TAR 100 & 149 - Acting - Library Research Guide
The Play: Critical Analysis
Some of the resources listed above will include critical analysis of the plays. The best places to look, however, are listed below. The majority of these resources are also excellent for finding reviews, which will help you get at productions of plays)
Please Note: If full-text of your article is not available in a database, then look at the citation; identify the periodical (journal or magazine) title, volume and issue numbers, pages. Look for the periodical title in the library catalog; get the call number and find that call number in the stacks using the call number location guide to find your article.
ABELL
ABELL, 1920-present, contains over 800,000 records covering monographs, periodical articles, critical editions of literary works, book reviews, collections of essays, doctoral dissertations, play productions published anywhere in the world from 1920 onwards.
International Index to Performing Arts (IIPA) 1998-present
Use IIPA to find information from more than 200 international performing arts periodicals. Also includes performing arts related articles and obituaries appearing in The New York Times and The Washington Post. This database covers the areas of dance, film, drama/theater, stagecraft, broadcast arts, comedy, storytelling, pantomime, puppetry, & magic.
Literature Resource Center ( Internet), 1991-present contains theatre reviews, history and criticism of drama, and biographical information on dramatists.
MLA Bibliography, 1963-present (some full-text).
Citations to published scholarly literature in linguistics, modern languages, literature, communicative behavior, and folklore. Detailed coverage of English, American, European, Asian, African, and Latin American literature.
General OneFile, 1980-present
Multipurpose database that includes some full-text articles. Find articles and reviews.
Readers Guide Retrospective,1890 through 1982
Contains comprehensive indexing of the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States and reflects the history of 20th century America. No full-text. The paper copies are at AI3 .R48
Info Commons Ref (from 1900-present)
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe
This is a great source for finding reviews of plays and, therefore, for finding production history . When using the Guided News Search interface, look at your options and try several. You could also use the Arts & Entertainment search. Remember to adjust the date for your search; the default date is for the last six months.
American's Newspapers
Another good newspaper source for locating reviews of productions around the country.
National Theatre Critics' Reviews 1943-1996
PN1601 .N4
Main Ref
Includes complete reprint reviews of performances as they originally appeared in several New York City papers when the plays appeared on stage.
New York Times Theatre Reviews PN2266 .N48
Info Commons Ref
1870-1970, 1977/78-1995/96, 1999/2000.
Contains reprinted reviews for theatre productions which appeared in the New York Times. Arranged chronologically.