Research Guides: *Theater: Research Resources

Researching Plays and Playwrights

International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Indexes both journals and books. Includes both scholarly and trade journals. If you are looking for either scholarly or primary information on the theater, this is the best place to start.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
An excellent resource for the history of the theater, the theater as literature, and theater as it is culturally situated.
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Both scholarly and popular press articles on the theater.
New Play Exchange This link opens in a new window
Index of recent plays with contact information of playwrights. Full text available for selected plays.

The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama
Location: Reference PN1861 .C65 2007
ISBN: 0231140320
Publication dates: worldwide, ca. 1850-2005. Concentrates on drama as literature, rather than as performance. The best place to look for authoritative biographical information on lesser known playwrights from around the world. There are also extensive entries on individual works (e.g. Zong Fuxian's "In a Land of Silence").
World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre by Routledge
Location: Reference PN1861 .W67 1994 v.1-6
World theater as practiced in 177 countries, from 1945 to the present day. Explores the social milieu from which each national theater community arises. Includes puppet theater and dance theater.

The Cambridge History of American Theatre
Location: Online and Bates Bookstacks PN2221 .C37 1998 v.1-3
Authoritative three volume history of American theater covering from the time immediately prior to European colonization through the 1990s.
The Cambridge History of British Theatre
Location: Online and Bates Bookstacks PN2581 .C36 2004 v.1-3
Three volume history of British theater starting around the time of Shakespeare and continuing forward. An excellent source for background information and contextualization of British theater.

Contact:

Ladd Library 134
(207) 786-6274
cschiff@bates.edu

I am usually at the Research Desk Wed. 1-4, Thurs. 6-9, and Fri. 10-1

Subjects: Africana, American Studies, Dance, Film Studies, Languages and Literatures, Latin, Music, Rhetoric, Theater