Library & Learning Commons: Directing (Drama): Researching Stage Direction, Theater History, and Dramaturgy

Subject and Topic Guides for the School of Drama

Reference

Reference resources and bibliographies like these are ideal for a very broad overview of a topic, and can help you decide how to narrow down your search.

The Browsery on the 2nd floor is the location of both the Drama Reference Collection and Script Collection, as well as many bound periodicals that are available for in library use.

You can find more resources on researching contemporary or historical theater, databases for outlining production histories, resources for critical and contextual research, and locating criticism and reviews of performances and texts on our Dramaturgy Subject Guide and our Theatre History Subject Guide.

CREDO Reference This link opens in a new window
A premier virtual reference collection including encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, images, audio files, and videos in a wide expanse of subject areas.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Theater and Performance This link opens in a new window
History of the theater from ancient times to contemporary, including tv and film performances. Reference material.
Theatre and Drama Premium This link opens in a new window
A database of 13,500 full-text plays, 150,000 pages of original and contextualizing ephemera from performances, 300 audio plays, and 750 hours of filmed stage performances and video by American, European, Asian, and other worldwide dramatists. This is the umbrella search for all theatre content (video, scripts, ephemera) in Alexander Street Press.
International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance This link opens in a new window
Over 570 full-text scholarly and industry performing arts journals and books. Covers ballet, cinema, comedy, dance, drama, film, mime, opera, puppetry, and theatre.
Bloomsbury Cultural History This link opens in a new window
Bloomsbury Cultural History is a digital reference tool that provides students and researchers with a set of curated, comprehensive and illustrated reference works within a single platform, alongside an extensive list of eBooks and a wide-ranging image collection.
Theatre in Context This link opens in a new window
Ebooks covering the history and critical reception of theatre as well as a limited collection of playbills, posters, photographs, and related ephemera.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online Archive: British Theatre, Music, and Literature This link opens in a new window
Primary sources from the British Library highlighting the arts in the Victorian era, from playbills and scripts to operas and complete scores.

Stage Direction and Dramaturgy Reference

Books and ebooks can provide a more in-depth look at a topic, place, design style, or historical moment. You can search our digital and in-library collections simultaneously by title, author, subject, or keyword via LibrarySearch. Click Advanced Search for additional search criteria such as material type, language, year, and more.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance by Dennis Kennedy (Editor)
Call Number: 2nd Floor Browsery: Drama History & Performance ; Ref. PN2035 .O94 2003
ISBN: 9780198601746
Publication Date: 2003-05-01
From ancient Greek theatre to the latest developments in stage design, from the trance-dances of Sumatra to an extensive biography of the legendary actor-manager Eleonore Duse, the Encyclopedia provides unrivaled information across the broad sweep of theatrical activity.
Directing Shakespeare in America : Historical Perspectives by Charles Ney
ISBN: 1474289711
Publication Date: 2018-11-15
This unique and comprehensive study reviews the practice of leading American directors of Shakespeare from the late nineteenth to the end of the twentieth century.
The Routledge Companion to Dramaturgy by Magda Romanska (Editor)
ISBN: 0415658497
Publication Date: 2015
This collection focuses on contemporary dramaturgical practice, bringing together contributions not only from academics but also from prominent working dramaturgs.

Research Articles

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full-text archive of scholarly journals, particularly strong in the arts and humanities. For access, click 'Login' the top right of the JSTOR webpage, choose 'Sign in with Microsoft' and enter your UNCSA email and password.
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
News and scholarly articles on business, social sciences, education, science and technology, arts and humanities, health and medical, and religion.

Primary Research

Internet Broadway Database
Statistics and information collected by the Research Department at The Broadway League, intended to serve as a comprehensive history of Broadway.
Billy Rose Theatre Division Collection at the New York Public Library
Includes 150,000 digitized images from the Billy Rose Theatre Collection, including production photos, costume illustrations, scrapbooks, ephemera, stage manager's logs, director's notes, and more.

American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Collection This link opens in a new window
Digital access to a comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1684 and 1877.
Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
Full text coverage of more than 160 international performing arts periodicals, covering dance, drama, theater, stagecraft, musical theater, circus performance, opera, pantomime, puppetry, magic, performance art, film, television and more.