Sources for Researching Fences by August Wilson
PLAYS, PLAYWRIGHTS, PRODUCTION HISTORY:
Drama Criticism
REF PN1601 .D59 vol. 2
Volume 2 of this set provides background information on Wilson and the full text of selected performance reviews and critical essays. Further reading is included.
Black Literature Criticism
REF PS153 .N5 B556 vol. 3
Similar in format to Drama Criticism. The biographical info overlaps, but the essays about the work do not overlap. Many of the essays are excerpts of the originals. Further reading is included.
Contemporary Literary Criticism
REF PN771 .C59 vol. 118
Volume 118 includes an interview with Wilson and essays about his work. Further reading is included.
Literature Resource Center (LRC)
Online under “Augustana’s Databases A-Z” on the library web page. LRC brings together several sources that provide literary biographies and criticism.
American Drama Criticism
REF PS332 .A4 1979 5 vols.
Lists of reviews and criticism of American plays published from 1890-1993. This is a good place to find the major production history of a play and the attendant reviews.
ALiCat
Search for books or videos on your playwright by searching under his name (Wilson, August) as subject. Use I-Share to find books in other college libraries in Illinois.
CURRENT REVIEWS AND LITERARY CRITICISM:
There are many online databases you can search if you want current critical analyses and reviews of the plays and playwrights. I recommend LexisNexis (includes The New York Times), Academic Search Premier, and Periodical Abstracts. For databases that are more in depth in the humanities, try Humanities Abstracts, Project Muse, JSTOR, and MLA Bibliography.
The New York Times database. You can search for free and get the full text of articles back to 1987. There is a fine page for all things August Wilson.
LexisNexis
Online database for performance reviews, commentary, and interviews. Indexes the New York Times and other newspapers around the country, as well as magazines and journals.
HISTORICAL/CULTURAL BACKGROUND:
Encylopedia of African-American Culture & History
REF E185 .E54 1996 5 vols. and supplement
A 6-volume encyclopedia covering all things African-American. Explore the appendices in vol. 6 that include a thematic outline of contents, primary documents, and statistics.
In the reference collection, browse in E185 for more reference sources on African Americans.
American Decades
REF E169.12 .A419 1994 9 vols.
Each volume covers a different decade in the 20th century, through the ‘80s. You can find information in categories, such as “Arts,” “Sports,” and “Lifestyles and Social Trends.” A timeline of world events begins the book, and each category is prefaced with a chronology.
St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture
REF E169.1 .S764 2000 5 vols.
Look at the index by decade and by category.
Modern Arts Criticism
REF N40 .M63
Laid out like Drama Criticism, MAC includes a section on Romare Bearden with the full text of essays by and about him.
To locate images of Bearden, use Augie's Digital Image Collections.
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
REF ML100 .N48
or Grove Music Online (from library web page)
COSTUME and SET DESIGN:
Use ALiCAT to find photographs and other images in books about your place and time period.
Useful subject headings in ALiCat:
African Americans—Social life and customs
African Americans—Social conditions
African Americans—History
African Americans—History—Pictorial works
African American Art
Blues (music)
Discrimination in sports
MARKETING:
For information on marketing a particular play, see what other theatres have done. Try searching the title of the play in Google. You should find web sites of theatres that have produced or are producing the play, and you can look at their posters, blurbs, etc.
Think about the audience you want to attract; maybe you’d like to find an article on marketing to college students. Try searching in Academic Search Premier.
For books, look in ALiCat and I-Share under "performing arts--marketing" as a subject. One book that might help in particular is:
Standing Room Only: Strategies for Marketing the Performing Arts by Philip Kotler
PN 1590 .M27 K68 1997
Created by Margi Rogal, October 2007.
Augustana College