LibGuides: Theatre: Find Research Materials

Theatre Research

Best Bet Databases for Theatre reserach:

Shakespeare in Performance: Prompt Books from the Folger Shakespeare Library This link opens in a new window Rare prompt books that tell the story of Shakespeare’s plays as performed in Great Britain, the United States and internationally. Gift of the Wilkinson Family Library Endowment. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1600-present.
ProQuest Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window Indexes 400 scholarly and trade journals, magazines, books, and newspapers covering theater, dance, film, television, stagecraft, broadcast arts, storytelling, and more. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1864-present. Restricted to 4 users at a time.
Chicago Tribune Historical (1849-1988) This link opens in a new window Includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue and offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1849-1988.
Los Angeles Times This link opens in a new window Complete full-text content of local and regional news, including community events, schools, politics, government policies, cultural activities, local companies, state industries, and people in the community. Paid advertisements are excluded. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1985-present.
Los Angeles Times Historical (1881-1988) This link opens in a new window Includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue and offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1881-1988.
Newspaper Source This link opens in a new window Provides cover-to-cover full text for more than 40 national and international newspapers and selective full text for more than 370 regional newspapers. Also includes television and radio news transcripts from sources like CBS News, CNN, FOX News, and NPR, and more. List of Titles. | Terms of Use.
New York Times Historical (1851-2008) This link opens in a new window Provides access to digitized pages of the New York Times back files, including news articles, editorials, obituaries, marriage and birth announcements, reviews, and advertisements. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1851-2008.
US West Newsstream This link opens in a new window Search regional news content from Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Archives feature newspapers, newswires, news sites, trade journals, and magazines. Click here for a list of publications covered in US West Newsstream. | Terms of Use. Coverage: 1968-present.

Best Bet web resources for Theatre research:

Shakespeare Documented Shakespeare Documented is the largest and most authoritative collection of primary-source materials documenting the life of William Shakespeare (1564-1616), bringing together all known manuscript and print references to Shakespeare, his works, and additional references to his family, in his lifetime and shortly thereafter. Nearly 500 references, found in roughly 400 print and manuscript documents, provide a rich portrait of Shakespeare as a professional playwright, actor, poet, business man, and family man who lived in both London and Stratford-upon-Avon. These documents trace Shakespeare’s path to becoming a household name, from the earliest reference to his father in Stratford-upon-Avon, a bustling market town in Warwickshire, in 1552, to the publication of his collected plays, now known as the “First Folio,” in 1623, to the earliest gossipy references to Shakespeare in the following decades.
JSTOR Understanding Shakespeare Understanding Shakespeare is a collaborative project between JSTOR Labs and the Folger Shakespeare Library . It’s a research tool that allows students, educators and scholars to use the text of Shakespeare’s plays to quickly navigate into the scholarship written about them—line by line. Users simply click next to any line of text in a play and relevant articles from the JSTOR archive immediately load.

The Leatherby Libraries has a large collection of books for theatre research. These books are primarily found in the Humanities library on the 2nd floor, but the call numbers can vary widely.

Search the Leatherby Libraries catalog in order to find books:

You may also find helpful e-books in the Start Your Search on the library homepage or in the following databases:

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window Encyclopedias, biographical collections, business plan handbooks, company history compilations, consumer health references, and specialized reference sources from a wide range of disciplines. Terms of Use.
eBooks on EBSCOhost This link opens in a new window Access to multidisciplinary e-books, including those owned by Chapman University or available through the eBook Academic Collection subscription. Terms of Use. Each book is restricted to 1 download at a time (requires Adobe Digital Editions or the EBSCO Mobile App). Unlimited users may read in browser.
eBook Academic Collection This link opens in a new window Over 160,000 multidisciplinary e-book titles representing a broad range of academic subject matter, including titles from leading university presses. Terms of Use. Each book is restricted to 1 download at a time (requires Adobe Digital Editions or the EBSCO Mobile App). Unlimited users may read in browser.

You also have access to books from libraries all over the world through interlibrary loan. Use WorldCat to discover and submit interlibrary loan requests:

Search these databases to find articles on theatre topics:

Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window A multi-disciplinary database providing access to scholarly journals articles, newspapers, popular magazines, and reviews. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1975-present.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window An interdisciplinary ebook and journal platform to support scholarship and teaching. Provides access to select current subscriptions as well as the archives of over one thousand leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Terms of Use.
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window Up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on more than 130,000 writers. Coverage includes all genres and disciplines, time periods, and geographic regions. Terms of Use.
ProQuest Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window Indexes 400 scholarly and trade journals, magazines, books, and newspapers covering theater, dance, film, television, stagecraft, broadcast arts, storytelling, and more. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1864-present. Restricted to 4 users at a time.

You can also browse issues of particular magazines and journals:

American Theatre Magazine American Theatre magazine is the nation’s only general-circulation magazine devoted to theatre. Founded in 1984 by the pioneering arts service organization Theatre Communications Group, the magazine featured cowboy-hatted playwright Sam Shepard on its first cover in April of that year. Published 10 times a year, the magazine now has an estimated readership of 50,000, mostly within the theatre profession. American Theatre covers theatrical trends and events, stage artists of every stripe, and economic and legislative developments affecting the arts. Its main purview is America’s wide-ranging network of professional, not-for-profit theatres—commercial, amateur or university theatre is less frequently covered—and the magazine does not review productions (but does review theatre-related books). Important international theatre is regularly featured, and significant production in the U.S. and abroad are highlighted under such headings as “Critic’s Notebook,” “Currents,” “First Person” and “Global Spotlight.” The complete scripts of major new American plays, accompanied by provocative playwright interviews, appear five times each year.
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Link is to Academic OneFile database
Back Stage (2008-current) For over 50 years, Backstage has been the most trusted place for actors and performers to find jobs and career advice, and for casting professionals and talent seekers to find the right performers for their projects. Today, Backstage is the largest online casting platform in the United States, with over 4,000 roles posted every week, and over 100,000 members building their careers on the platform. Casting professionals can take advantage of sophisticated application management tools to make the job of finding the perfect performer a breeze.
Theatre Journal For six decades, Theatre Journal's broad array of scholarly articles and reviews has earned it an international reputation as one of the most authoritative and useful publications of theatre studies available today. Drawing contributions from noted practitioners and scholars, Theatre Journal features social and historical studies, production reviews, and theoretical inquiries that analyze dramatic texts and production. Theatre Journal is an official publication of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE).
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Links to Project Muse database
Variety A business-to-business magazine for the entertainment industry. Covers the worldwide media and entertainment marketplace, including the major entertainment centers - Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, and Rome. Features the most current news, box office reports, and film and television production charts.
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Link is to Academic OneFile database

Newspaper databases are a great resource for finding production reviews. The newspaper database you choose will likely depend on the place where the production occurred.

You can search in many newspapers at once using Newspaper Source or General OneFile:

General OneFile This link opens in a new window Peer-reviewed, full-text articles from journals and reference sources covering the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature, and other subjects. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1980-present.
Newspaper Source This link opens in a new window Provides cover-to-cover full text for more than 40 national and international newspapers and selective full text for more than 370 regional newspapers. Also includes television and radio news transcripts from sources like CBS News, CNN, FOX News, and NPR, and more. List of Titles. | Terms of Use.

Or you might want to search only for newspapers in a particular region.

For productions that took place in New York:

New York Times Historical (1851-2008) This link opens in a new window Provides access to digitized pages of the New York Times back files, including news articles, editorials, obituaries, marriage and birth announcements, reviews, and advertisements. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1851-2008.

For productions on the West Coast, try:

US West Newsstream This link opens in a new window Search regional news content from Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Archives feature newspapers, newswires, news sites, trade journals, and magazines. Click here for a list of publications covered in US West Newsstream. | Terms of Use. Coverage: 1968-present.
Los Angeles Times This link opens in a new window Complete full-text content of local and regional news, including community events, schools, politics, government policies, cultural activities, local companies, state industries, and people in the community. Paid advertisements are excluded. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1985-present.
Los Angeles Times Historical (1881-1988) This link opens in a new window Includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue and offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1881-1988.

For historic performances in Chicago, try:

Chicago Tribune Historical (1849-1988) This link opens in a new window Includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue and offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1849-1988.

For productions that took place in other areas, consult the list of newspaper databases:

Newspaper Databases

You can find reviews of performances, books, recordings, etc. across many publications using ProQuest Performing Arts Periodicals:

ProQuest Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window Indexes 400 scholarly and trade journals, magazines, books, and newspapers covering theater, dance, film, television, stagecraft, broadcast arts, storytelling, and more. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1864-present. Restricted to 4 users at a time.

For reviews from historical black newspapers, try:

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Black Newspapers This link opens in a new window Includes: Atlanta Daily World, Baltimore Afro-American, Chicago Defender, Cleveland Call and Post, L.A. Sentinel, Michigan Chronicle, N.Y. Amsterdam News, Norfolk Journal and Guide, Philadelphia Tribune, Pittsburgh Courier. Partial gift of The Wilkinson Family Library Endowment. Terms of Use. Coverage varies.
Coverage includes: Atlanta Daily World (1931-2010), Baltimore Afro-American (1893-2010), Chicago Defender (1910-2010), Cleveland Call and Post (1934-2010), Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2010), Michigan Chronicle (1936-2010), New York Amsterdam News (1922-2010), Norfolk Journal and Guide (1916-2010), Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2010), and Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2010).

Playbill Vault
Find all kinds of useful info on Broadway productions going back to the 1930s! Find original artwork, cast info, production credits, opening and closing dates, and more.
Shakespeare Documented Shakespeare Documented is the largest and most authoritative collection of primary-source materials documenting the life of William Shakespeare (1564-1616), bringing together all known manuscript and print references to Shakespeare, his works, and additional references to his family, in his lifetime and shortly thereafter. Nearly 500 references, found in roughly 400 print and manuscript documents, provide a rich portrait of Shakespeare as a professional playwright, actor, poet, business man, and family man who lived in both London and Stratford-upon-Avon. These documents trace Shakespeare’s path to becoming a household name, from the earliest reference to his father in Stratford-upon-Avon, a bustling market town in Warwickshire, in 1552, to the publication of his collected plays, now known as the “First Folio,” in 1623, to the earliest gossipy references to Shakespeare in the following decades.

Professional theatre magazines also can be helpful for finding production info. Interviews, reviews, and articles can all be found using this database:

ProQuest Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window Indexes 400 scholarly and trade journals, magazines, books, and newspapers covering theater, dance, film, television, stagecraft, broadcast arts, storytelling, and more. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1864-present. Restricted to 4 users at a time.

Other useful databases:

Shakespeare in Performance: Prompt Books from the Folger Shakespeare Library This link opens in a new window Rare prompt books that tell the story of Shakespeare’s plays as performed in Great Britain, the United States and internationally. Gift of the Wilkinson Family Library Endowment. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1600-present.

Newspaper Databases

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window Includes millions of citations to dissertations and theses from 1861 to present around the world with over one million full-text dissertations available to download in PDF format. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1861-present.
EBSCO Open Dissertations This link opens in a new window A free theses and dissertations database offering access to more than 800,000 theses and dissertations from universities around the world. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1846-present.

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