Reference Resources
Use Reference Resources to get background information on a play, actor, playwright, theme or terminology. Many of these sources include bibliographies which list additional books and journal articles that would be useful for further research on the topic.
Reference materials are available in three locations:
- the Reference Department on Wilson 4 (REF call numbers)
- in the Main Stacks (regular call number)
- online (ebook or link)
The resources below are divided up into these categories:
- General and international theatre reference resources
- American and British theatre reference resources
- Historical and cultural reference resources
- Literary criticism series
General and International Theatre Reference Resources
The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780199574193Publication Date: 2010
The Routledge Companion to Theatre and Performance by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9781315779010Publication Date: 2014
Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre by Call Number: ebookISBN: 0826466745Publication Date: 2010
International Dictionary of Theatre by Call Number: ebook & PN2035 I49 1992ISBN: 1558620974v.1: Plays
v.2: Playwrights
v.3: Actors, Directors, and Designers
Dictionary of the Theatre by Call Number: REF PN2035 P2913 1998ISBN: 0802081630Publication Date: 1999-02-05
Critical Survey of Drama by Call Number: PN1625 C68 2003 (main stacks)ISBN: 1587651025Publication Date: 20038 volumes
The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama by Call Number: ebookISBN: 0231140320Publication Date: 2007
World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre by Call Number: REF PN1861 W67 1994ISBN: 0415059283v.1: Europe
v.2: The Americas
v.3: Africa
v.4: The Arab World (+ebook)
v.5: Asia/Oceania (+ebook)
v.6: Bibliography, Cumulative Index
Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780826466747Publication Date: 2006
Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre by Call Number: REF PN2921 L45 2014ISBN: 9781442239104Publication Date: 2014
The A to Z of Japanese Literature and Theatre by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9781461731887Publication Date: 2010
The Cambridge Companion to Australian Literature by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780511998911Publication Date: 2006
The Cambridge History of African and Caribbean Literature: Volume 1 by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9781139054638Publication Date: 2008-03-28
Historical & Cultural Reference Sources
These general historical resources will have articles on specific playwrights as well as on genres of performance common during the period or in the region covered (mystery plays, sacred drama, etc...). Look for these general articles by searching the terms theater/re, drama, or tragedy.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780195388398Publication Date: 2010
The World of Ancient Greece: a Daily Life Encyclopedia [2 Volumes] by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9781440837319Publication Date: 2019
Medieval Islamic Civilization by Call Number: DS36.85 M434 2006ISBN: 0415966906Publication Date: 2005
Encyclopedia of Tudor England [3 Volumes] by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9781598842999Publication Date: 2011
Literary Criticism Series
The Gale Literature collection contains the full text of over a dozen literary criticism series, as well as other literary reference sources and journal articles. These series include excellent biographies, work overviews, and synopses which will help orient you during your study of a particular play, playwright, or time period.
- Children's Literature Review
- Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism (CMLC)
- Contemporary Authors (CA)
- Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC)
- Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB)
- Drama Criticism (DC)
- Literature Criticism from 1400-1800 (LC)
- Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism (NCLC)
- Poetry Criticism (PC)
- Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (TCLC)
- Shakespearean Criticism (SC)
- Short Story Criticism (SSC)
American & British Theatre Reference Resources
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre by Call Number: ebook & REF PN2220 B6 2004ISBN: 0195169867Publication Date: 2004
American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama by Call Number: ebooks and PN2277 N5 H57 (main stacks)ISBN: 0195123476Publication Date: 2001v.1: 1869-1914
v.2: 1914-1930
v.3: 1930-1969
v.4: 1969-2000
Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Beginnings by Call Number: ebook & PN2266 F57 2015ISBN: 9780810878327Publication Date: 2015
Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism by Call Number: ebook & PN2266.3 F57 2008ISBN: 9780810855335Publication Date: 2007
Historical Dictionary of Contemporary American Theater, 1930-2010 by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780810879508Publication Date: 2011
A Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9781405137348Publication Date: 2008-04-15
The Cambridge Companion to American Women Playwrights by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780521576802Publication Date: 1999
American Women Playwrights from 1900 to 1950 by Call Number: ebook & PS338 W6 S48 1995ISBN: 0820421421Publication Date: 1995
Routledge Guide to Broadway by Call Number: ebook & PN2277 N5 B43 2007ISBN: 9780415973793Publication Date: 2006
Historical Dictionary of the Broadway Musical by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9781442256699Publication Date: 2015
Broadway: Its History, People and Places: An EncyclopediaCall Number: PN2277.N5 B76 2004ISBN: 0415937043
A Chronology of American Musical Theater by Call Number: REF ML1711.8 N3 N67 2002ISBN: 0195088883v.1: 1750-1912
v.2: 1912-1952
v.3: 1952-2001
Contemporary Gay American Poets and Playwrights by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780313017094Publication Date: 2003
The Routledge Companion to African American Theatre and Performance by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9781315191225Publication Date: 2018
Historical Dictionary of African American Theater by Call Number: ebook & PN2270 A35 H53ISBN: 9780810855342Publication Date: 2008
The Cambridge Companion to African American Theatre by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9781107017122Publication Date: 2012
African American Dramatists: An A to Z Guide by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780313052897Publication Date: 2004
Contemporary African American Female Playwrights by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780313064951Publication Date: 1998
Contemporary African American Women Playwrights by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780203933541Publication Date: 2007
Historical Dictionary of Latin American Literature and Theater by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780810874985Publication Date: 2011
The Cambridge History of British Theatre by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780521650403Publication Date: 2004v.1: Origins to 1660
v.2: 1660-1895
v.3: Since 1895
- ShakespearesWords.com This link opens in a new windowA glossary and language companion to the works of Shakespeare focusing on words that have changed meaning over time or that are no longer used as they were in Shakespeare's works. Also allows you to find every use of a word across Shakespeare's plays and sonnets. Includes searchable full-texts of the First Folio and modern language versions of the plays. Access is available on campus and through VPN only.
The Cambridge Companion to British Theatre, 1730-1830 by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780521852371Publication Date: 2007
The Cambridge Companion to Victorian and Edwardian Theatre by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780521795364Publication Date: 2004
Contemporary Black and Asian Women Playwrights in Britain by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780511206269Publication Date: 2003
The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare's History Plays by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780521772778Publication Date: 2002
