Theater Arts and Drama

For additional assistance, contact Joseph Diaz

Background Information

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias ; Research Guides; Chronologies and Histories

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

The Batsford Dictionary of Drama. Main Ref. PN 1625 H62 1988 Definitions of terms used in the theatre and by theatre critics.

Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Main Ref. PN2035 .C27 1995. Covers world theatre and includes entries for for individual countries, names of theatre personnel, theatres, acting companies, genres of theatre. and wide variety of terms. No entries for play titles included.

Dictionary of the Performing Arts. Main Library PN1579 .M66 1999

Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts, Analysis. Main Ref. PN2035 .P2913 1998.

Encyclopedia Britannica ONLINE  Provides concise as well as scholarly articles on a wide range of topics. Useful as a starting point for basic information.

International Dictionary of Theatre. Main Ref. PN 2035 I49 1992  Vol. 1: Plays. Contains entries for over 620 plays, with a critical essay on each. Vol. 2: Playwrights. Major dramatists, with a summary of their lives, a list of works, and a list of critical studies about the playwrights. Vol. 3: Actors, directors, and designers. Brief biography with chronological list of performances.

International Dictionary of Theatre Language. Main Ref. PN2035 .I5 1985. Defines 10,000 English terms and 5,000 foreign terms. Covers all areas of drama, theatre production, acting technology, management, among others. Entries written by scholars in the field.

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama: An International Reference Work in Five Volumes. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984.
Has biographies of dramatists, summaries of plays, and descriptions of national dramas covering the ancient Greeks and Romans to the twentieth century. PN 1625 M3 1984 Main Reference  

Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Main Ref. PN2220 .B6 2004. Provides paragraph length information for a wide range of terms used relating to theatre in the U.S.

Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance Main Ref. PN2035 .O94 2003 2vols. International in scope, includes definitions of terminology, biographies, concepts, theories and brief histories of theatre in some cities and countries. Includes a timeline of theatre history, a selective bibliography of important works related to theatre history. No plays are listed.

SSP Online Glossary of Theatre Terms   Provides brief descriptions of terms used in the theater.

Theatrecrafts.com Glossary of Technical Theatre Terms. This online glossary, produced in Great Britain, contains over 1500 terms and is searchable in a number of ways.

The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre. Main Ref. PN1861 .W67 1994 6 volumes. Covers theatre in Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Arab world, and Asia/the Pacific since 1945--altogether 150 countries. Topics discussed for each country include theatre history, musical theatre, design,, criticism, theatre space and architecture, and further reading. Volume six includes an extensive bibliography and cumulative index.

Research Guides

American Theater and Drama Research: An Annotated Guide to Information Sources, 1945-1990. Main Ref. PN 2266.3 S52 1991. This slim volume describes some essential print sources necessary for conducting research in theater and drama.

A Guide to Reference and Bibliography for Theatre Research.Main Library stacks. PN1620.A1 B34 1983. This slim volume, while a bit dated, is very useful for finding basic reference resources, particularly American and British materials.

The performing arts: a guide to the reference literature. Main Ref. PN 1584 .S56 1994
A handy tool to identify guides, dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, indexes, relating to the performing arts.

Popular entertainment research : how to do it and how to use it. Main Library Ref. PN1576 .P78 1992. This useful resources covers film, theater, popular music and broadcast media. Also includes an introduction to research methods in these areas.

Theatre sources dot com : a complete guide to online theatre and dance resources. Main Library PN2052 .C38 2001

Theatre Studies Research Guide.(Yale University) A comprehensive, scholarly web site for theater research. Incorporates both print and onlline resources.

Chronologies and Histories

20th Century Theatre.Main Ref. PN2189 .L65 1983. A chronological record of theatrical developments in Great Britain and the U.S. Coverage 1900-1983. Includes information on premieres, revivals and repertoires, births/deaths/debuts and theaters/productions.

Cambridge History of American Theatre. 3vols. Main Library stacks. PN 2221 C37 1998. Authoritative 3 volume set that examines the theater in context, structure and management, plays and playwrights, actors, scenography, etc.

A Chronological Outline of World Theatre.Main Library stacks. PN2101 .M47 1992

History of the Theatre, 9th ed. by Oscar G. Brockett. Main Ref. PN2101 .B68 2003. Provides an excellent overview of the theatre from its beginnings through the end of the 20th century. Includes a selective bibliography and index.

Modern British, Irish, and American Drama: A Descriptive Chronology, 1865-1965. Carpenter, Charles A.