Guide to Research in Theatre and Performance

This guide includes basic resources, both print and electronic, in the fields of theatre and performance. Since these fields are interdisciplinary (the history of theatre, for example, includes general history, popular culture, and the history of particular theatrical productions) and can be subdivided into more specific areas of study (theatre includes, for example, technical design as well as acting), this guide can’t hope to cover all the related fields and subfields in depth. Please consult a librarian for further help in defining your research needs.

I. Reference Sources.
The books in the reference collection (located on 2nd floor) can be a good starting point for research--to give you background on a playwright or play, historical period, fashion trend, or cultural phenomenon. Reference sources often include bibliographies, that is, lists of books and articles to find additional information on the topic.

A. Plays, Playwrights, Production History

The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre
REF PN1861 .W67 1994   (6 vols.)
An encyclopedia of nations and their theatre since 1945.

Contemporary Dramatists
REF PN1625 .V5 1993
Short introductions to playwrights.

Drama Criticism
REF PN1601 .D59   (21+ vols.)
Long entries providing background and essays on playwrights of all periods and nationalities.

American Drama Criticism
REF PS332 .A4 1979   (5 vols.)
Lists of reviews and criticism of American plays published from 1890-1993.

Black Literature Criticism
REF PS153 .N5 B556   (3 vols.)
Similar in format to Drama Criticism. The biographical info overlaps with Drama Criticism, but the essays about the works do not overlap.

Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC)
REF PN771 .C59   (176+ vols.)
Includes criticism on playwrights who are living or who died after December 31, 1999. Use the cumulated author or title indexes. Use the cumulated “topic index” to find cool articles on subjects such as “Gay and Lesbian Literature.”

Twentieth-Century Criticism (TCLC)
REF PN 771 .G27  (148+ vols.)
By the same publisher as CLC, but covers authors who died between 1900 and 1999. This set has a topic index, too, where you can find such articles as “Harlem Renaissance.”

The New York Times Index
INDEX AI21 .N4
1851-present (recent years are available on Lexis Nexis)
Great for contemporary reviews, commentary, and interviews not found anywhere else.

B. Historical Background

The People’s Chronology
REF D11 .T83 1992
Lots of tidbits about events and culture each year throughout history.

Chronology of World History
REF D11 .M39 1999 (4 vols.)
Similar to People’s Chronology, but more information.

The Timetables of History
REF D11 .G78
Less info, but can compare easily from year to year.

The U.S.A.: Chronicle in Pictures
REF E174.5 .W4 1991
A year by year list of events with pictures.

American Decades
REF E169.12 .A419 1994  (9 vols.)
Each volume covers a different decade in the 20th century, through the ‘80s. Broad categories, such as “Fashion.”

C. Popular Culture

St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture
REF E169.1 .S764 2000  (5 vols.)
Look at the index by decade and by category.

Atlas of the Baby Boom Generation: A Cultural History of Postwar America
REF E741 .A88 2000
Fun and useful for trends, maps, pictures about boomers.

African-American Culture & History
REF E185 .E54 1996   (5 vols. and supplement)

D. Costume and Set Design

 For Appearance’ Sake: the Historical Encyclopedia of Good Looks, Beauty, and Grooming
REF GT499 .S49 2001

20th Century Fashion
REF GT596 .P39 1993

Fashions of a Decade
REF GT596 .C67 1992  (8 vols.)
Each volume covers a decade through the 1990s.

For both costume and set design, primary sources are important resources to use. If you are setting a play in 1930s Chicago, for example, you would want to see photographs of people and places in Chicago in the 1930s. A good resource is older magazines, and we own a few titles from early time periods. Browse for these in the call number area AP2 on the 1st floor. A few examples are:

Collier’s                                     1915-1957 AP2 .C65
Cosmopolitan                            1886-1925 AP2 .C8
Life                                           1936-1972 AP2 .L547
Saturday Evening Post               1919-1975 AP2 .S2
Scientific American                    1859-1947 T1 .S5

E. Photographs

Finding photographs to use as documentation for set and costume design can be tricky. The best advice is to look for books on the historical period and geographical place of your play, such as, “Illinois—History--Civil War.” Or, you can look under the topic of the play, such as, “farm life.” To find photographs of Iowa farms, for example, you could look in ALiCat under the subjects “Farm Life—Iowa—Pictorial Works” and “Iowa—Social Life and Customs—Pictorial Works.”  The subheading “Social Life and Customs” is useful to use in looking for photographs on a place.

Photography Books Index: A Subject Guide to Photo Anthologies

REF TR199 .M67
Photography Books Index II
REF TR199 .M67 1985
You can look up a topic in these books (“Farms and Farming,” for example) and be led to collections of photographs that include farm life. Lots of cool topics here. Once you identify a collection that includes photographs you want to look at, you have to determine if we have the collection by looking it up in ALiCat.

A History of Private Life

GT2400 .H5713 1987 (note this is NOT in the reference collection)
An interesting set of 5 volumes that tries to chronicle the history of private life. Great for theatre students! In the last volume, for example, a piece called “Myths and Realities of the American Family” includes illustrations.

Paintings

If you want to find artists’ renderings of clothes, hairstyles, or interiors of a period, the best approach is to identify artists of the time and place and then look for their work. Use the sources below to identify artists.

Timetables of History
REF D11 .G78
Here, you can look up a specific year throughout history and be informed of the artists working at the time. Then look up the artist you find in ALiCat or The Dictionary of Art (see below).

American Decades
REF E169.12 .A419 1994 (9 vols.)
This is a variation on the timetables idea. Each decade of the 20th century in America is covered in a separate volume. Each volume has a section called “The Arts.”  Look here to find out the trends and artists of the decade.

The Dictionary of  Art
REF N31 .D5 1996 (34 vols.)
This is a 34-volume, specialized encyclopedia that will provide you with an overview of the history of art of a country, and with the names of seminal artists. For artists of the United States, for example, look under “United States of America.” The article is further broken down by genre (e.g., “painting”) and then by historical period.

Academic American Encyclopedia
REF AE5. A23 1996 (21 vols.)
If The Dictionary of Art is too overwhelming, try this more general encyclopedia. Look under “American Art and Architecture,” e.g.

Great Events from History II.
REF NX456 .G72 1993 (5 vols.)
In each of 5 volumes, this source provides overviews of art, dance, fashion, music, etc. from 1897 to 1992. An article on “Artists Find Inspiration in African Tribal Art,” for example, describes the work of four artists. No pictures.

II. BOOKS

Find books in the Tredway Library through the library’s catalog ALiCat.
Find books in college libraries in Illinois through the I-SHARE catalog. Both catalogs work in the same way. You can request books from I-SHARE, and they will be sent to Augie.

Here are some useful subject headings to browse in ALiCat or ILCSO. You can substitute other countries in the examples given. For more ideas on good subject headings, use the big red books at the reference desk titled Library of Congress Subject Headings:

United States—History
United States—Social Life and Customs
Clothing and Dress
Costume—History
Costume—China
Fashion
Interior decoration—United States—History
Decorative arts—United States—History
Furniture—United States—History
Art—United States
Art, American
Art, Modern
Photography of Farms
Photography, Agricultural
Farm Life—Iowa—Pictorial Works
Iowa—Social Life and Customs—Pictorial Works

Useful Library of Congress call numbers (for browsing in the stacks):

Drama:  PN 1600-3307
Special subjects:  PN 1635-1650
Playwriting:  PN 1660-1693
History:  PN 1720-1861
Dramatic Representation:  PN 2000-3307
Acting:  PN 2061-2071
The Stage/Accessories (Design):  PN 2085-2091
Tableaux, Pageants, “Happenings”:  PN 3203-3399
Costumes:  GT 500-GT2250
Interior decoration, furniture, etc.:  NK 1700-3496.3
History of photography and collections of photographs by particular photographers: TR1-820

III. JOURNALS

These are journals in our library related to theatre. They may be available in hard copy or electronic format. Check “Augustana’s Periodicals” on the Research Resources page of the library’s web site for up-to-date information about format and holdings.

AMERICAN THEATRE
CANADIAN THEATRE REVIEW
CRITICS THEATRE REVIEWS
DRAMA: THE QUARTERLY THEATRE REVIEW
EDUCATIONAL THEATRE JOURNAL
NEW YORK THEATRE CRITICS REVIEW
NINETEENTH CENTURY THEATRE
NINETEENTH CENTURY THEATRE RESEARCH
THEATER
THEATRE ARTS (NEW YORK, NY)
THEATRE ARTS MONTHLY
THEATRE CRAFTS
THEATRE HISTORY STUDIES
THEATRE JOURNAL
THEATRE JOURNAL (WASHINGTON, D.C.)
THEATRE NOTEBOOK
THEATRE RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL
THEATRE SURVEY
THEATRE TOPICS
BULLETIN OF BIBLIOGRAPHY AND DRAMATIC INDEX
DRAMA: THE QUARTERLY THEATRE REVIEW
DRAMATISTS GUILD QUARTERLY
JOURNAL OF GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY, PSYCHODRAMA AND SOCIOMETRY
MODERN DRAMA
RESEARCH IN DRAMA EDUCATION
TDR : DRAMA REVIEW
THE DRAMA REVIEW: TDR
TULANE DRAMA REVIEW
PERFORMING ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT IN CANADA
TD&T

IV. FINDING ARTICLES IN JOURNALS

To find articles in journals on a particular topic, use the electronic indexes that are available on the Research Resources page. Some of these indexes also offer full text of the articles. If a link to full text is not provided, check “Augustana’s Periodicals” to find out where you can get the full text of the article. The following are some indexes that might prove useful for finding articles related to theatre. You can find these by looking in the alphabetical list “Electronic Resources Guide” on the Research Resources page.
America History & Life
Historical Abstracts
American Humanities Index
Arts and Humanities Search
Humanities Abstracts
MLA Bibliography
Wilson Select
Periodical Abstracts
JSTOR Journal Archive
Lexis-Nexis Universe
EBSCO: Academic Search Premier

Editions and Adaptions of Shakespeare.  This CD-ROM is stored at the reference desk; please ask for disk.
Note: Full-text of eleven major editions from the First Folio of 1623 to the Cambridge edition of 1863-6; twenty-eight separate contemporary printings of individual plays and poems; selected apocrypha and related works; and more than one hundred adaptations, sequels and burlesques from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
 
V. THEATRE VIDEOS
A selected list (updated October 28, 2003) of videos related to theatre in the Tredway Library. Check “Augustana’s Videos” on the Research Resources page of the Library’s web site for a complete list, or search for videos by title or subject in ALiCat.

VI. SELECTED WORLD WIDE WEB SITES FOR THEATRE

The WWW Virtual Library of Theatre and Drama
http://www.vl-theatre.com/
Theatre Central
http://www1.playbill.com/cgi-bin/plb/central?cmd=start
The International Theatre Design Archive
http://www.siue.edu/ITDA
A Brief Guide to Internet Resources in Theatre and Performance Studies
http://www.stetson.edu/csata/thr_guid.html
The Costume Page
http://users.alo.com/nebula5/costume.html
Costume Society of  America
http://www.costumesocietyamerica.com/

Created by Prof. Scott Magelssen, Theatre, and Margi Rogal, Library.
Last updated, 1/11/07.

Thomas Tredway Library Augustana College 639 38th Street, Rock Island, IL 61201
 309-794-7206   libraryinfo@augustana.edu