Theatre

Zotero!

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Discuss: 

• Can you give a short description of generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT)? 
• How can it be used productively for research assistance and creative work? 
• How can it be used productively for other purposes? 
• How should students avoid using ChatGPT? 

• Students using ChatGPT showed weaker brain engagement, poorer recall, and less ownership of their work than those writing without AI.

AI, Learning, and Avoiding Cognitive Shortcuts

• “AI doesn't damage our brains, but unthinking use can damage our thinking. What's at stake isn't our neurons but our habits of mind.”
  • Mollick, E. (2025, January 26). Against “Brain Damage” [Substack newsletter]. One Useful Thing. https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/against-brain-damage
     
• The Key: Use AI as a Tool, Not a Shortcut in Learning
  • Treat AI like a tutor, not a homework or research machine.
  • Don’t start with AI. Instead, do your own thinking first.
  • Start your own brainstorming and write down your ideas. Then, turn to AI to build on them or push your thinking further.
     

AI Links

Sample searches: 

• Theat* AND (empathy OR cognition)

• Immersive theat*

Database on Costume history, design, and construction: 

Tips: Search "Elizabethan" or browse by period (1550-1599 and 1600-1649):

Ebook on costume design for hats and headdress: 

Find additional visual research resources here: Find Visual Research

Elizabethan and Midsummer resources: 

Via Bloomsbury Dress and Costume Library:

Find Costume and Makeup artists

Browse by videos on Theatre

Search for Interviews and reviews for info on productions and people

Search professional magazines and academic journals:

Search in newspapers

For more places to look for reviews, see:

Or, sign up for your own free full access account to the New York Times!

Library Catalog

Subjects to search:

• Costume
• Costume design
• Dressmaking
• Costume designers
• Theatrical makeup
• Film makeup
• Television makeup

Search for Ebooks

You can use the "Start Your Search" bar on the homepage, or try Gale Virtual Reference Library

Library resources on costuming and makeup:

Research for Time/period/culture of Anton Chekhov’s three sisters. 

Keyword terms to search: 

• Russia* 1900*
• Russia* 190*
• Nicholas II
• Russia* daily life

Subjects to search: 

• Russia -- History

Highly Recommended resource: 

Digital Theatre+

Contents: 

Chekhov-Life and Work
Brief Synopsis of The Plot
Brief Character Sketches
Working Through the Text In A Practical Way
Further Work on and Around The Text

Ebooks: 

Books in the Library

A few examples: 

Websites

Research on writer Chekhov and previous productions. 

Search by Subject: 

• Chekhov Anton Pavlovich 1860 1904
• Chekhov Anton Pavlovich 1860 1904 Criticism And Interpretation

Find reviews of previous productions

Tip: select Document Type "Review" or "Theatre Review"

Lookup the translator for reviews and interviews: 

"Michael Frayn"

For more resources to find reviews, go to the "Find Research Materials" page and select the tab to "Find Reviews"

Visual inspiration for the play

Inspiration as in paintings, music, photos, anything and everything to see/hear/feel. 

Browse by period [1900-1914], filter to Europe, look for specifics [e.g., underwear]

Find more visual resource here: 

Using AI in Your Work

Discussion Questions: 

• What is ChatGPT and how does it work? 
• What is different about using ChatGPT vs. Google vs. Library resources? 
• What are some useful ways to use ChatGPT for this assignment? 
• What are some ways you might want to avoid using ChatGPT? 

ChatGPT - generating research questions about Guan Hanqing

Find visual research resources here: Find Visual Research

Play options: 
Glass Menagerie - set in 1930s
Legend of Georgia McBride - written in 2014
Intimate Apparel set in 1905

Database on Costume history, design, and construction: 

Period research for design elements (costumes, props, sound, and scenery)

Image sources for visual research:

Research on Daily Life, Clothing, and Customs

Sonic Elements research 

Find Broadway Production Info

Search for Interviews and reviews using these databases:

Search professional magazines and academic journals:

Search in newspapers for reviews:

For more places to look for reviews, see:

Find books on Theatre Technology

Library Catalog

Subjects to search:

• Theaters -- Stage-setting and scenery.

  • NOTE: This above subject is the main one you want to search there are well over 100 results for this subject in the library catalog!

• Theater Architecture.

• Set Designers United States Interviews

• Set Designers United States Biography

   

Search for Ebooks

You can use the "Start Your Search" bar on the homepage, or try:

A selection of E-books on Theatre Technology