Research by Subject: Theater & Dance
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For information on resources, services, collections, and book ordering for your department.
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Department Home Page
LC Class Number Guide
| GV 1 - 1860 | Dancing |
| PN 1560 - 1590 | Performing Arts |
| PN 1600 - 3307 | Drama |
| PN 1865 - 1999 | Special types of drama: Including tragedy, comedy, vaudeville, puppet plays, pantomimes, ballet, radio and television broadcasts, motion pictures |
| PN 2000 - 3307 | Dramatic representation. The theater: Including management, the stage and accessories, amateur theatricals, tableaux and pageants |
Reference Sources
Recent Performing Arts Theses Search
Encyclopedias
The Oxford encyclopedia of theatre & performance
Geared toward specialists and non-specialists alike, this resource aims to address “the most important aspects of theatre and performance over time and on a worldwide scale.” Written and edited by subject experts. Includes illustrations and a thematic table of contents covering: Concepts and theories; Styles and movements; Other historical themes; Cities, regions linguistic traditions; Organizations and institutions; Buildings and material elements; Media issues; Biographies.
CALL NUMBER: [Ref] PN2035 .O94 2003 v.1-2
The World encyclopedia of contemporary theatre
A six-volume set arranged by continent, with entries for regions and countries. Each national article is divided into twelve sections, including History, Structure of the National Theatre Community, Design, and Criticism. Includes bibliographies and illustrations.
CALL NUMBER: [Ref] PN1861 .W670 1994 v.1-6
Subject Dictionaries
Dictionary of literary biography
A multi-volume set, organized by genre. Includes lists of authors’ works, biographical information, illustrations and photographs, and bibliographies. Many volumes are devoted to international dramatists.
CALL NUMBER: [Ref] PS221 .D510 v.1-
International dictionary of theatre
Includes three volumes: Plays; Playwrights; and Actors, Directors and Designers. Volume 1 addresses 620 plays of historical significance, from both classic and contemporary theater. Volumes 2 and 3 cover nearly 800 international people of the theater, from a range of historical periods. Includes bibliographies and illustrations.
CALL NUMBER: [Ref] PN2035 .I49 1992 v.1-3
Handbooks
The Oxford companion to American theatre
Offers brief entries on people, plays, theaters, organizations, movements, and awards in American theater. Addresses topics from the beginning of American theater history through the present.
CALL NUMBER: [Ref] PN2220 .B6 2004
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t149&authstatuscode=200
Other Sources
Who's who in the theatre
CALL NUMBER: [Ref] PN2208 .W5
Oxford Reference Online: performing Arts
Search individual titles or across the subject category. Titles include: The Oxford Companion to the American Musical; The Oxford Companion to American Theatre; The Oxford Dictionary of Dance; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music; The Oxford Companion to Music; A Dictionary of Opera Characters; The New Grove Book of Opera Singers; The Grove Book of Operas; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera; The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare, and The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre
CALL NUMBER:
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/SUBJECT_SEARCH.html?subject=s18
Databases & Articles
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Bibliographic Instruction
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Department Home Page
Websites & News
http://www2.stetson.edu/csata/thr_guid.html
Authoritative guide from Stetson University's Communication Studies and Theatre Arts Professor Ken McCoy
Playbill.com
http://www.playbill.com/index.php
Online version of the theater industry's news magazine
Proctors Theatre
http://www.proctors.org/
Schenectady's local performing arts center
Shakespeare Resource Center
http://bardweb.net/
Directory of online resources related to William Shakespeare. Includes a biographical sketch, brief plot summaries of his work, descriptions of the contemporary culture, and links to scholarly research on the Bard. Also offers further reading and a listing of modern theater companies.
American Theater Wing
http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/americantheatrewing.org
American Theater Wing characterizes its video and audio clips in iTunes U as "guided colloquies between colleagues" that are meant to give students, aspiring (and working) theater professionals, and the general public a deeper insight into "how theatre is made, through the words of those who make theatre." Its media programs "Downstage Center and Working in The Theatre" cover the full range of theatre disciplines, including: Acting, Advertising & Press, Artistic Direction, Casting, Choreography, Critics, Design, Directing, Music & Lyrics, Producing & Management, Productions, and Writing.
http://news.yahoo.com/i/89;_ylt=AsTWhu.4Sq2Y6v_QEUpAIHVcEBkF
Theater headlines from Yahoo! News and Playbill
Arts Beat: Culture News and Views
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/
Arts blog from the New York Times online
The Egg: News and Press Releases
http://www.theegg.org/news/feed
RSS feed for Albany’s performing arts center
New York Times: Theater
http://theater.nytimes.com/pages/theater/index.html
Daily theater page from the New York Times online
Proctors Theatre
http://www.proctors.org/email_form/email_list_sign_up
Sign up for alerts on events, movies, and educational programs at Schenectady's performing arts center
Village Voice: Theatre
http://www.villagevoice.com/theater/
Search events by date, category, or neighborhood in this NYC publication
Additional Information
American Theater Wing - American Theater Wing characterizes its video and audio clips in iTunes U as "guided colloquies between colleagues" that are meant to give students, aspiring (and working) theater professionals, and the general public a deeper insight into "how theatre is made, through the words of those who make theatre."
Its media programs Downstage Center and Working in The Theatre cover the full range of theatre disciplines, including Acting, Advertising & Press, Artistic Direction, Casting, Choreography, Critics, Design, Directing, Music & Lyrics, Producing & Management, Productions, and Writing.
92nd Street Y Theater
The 92nd Street Y site has talks on everything from politics to parenting. The Theater area includes readings by playwrights Harold Pinter and Eve Ensler.
THE 101: Introduction to Theatre and Drama Arts
The 101 has thirty video lectures with transcripts and required texts from Dr. Robert Bradley's introductory theater course at Missouri State University. Topics such as "The Director" and "Structure of a Play" are interspersed with numerous interviews with a variety of artists and theater personnel.
University of Warwick Culture
The Culture area of the University of Warwick iTunes "campus" includes a discussion of the newly-uncovered portrait of Shakespeare, reflections on the performance of Othello, and an experimental course called "Shakespeare's Bones," in which the words were stripped from a Shakespeare play and new ones, written by the students in the course, were attached to the underlying "rhythmic grid" that was left intact. Discussions from other drama courses, including one on Federico Garcia Lorca are available here as well.
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Dance in Video
Dance in Video will contain 250 dance productions and documentaries by the most influential performers and companies of the 20th century. Selections cover ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, experimental, and improvisational dance, as well as forerunners of the forms and the pioneers of modern concert dance. This release includes 189 videos, equalling 140 hours.
Theatre in Video
Theatre in Video permits subscribers to view streamed videos of 141 full-length theatrical productions and 138 documentaries (on playwrights, actors, directors, rehearsals, and a range of subjects from the Kabuki tradition to religious mystery plays). Alexander Street has attempted to locate definitive productions and performances, and the videos were shot live before an audience without any cinematic sweetening. Teachers may bookmark scenes for course web pages or in-class presentation, and students may likewise incorporate links into their research papers. Obviously, this is a very imaginative and impressive pedagogical resource. The latest release contains 279 titles, representing hundreds of leading playwrights, actors and directors.
In addition to JSTOR access to subject specific e-journals, including Performing Arts, Project Muse offers full-text access to current journals by discipline. Users can search or browse by category/subject. Project Muse includes Film, Theater, and Performing Arts