Reference Sources
Reference sources are designed to provide users with quick and authoritative background information on a given subject. They are the ideal place to familiarize yourself with a subject and its existing literature, although they should never be the culmination of your research process. On this page, learn about important reference databases like Oxford Reference Online, explore specific entries, and view recommended reference books.
Oxford Reference Online
Oxford Reference Online includes electronic versions of several major theatre reference sources. These include The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance, The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre, The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare, and The Oxford Companion to American Theatre among others. Find them under the subject "Performing Arts." To search for specific entries, use either the main search bar at the top of your screen to search the entirety of Oxford Reference Online, or try "Search within work" located at the left to search a selected publication. You can also browse entries alphabetically, including terms, people, and organizations.
Also see the page Online Resources for links to helpful websites like New Play Exchange and several major theatre organizations.
Print and Digital Reference Books
Print reference works on theatre can be found on Bracken Library's Third and Fourth Floors shelved with other books about theatre. The recommended reference works below are sorted by title. Click on the info icon to see a description of the book. Please note: eBooks accessed through Oxford Reference Online require log-in credentials off-campus. If you encounter difficulties, log-in through Oxford Reference Online first and then find books under the Performing Arts subject.
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The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre, Second Edition (eBook)
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This concise version of the acclaimed Oxford Companion to the Theatre covers all aspects of theatre worldwide and throughout the ages. It contains entries on a vast range of theatrical styles, dramatists, performers, and directors, as well as information on theatres, festivals, and such technical topics as lighting, sound, and method acting. Entries on people and places include Athol Fugard, Anthony Hopkins, Glenda Jackson, Derek Jacobi, Harvey Fierstein, Helen Mirren, Trevor Nunn, Peter O'Toole, Willy Russell, and Stephen Sondheim, Barbican Theatre, The English Shakespeare Company, Michael Gambon, The Swan at Stratford, and the Shubert theatre in New York.
Call Number: Oxford Reference OnlinePublication Date: 2003 -
Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television (eBook)
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Biographical and career information on people working in the entertainment industry. For general and trade audiences. Series ran from 1984 to 2003.
Call Number: Gale eBooksPublication Date: 2003 -
The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre (eBook)
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This exciting theatre companion, edited by a former literary manager of the Royal Shakespeare Company, includes over 2500 entries that range widely over theatre in the last century. It features not only exceptional scholarly entries, but a series of fascinating boxed essays written by active professional theatre insiders, including Arnold Wesker writing on playwriting, Ben Kingsley on preparing a part, and Daniel Massey on performing Shaw. The Companion is also wide-ranging in its geographical scope.
Call Number: Oxford Reference OnlinePublication Date: 2010 -
Historical Dictionary of African American Theater (eBook)
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This second edition of Historical Dictionary of African American Theater reflects the rich history and representation of the black aesthetic and the significance of African American theater's history, fleeting present, and promise to the future. It celebrates nearly 200 years of black theater in the United States and the thousands of black theater artists across the country--identifying representative black theaters, playwrights, plays, actors, directors, and designers and chronicling their contributions to the field from the birth of black theater in 1816 to the present.
Call Number: ProQuest eBook CentralPublication Date: 2018 -
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre, Third Edition (eBook)
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Now thoroughly revised, this distinguished volume once again provides an up-to-date guide to the American stage from its beginnings to the present. Completely updated by theater professor Thomas Hischak, the volume includes playwrights, plays, actors, directors, producers, songwriters, famous playhouses, dramatic movements, and much more. Accessible and authoritative, this valuable A-Z reference is ideal not only for students and scholars of theater, but everyone with a passion for the stage.
Call Number: Oxford Reference OnlinePublication Date: 2012 -
The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare (eBook)
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From the conjectured identity of the Dark Lady of the Sonnets to the misprints in the First Folio, from Shakespeare’s favourite figures of speech to the staging of Othello in South Africa, a team of 100 internationally renowned scholars provides a lucid, stimulating, and authoritative guide to Shakespeare’s plays and poems, and their interpretation around the world over the last four centuries. Now revised and updated to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, this much-loved Companion reflects developments and discoveries made in recent years as well as the performance, interpretation, and influence of Shakespeare’s works up to the present day.
Call Number: Oxford Reference OnlinePublication Date: 2015 -
The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation (eBook)
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This dictionary is the first comprehensive description of Shakespearean original pronunciation (OP), enabling practitioners to answer any queries about the pronunciation of individual words. It includes all the words in the First Folio, transcribed using IPA, and provides sound files as an additional aid to pronunciation. It details the main pronunciation evidence in the texts, notably all spelling variants and rhymes. An extensive introduction provides a full account of the aims, evidence, history, and current use of OP in relation to Shakespeare productions as well as other uses. It is an invaluable resource for producers, directors, actors, and others wishing to present Shakespeare's plays or poetry in original pronunciation, as well as for students and academics in the fields of literary criticism and Shakespeare studies more generally.
Call Number: Oxford Reference OnlinePublication Date: 2016 -
The Oxford Dictionary of Plays, Second Edition (eBook)
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Provides essential information on the best-known, best-loved, and most important plays in world theatre. Each entry includes details of the title, author, date of writing, date of first performance, genre, setting, and composition of cast; there is also a summary of the play's plot, and a brief commentary. Genres covered include: burlesque, comedy, farce, historical drama, kabuki, masque, melodrama, morality play, mystery play, No, romantic comedy, tragicomedy, satire, and tragedy. The perfect guide for students and scholars of drama and literature, theatre professionals, and directors looking for plays for performance.
Call Number: Oxford Reference OnlinePublication Date: 2015 -
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance (eBook and Print)
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This encyclopedia provides authoritative and up-to-date information about theatre and performance from ancient Greek theatre to the latest developments in London, Paris, New York, and around the globe. In addition to performances in playhouses, it covers dance, opera, radio, film, television, and popular performance, including carnivals, circus, and public executions. Entries range from short definitions of terms to lengthy considerations of genres and movements, such as feminism and psychoanalytic criticism. Entries on cities and regions place performance in its local social and political context. Written in accessible language, this encyclopedia brings together an international cast of over 300 specialist contributors.
Call Number: Oxford Reference Online and PN2035 .O94 2003Publication Date: 2003
Interlibrary Loan
Users are encouraged to search for items beyond University Libraries' catalog via International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance and WorldCat. Materials not available in print or online may be requested through Interlibrary Loan. Please allow up to seven days for electronic delivery and up to fourteen days for delivery of physical items.