Theatre: Reference

Reference Works

Reference works are a good source to go to find out background information on a topic or to look up a quick fact. This page will combine both online and print reference works. Most of the print reference works will be located on the ground floor of King, in the IMC.

Online Reference Works

Drama Online This link opens in a new window
The Bloomsbury Drama Online platform provides access to playtexts, video recordings of staged performances, critical and contextual writings, and practical guides to performance and dramaturgy. Supports research in theatre and literary studies. Includes a tools for discovering monologues and play texts that fit selected criteria. Coverage of Shakespeare and British theatre is especially strong. Users may encounter content in this database the library has not purchased.

Performing Arts - Oxford Reference Collection
Searches simultaneously in all of the Performing Arts titles in Oxford Reference Online, collectively covering theater, dance, music, and opera.

Biography in Context This link opens in a new window
A full-text database of biographical information on people from throughout history, around the world, and across all disciplines and subject areas.
It combines biographies from multiple Gale reference publications, such as Contemporary Authors, Encyclopedia of World Biography, Dictionary of American Biography, and Directory of American Scholars, with articles from more than 300 magazines, such as American History, The Christian Century, and U.S. News & World Report.

Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism
Lengthy articles, with bibliographies, on literary critics, schools, theories, and movements.

Gale Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Designed for undergraduate students, this contains information on literary figures from all time periods writing in such genres as fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, history, journalism, and more, drawn from these sources: Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism (starting with vol. 95), and Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. In addition it provides selected full-text, excerpted critical materials, articles from 260 literary journals, and links to selected websites.

Shakespeare for Students: Critical Interpretations of Shakespeare's Plays and Poetry
Collection of essays by Shakespeare scholars. Each entry includes a plot synopsis, character list, discussion of principal themes and historical context, and a critical overview for 27 plays and the sonnets.

Print Reference Works

Print reference books related to the study of Theatre are on the ground floor of King, in the IMC.

Here are a couple of basic titles that you might find helpful. This is a small sampling. Go to the IMC and browse this section for more reference works:

The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre ed. by Don B. Wilmeth. PN2221.C37 2007

The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama ed. by Gabrielle H. Cody and Evert Sprinchorn. PN1861.C65 2007 (2 vols.)

The Language of Theatre by Martin Harrison. PN2035.H297 1998

The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook: An Actor's Guide to Over 1,000 Monologues and Scenes from More than 300 Contemporary Plays by Ed Hooks. PN2080.H665 2007

Last Updated: Apr 17, 2024 10:40 AM
URL: https://libguides.lib.miamioh.edu/theatre
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Subjects: Theatre