Theatre

General Resources

Biographical Sources

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias & Guidebooks

Indexes to Plays

E-Journals

Web Sites

Nota Bene, for related literary, film or music research you may also want to check the following library research guides: English & General Literature, Film Studies, and Music.

General Sources

Artslynx International Theatre Resources
http://www.artslynx.org/theatre/index.htm: An excellent and comprehensive guide to web resources maintained by Richard Finkelstein, professor of Theatre Design at James Madison University.
Internet Broadway Database
http://www.ibdb.com/: "The IBDB archive is the official database for Broadway theatre information. It provides records of productions from the beginnings of New York theatre until today. Details include pertinent people involved as well as interesting facts and production statistics. Get a list of every production of Hamlet on Broadway or a list of your favorite actor's credits. Find out what played at a particular theatre or what shows opened in a specific Broadway season."
Theatre Crafts
http://www.theatrecrafts.com: "The aim of theatrecrafts.com is to eventually be the best resource for practical information and advice about technical theatre techniques for theatre folk at any level."
Theatre History on the Web
www.videoccasions-nw.com/jack.html: Links to "Jack Wolcott's page, A Resource for Theatre Historians and Students of the Theatre's History which includes links to Theatre Resources: Costumes, Design, Lighting, and Technical Practices."
WWW Virtual Library's Theatre & Drama Section
http://vl-theatre.com/: Includes "resources in more than 50 countries around the world, for professionals, amateurs, academics and students of all ages." This is a multi-cultural and multi-lingual site.

Biographical Sources

For more biographical sources check the library's Biography research guide.
Biography & Genealogy Master Index
Biography Resource Center
Literary Resource Center
Variety Obituaries. 1988. (Ref. PN 1583 .V35)

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias & Guidebooks

American Song: The Complete Musical Theatre. 2001. (Ref. ML 128 .M78 B6)
Cambridge Guide to the Theatre. 2001. (Ref. PN 2035 .C27)
Continuum Companion to 20th Century Theatre. 2002. (Ref. PN 2035 .C65)
Costume Page
http://www.costumepage.org: A personal page "for the benefit of those who study and/or make costumes: costumers, students, historical re-enactors, science fiction fans, professionals, amateurs, dancers, theatrical costumers, trick-or-treat ers, writers, researchers, and all those interested in fashion, textile art, and costume history."
Costumer's Manifesto
http://costumes.org: Maintained by Tara Maginnis costume designer and a professor of the Theatre Department of the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.
Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre. 1994. (Ref. ML 102 .M88 G3)
Glossarist. Art & Culture: Theatre
http://www.glossarist.com/glossaries/arts-culture/theatre.asp
International Dictionary of Theatre. 1985. (Ref. PN 2035 .I5)
Musical Theatre Research Guide
http://www.musicals101.com/research.htm
Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance. 2003. (Ref. PN 2035 .O92)
Theatre Backstage from A to Z. 1989. (Ref. PN 2091 .M3 L68)
The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre. 1994-2000. (Ref. PN 1861 .W67)

Indexes to Plays

E-Server Drama-Theatre Collection
http://drama.eserver.org/: "This site contains a collection of original plays and screenplays, criticism and links to other sites concerned with theatre. It publishes both classic and contemporary works, and would be delighted to consider your work if you'd care to submit it to our editors for review."
Electronic Text Archives and Plays Online
http://vl-theatre.com/list4.shtml/: Links to the Electronic text archives and plays online from The Web Virtual Library Theatre and Drama.
InterPlay Database
http://www.lib.pdx.edu/systems/interplay/: "Indexes more than 42,000 citations to plays by over 7,500 playwrights from more than 50 countries. Although all of these plays are in the Millar Library collection, they are often hard to find in the Vikat Catalog because they appear in collections, anthologies, and periodicals." Created and updated weekly by the Portland State University Libraries.
Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections...between 1900-1985. 1998. (Ref. Desk PN 1655 .O8)
Play Index. 1977-1987. (Ref. PN 1655 .P5)
Shakespeare Monologues
http://www.shakespeare-monologues.org/: "This page links to a list of the plays categorized alphabetically by comedy, history and tragedy. each entry includes the character's name, the first line of the speech, is marked as verse or prose and gives the location within the play where the monologue is found. Each entry includes a link to the full-text of the scene in which the monologue is found."

E-Journals

Didaskalia
http://www.didaskalia.net: Didaskalia is an electronic journal and resource dedicated to the study of ancient Greek and Roman drama in performance.
Off Off Broadway Review
http://www.oobr.com: The OOBR review section contains links to current shows with their cast and reviews. The homepage also includes a theatre directory and sections: Classical, Comedy, Drama, Dance, Kids, Lesbian-Gay, Musical, Festivals, Solo and Others.
Playbill Online
http://www.playbill.com/index.php

Other Web Sites

Actors Equity Association
http://www.actorsequity.org/home.asp
Broadway World
http://www.broadwayworld.com
Internet Broadway Database
http://www.ibdb.com/
BUBL Link to Theatre Studies
http://bubl.ac.uk/link/t/theatrestudies.htm/
Library of Congress: Performing Arts Reading Room
http://www.loc.gov/rr/perform/
New York Public Library: Performing Arts
http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/lpa.html
Stagelink: The Technical Production Resource
http://www.stagelink.com/
Theatre: UK Directory
http://www.entsweb.co.uk/theatre/index.html
Theatre: USA Directory
http://www.theatreusa.com/
World News Network: Entertainment
http://www.drama.com/

Alberto Hernández, Humanities Librarian
University of West Florida Library
Created: August 2006
Date Last Updated January 17, 2007