This guide suggests resources and strategies for research on theatrical works and performances.

Background Information  |  Facts & Figures  |  Find Articles  |  Find Books  |  Criticism & Reviews  |  People  |  Organizations  |  Web Resources

Background Information (Overview Sources)

Encyclopedias and other reference works are an excellent place to start a research project or simply learn more about a particular topic.  They provide topic summaries, context, and bibliographies for further reading.

American Musical Theatre:  A Chronicle
    (R 782.140973 B644a2)
The Cambridge History of American Theatre
    (R 792.0973 c1443)
The Crown Guide to the World's Great Plays, from Ancient Greece to Modern Times
    (R  809.2 Sh64c 1984)
The Encyclopedia of the American Theatre, 1900-1975
    (R 792.0973 B789e)
Encyclopaedia of the Musical Theatre
    (R 782.8103 G826e)
 

Use dictionaries, statistical works, atlases, handbooks and similar works to find and check facts about topics, people, or events.

Analytical Sourcebook of Concepts in Dramatic Theory
    (R 801.952 B825a)
The Ghost Walks : a Chronological History of Blacks in Show Business, 1865-1910
    (R 792.0899607 Sa48g)
Rodgers and Hammerstein Fact Book
    (R  782.810924 G826r)
Living Greek Theatre : a Handbook of Classical Performance and Modern Production
    (R 792.0938 W176l)
Shakespearean Concepts : a Dictionary of Terms and Conventions, Influences and Institutions, Themes, Ideas, and Genres in the Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama
    (R 822.33 A6tr)
Victorian Actors and Actresses in Review
    (R 792.0280922 V666)
 

Search indexes, abstracts, and databases to find journal, magazine, and newspaper articles.  For a complete list of Kent Library's online indexes and databases, see the Find: articles page (http://library.semo.edu/find/articles.asp).

To find historical/source materials such as newspaper, magazine, and journal articles written at the time of the play's run, use the following print sources:

Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, 1900+
   (located in the Indexes/Abstracts area, main floor)
Humanities Index, 1974 -
   (located in the Indexes/Abstracts area, main floor)
Social Science and Humanities Index, 1966-1974
   (located in the Indexes/Abstracts area, main floor)
International Index to Periodicals, 1907 - 1966
   (located in the Indexes/Abstracts area, main floor)
New York Times Index, 1851+
   (located in the Indexes/Abstracts area, main floor)

To find recent articles and scholarly/peer-reviewed articles use the following online databases:

Academic Search Elite
MLA Bibliography (FirstSearch)
PA Research II
Wilson Web Omni File
 

Use the Kent Library Catalog (http://library.semo.edu/find/books.html) to find books, periodicals (journals, magazines, & newspapers), videos, government documents and other materials.

Keyword searches allow you to use your own words as search terms.
Subject heading searches use Library of Congress subject headings. Printed volumes of these headings are located near the Reference Desk on the main floor.

Theater related subject headings include:

American drama
Drama--history and criticism
European drama
Theater--reviews
Theater--history
 

Browse the shelves by call number.  Use the Dewey Decimal chart (http://www.oclc.org/dewey/about/hundreds.htm) to get you in the right subject areas or try the following:

782
792
800s
 

 
American Drama Criticism
    (R 016.7920973 Ed23a)
American Drama Criticism : Interpretations, 1890-1977
    (Ready Reference  016.7920973 Ed23a2 1979)
Dramatic Criticism Index
    (Ready Reference 016.809204 B745d)
European Drama Criticism
    (Ready Reference 016.8092 P182e)
A Guide to Critical Reviews
    (Ready Reference 016.8092 Sa32g3)
On Stage; Selected Theater Reviews from the New York Times, 1920-1970
    (R 792.9097471 B388o)
 

Learn about important people, such as authors, researchers & historical figures related to this topic or field.

American Playwrights Since 1945 : A Guide to Scholarship, Criticism, and Performance
    (R  812.5409016 Am35)
A Biographical Chronicle of the English Drama, 1559-1642
    (R  822.309 F62b)
Negro Playwrights in the American Theatre, 1925-1959
    (R 812.509 Ab83n)
Twentieth-Century American Dramatists
    (R 928.1 D561 v.7) 
 

Professional organizations and/or societies often provide very useful topic related information.

American Theatre Critics Association
    http://www.americantheatrecritics.org/
 

Aisle Say; The Internet Magazine of Stage Reviews and Opinion
    http://www.aislesay.com/
A Brief Guide to Internet Resources in Theatre and Performance Studies
    http://www.stetson.edu/departments/csata/thr_guid.html
ELAC Theatre Theatrepedia
 http://www.perspicacity.com/elactheatre/library/library.htm
OOBR:  Off-Off Broadway Review
    http://www.oobr.com/
Theatre Central
    http://www1.playbill.com/cgi-bin/plb/central?cmd=start
The WWW Virtual Library for Theatre and Drama
    http://www.vl-theatre.com
 

For a list of Web searching tools, see the Find: web resources page (http://library.semo.edu/find/webpages.html).