English. By George B. Bryan. Westport: Greenwood, 1985. (016. 7920922 St13/English Library Reference).

Lists and describes published biographies and autobiographies about notable figures in world theatre from the beginnings to 1985.

Variety Obituaries, 1905-1994. New York: Garland, 1995. (Q. 790.20922 V4272/ English Library Reference).

15-volumes. Reprints of obituaries published in the entertainment trade journal Variety, arranged chronologically with indexes. (Vol. 11 is the index to all previous volumes, and subsequent volumes have their own indexes).

Who's Who in the Theatre, 18th Ed. , Vol 1. Ed. Ian Herbert. Gale: 1981. (927.92 W62 1981:1/ English Library Reference).

Biographies of notable figures in American and British theatre.

Who Was Who in the Theatre, 1912-1976 . Detroit: Gale, 1978. (927.92 W622/English Library Reference).

4 Volume biographical dictionary of actos, actresses, cirectors, playwrights and producers of the English-speaking theatre.

Historical Images

19th Century Actors Photographs University of Washington Libraries.

610 cartes-de-visite studio portraits of entertainers, actors, and actresses who performed on the American stage in the mid- to late 1800s. Many of these actors and actresses were little known outside of the major theater centers of New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston.

Index to the Portraits in Odell's Annals of the New York Stage. American Society for Theater Research, 1963. (792 Od2a index/English Library Reference).

Alphabetical listing by persons and plays of pictures in Odell's Annals.

Theatre Productions and Players, 1920s-1960: Vandamm Studio Photographs The New York Public Library.

The 1,520 items in this digital presentation are a sampling of an archive of more than 75,000 images of theatrical personalities and productions.

Ringling Collection University of Florida.

Cabinet cards, postcards and photographs of 19th Century American and British actors and actresses.

Theodore Leavitt Collection of Theatrical Prints. English Library by appointment. Call (217) 244-3935.

More than 4,000 prints (lithographs, engravings, etchings). Mostly 19th century American actors and 18th century English actors, plus many from the Restoration period. Also some playbills and engravings of theatres of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Scholarly Articles and Dramatic Criticism

Drama Criticism. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991-. (Q. 809.2 D797 / English Library Reference)

A multi-volume set which provides an introduction to major dramatists from all eras and nationalities. Each volume selects 8-10 authors and reprints selected criticism of their works. The most recent volume indexes all previous volumes.

MLA Bibliography, 1963-Present

Identifies citations to studies of drama and other literary topics in scholarly books and journals. For help in searching, please look at our MLA Brief Search Guide and for help finding cited articles in the UIUC library system, check our MLA Citation Guide.

Modern Drama: Scholarship and Criticism, 1981-1990, An International Bibliography. By Charles A.Carpenter. University of Toronto, 1997. (Q. 016.8092 C225m / English Library Reference)

A selective list of significant publications covering the study of world drama since Ibsen.

Theatre History Resources at UIUC

American Theatre Companies, 1749-1936. By Weldon B. Durham. Wesport: Greenwood, 1989. (792 0973 Am35/ English Library Reference).

3 volumes. Information about theatre companies listed chronologically and by state, with an index of personal names and play titles. Includes bibliographies for further reading.

American Theatrical Periodicals, 1798-1967: A Bibliographical Guide. By Carl J. Stratman. Durham: Duke UP, 1970. (016.7914 St8a/ English Library Reference).

Lists of theatrical magazines and periodicals published in the U.S., along with which libraries hold them. Arranged chronologically.

Annals of the New York Stage . By George C. Odell. New York: AMS, 1970 (1949). (792 Od2a 1970/ English Library Reference).

Comprehensive, 15-volume history of New York theatre, covering 1700 to 1894. With index.

Encyclopedia of the New York Stage, 1920-1950. By Samuel L. Leiter. Westport: Greenwood, 1985. (792.9509471 L536e/English Library Reference).

Information about theatrical productions, listed by title with index in last volume.

London Stage: 1660-1800. By William Van Lennep. Carbondale: SIU, 1965 (CALL # /English Library Reference and Undergrad Compact Stacks).

5 parts, total of 11 volumes. Information compiled from playbills, newspapers and theatrical diaries. Arranged chronologically with index.

London Stage: 1890-1959. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1976. (792.09421 W375/ English Library Reference).

A total of 16 volumes. Information from playbills, arranged chronologically with indexes in the final volume of each part of the series.

Motley Collection of Theatre and Costume Design. UIUC Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

A rare collection of original materials on the theatre comprising over 5000 items from more than 150 productions in England and the United States. These materials include costume and set designs, sketches, notes, photographs, prop lists, storyboards, and swatches of fabric. A sample of sketches from some of the productions were digitized from slides made of the images and then indexed to create a database for scholars and others interested in theatre history.

Notable Names in the American Theatre. Ed. W. Rigdon. Clifton, N.J.: J.T. White, 1976.

Lists the New York premiers of plays before 1976. (927.92 N843 1976/Central Reference and English Reference).

Other Theatre Research Websites

American Memory Library of Congress.

Among the digital Performing Arts collections linked from this site are The New Deal Stage: Selections from the Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939; and The American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment, 1870-1920.

Backstage is a performing arts gateway for the United Kingdom.

A single entry point for searching performing arts collections at more than 400 institutions throughout the U.K.

Glopad Global Performing Arts Database.

Includes a multimedia, multilingual, Web-accessible database containing digital images, texts, video clips, sound recordings, and complex media objects (such as 3-D images) related to the performing arts from around the world.

Internet Broadway Database

Records of productions from the beginnings of New York theatre until today.

Performing Arts in America: 1875-1923 The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

With visual and audio images drawn from the extensive archival collections at The Library, the site covers subjects from the Broadway theater and Tin Pan Alley to the art of dancer Loie Fuller and composer Charles Griffes.

SIBMAS International Directory of Performing Arts Collections and Institutions

Lists over 7000 international institutions with material relating to the performing arts (theatre, opera, music, ballet, film, circus, radio, television, cabaret, pantomime). Includes basic information about the institution and information about collections found within the institutions.

Theatre Library Association - Theatre Resources

Links to professional organizations, theatre awards, electronic journals, and other theatre-related sites.