Library : Dramaturgy: Context Research

Reference

Reference resources like these are ideal for a very broad overview of a topic. This is a good starting place if you're investigating a playwright, type of theatre, historical time period, or place that's brand new to you.

CREDO Reference This link opens in a new window
Why? To explore a premier virtual reference collection including encyclopedias, dictionaries, and atlases in a wide expanse of subject areas
What? Encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, images, audio files, and video
Oxford Encyclopedia of Theater and Performance This link opens in a new window
Why? To search an encyclopedia covering theater and performance
What? Encyclopedia entries
When? Ancient Greek theatre - modern times
Nineteenth Century Collections Online Archive: British Theatre, Music, and Literature This link opens in a new window
Why? To explore Victorian cultural selections from the British Library including playbills, scripts, and scores
What? Primary sources
When? 19th century

Research Articles

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Why? To explore a full-text archive of scholarly journals, particularly strong in the arts and humanities, and access Artstor's 3M+ images
What? Journal archives, images
When? 1665 - present
Arts & Humanities Database This link opens in a new window
Full-text scholarly coverage of art, architecture, design, history, music and theater. from 1970 to the present.
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Access numerous literary resources in one search.
ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
Why? To search the largest periodical resource available, bringing together databases across all major subject areas
What? Full-text articles
When? 1970 - present
Art & Architecture Complete This link opens in a new window
Why? To access 380+ journal titles and 220+ eBooks on fine, decorative, and commercial art as well as architecture
What? Scholarly coverage, analysis, criticism, and images

Books

Books and ebooks can provide a more in-depth look at a topic, place, playwright, or historical moment. Search by topic on LibrarySearch.

A History of Japanese Theatre by Jonah Salz (Editor)
Call Number: PN2921 .H577 2018 - Drama History & Performance, Browsery (2nd Floor)
ISBN: 1108458165
Publication Date: 2018
A comprehensive overview of Japanese theatre and its continuing global influence. Written by eminent international scholars, it spans the full range of dance-theatre genres over the past fifteen hundred years, including noh theatre, bunraku puppet theatre, kabuki theatre, shingeki modern theatre, rakugo storytelling, vanguard butoh dance and media experimentation. The first part addresses traditional genres, their historical trajectories and performance conventions. Part II covers the spectrum of new genres since Meiji (1868-), and Parts III to VI provide discussions of playwriting, architecture, Shakespeare, and interculturalism, situating Japanese elements within their global theatrical context. Beautifully illustrated with photographs and prints, this history features interviews with key modern directors, an overview of historical scholarship in English and Japanese, and a timeline. A further reading list covers a range of multimedia resources to encourage further explorations.
Routledge Handbook of Asian Theatre by Siyuan Liu (Editor)
Call Number: PN2860 .R68 2017 - Drama History & Performance, Browsery (2nd Floor)
ISBN: 9780415821551
Publication Date: 2016
Advanced level reference guide which surveys the rich and diverse traditions of classical and contemporary performing arts in Asia, showcasing significant scholarship in recent years. A variety of topics across Asia, including dance, music, puppetry, make-up and costume, architecture, colonialism, modernity, gender, musicals, and intercultural Shakespeare. This volume is divided into four sections covering: Representative Theatrical Traditions in Asia; Cross-Regional Aspects of Classical and Folk Theatres; Modern and Contemporary Theatres in Asian Countries; and Modernity, Gender Performance, Intercultural and Musical Theatre in Asia.
The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Drama by Xiaomei Chen (Editor)
Call Number: PL2658.E5 C65 2010 - Drama History & Performance, Browsery (2nd Floor)
ISBN: 9780231145701
Publication Date: 2010
This anthology translates twenty-two popular Chinese plays published between 1919 and 2000, accompanied by a critical introduction to the historical, cultural, and aesthetic evolution of twentieth-century Chinese spoken drama. Primarily comprising works from the People's Republic of China, though including representative plays from Hong Kong and Taiwan, this collection not only showcases the revolutionary rethinking of Chinese theater and performance that began in the late Qing dynasty, it also highlights the formation of Chinese national and gender identities during a period of tremendous social and political change, along with the genesis of contemporary attitudes toward the West.
The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary South African Theatre by Martin Middeke and Greg Homann (Editors)
Call Number: PN2984 .M48 2015 - Drama History & Performance, Browsery (2nd Floor) Call Number
ISBN: 9781408176702
Publication Date: 2015
This volume considers the variety of theatre forms, and the work of the major playwrights and theatre makers producing work in democratic South Africa. It offers an overview of theatre pioneers and theatre forms in Part One, before concentrating on the work of individual playwrights in Part Two. Through its wide-ranging survey of indigenous drama written predominantly in the English language and the analysis of more than 100 plays, a detailed account is provided of post-apartheid South African theatre and its engagement with the country's recent history.