Resource Guides: Theatre Research Guide: Research Starters

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The resources on this page are intended to help you plan your research, identify and refine your topic, build your keyword vocabulary, and find general sources. Explore the other pages on this guide for help locating specific sources for your research.

Research Starters

We all use Wikipedia, but if you want something authoritative and reliable, Britannica® Academic is a great option. Like all encyclopedias, this source is a good way to find background information on a topic.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Academic This link opens in a new window
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Opposing Viewpoints is a great source for information about current events, especially controversial ones. They provide a wide variety of sources on each topic - everything from opinion essays to scholarly articles. We recommend this source when you're having difficulty coming up with a topic. It's also a good tool if you already have an idea, but aren't sure what direction to take.

Opposing Viewpoints In Context (Gale) This link opens in a new window
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This source is very similar to Opposing Viewpoints in Context - it's a good place to look for information on controversial issues.

Points of View Reference Center This link opens in a new window
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Selected Theatre & Drama Reference Sources

The Oxford Companion to American Theatre, 2004
Also available in print: Ref PN2220 .B6 2004
Broadway Musicals, 1943-2004
ML102 .M88 S74 2006
Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre
Ref PN2860 .E53 2007
The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama
PN1861 .C65 2007
Historical Dictionary of African American Theater
Ref PN2270 .A35 H53 2009
The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre
PN2221 .C35 2007
The Cambridge History of British Theatre since 1895
PN2581 .C36 2004
International Dictionary of Theatre Language
Ref PN2035 .I5 1984
The Cambridge Guide to Theatre
Ref PN2035 .C27 1995
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance, 2004
Community Theatre, 2002
African American Performance and Theater History, 2001
The American Play, 1787-2000, 2009
Historical Dictionary of Latin American Literature and Theater, 2009

Selected Dictionaries and Handbooks

Theatre Backstage from A to Z
Ref PN2091 .M3 L68 1999
A Glossary of Literary Terms
PN41 .A184 2005b
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre, 2004

Selected Biographical/Playwright/Literature Reference Sources

Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Biographical and selected critical coverage of the most studied authors & works.

Costume Resources

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
NOTE: Artstor has been combined with JSTOR. As of August 1, 2024, images from Artstor are accessible through JSTOR.

Contemporary Fashion, 2002
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Channel
Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion (3 v.), 2005
Also available in paper copy: GT507 .E53 2005
Men's Fashion
GT1710 .P43 1996
A Survey of Historic Costume
GT580 .T67 2015
Historic Costume for the Stage
PN2067 .B3
Dress and Popular Culture
GT596 .D74 1991
The Modernist Masquerade, 2013
Costuming the Shakespearean Stage, 2011
When Broadway Was the Runway, 2011

Multimedia Resources

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Filter by topic or department to see fashion, the Costume Institute, MetLiveArts, and more.

Plan Your Research

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The Assignment Calculator can help you plan your work. Don't forget to email yourself the schedule, or print it - both options are at the bottom of the page.