Below are some call number ranges of interest for theatre research.
Theatre
By time period: PN2131-2193
Literature
The following areas of literature also have call number ranges for drama history and criticism and drama collections. You will also find plays and criticism in the subject area for individual authors. The call number areas for individual authors are broken down by time period and then alphabetical by author:
French Literature
Italian Literature
Spanish Literature
English Literature: PR
American Literature: PS
German Literature: PT
Related Areas
The related areas below are useful in helping to understand the historical context and design elements appropriate for that context:
The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre by
The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre is a new, illustrated, single-volume reference that emphasizes international theater and performance in its broadest sense. A-to-Z entries provide clear and concise information on traditions, theories, companies, playwrights, practitioners, venues and events. More than 300 photographs and drawings supplement the text to make this the ideal resource for theatergoers, general readers, students and professionals. The Guide contains an entry for any country with a significant theatrical past or present, from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe, exploring areas of world theater that are neglected in many contemporary works of reference. National entries explain the history and nature of theater movements, identifying prominent figures and activities. Information is given about not only the personalities and practice of Shakespeare's theater but also about performance in such places as Brazil, Nigeria, India and Japan; a short bibliography for further reading is also provided. The popular origins of theatrical traditions in ritual and festival are explained in The Guide and separate entries cover folk drama, street theater, mummer's plays, and many other types of performance. This comprehensive reference also includes reliable biographical and critical essays on the established leaders of the field, renowned actors, directors, and designers. It is filled with extensive cross references that lead the reader from one entry to an
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama by
Ranging from the earliest drama to the theater of the 1980's this encyclopedia includes coverage of national drama and theater around the world, theater companies, and musical comedy. Arrangement of the 1,300 entries is alphabetically by name or subject with nearly 950 of these devoted to individual playwrights and their works.
Contents
v. 1. A-C -- v. 2. D-H -- v. 3. I-N -- v. 4. O-S -- v. 5. T-Z. Index.
Historical Dictionary of Contemporary American Theater, 1930-2010 by
From legends like Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller to successful present-day playwrights like Neil LaBute, Tony Kushner, and David Mamet, some of the most important names in the history of theater are from the past 80 years. Contemporary American theater has produced some of the most memorable, beloved, and important plays in history, including Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire, Barefoot in the Park, Our Town, The Crucible, A Raisin in the Sun, and The Odd Couple. Historical Dictionary of Contemporary American Theater presents the plays and personages, movements and institutions, and cultural developments of the American stage from 1930 to 2010, a period of vast and almost continuous change. It covers the ever-changing history of the American theater with emphasis on major movements, persons, plays, and events. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and over 1,500 cross-referenced dictionary entries. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the history of American theater.
The Theater Will Rock by
The tumultuous decade of the 1960s in America gave birth to many new ideas and forms of expression, among them the rock musical. An unlikely offspring of the performing arts, the rock musical appeared when two highly distinctive and American art forms joined onstage in New York City. The Theater Will Rock explores the history of the rock musical, which has since evolved to become one of the most important cultural influences on American musical theater and a major cultural export. Packed with candid commentary by members of New York's vibrant theater community, The Theater Will Rock traces the rock musical's evolution over nearly fifty years, in popular productions such as Hair, The Who's Tommy, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Little Shop of Horrors, Rent, and Mamma Mia!---and in notable flops such as The Capeman. "A much-needed study of the impact of rock music on the musical theater and its resulting challenges, complexities, failures, and successes. Anyone interested in Broadway will learn a great deal from this book." ---William Everett, author of The Musical: A Research Guide to Musical Theatre "This well-written account puts the highs and lows of producing staged rock musicals in New York City into perspective and is well worth reading for the depth of insight it provides." ---Studies in Musical Theatre Elizabeth L. Wollman is Assistant Professor of Music at Baruch College, City University of New York.
For almost all online searches, the spelling theater or theatre really matters and can drastically affect search results. Note these general guidelines of when to use one or the other.
• American practice (can be inconsistent):
Theater: standard spelling used in most U.S. academic writing and popular journalism about the discipline and productions, as well as the general term for the performance venue. Also the prescribed usage for subject descriptors in U.S.-based library catalogs and journal databases.
Theatre: spelling often found in titles of companies, institutes, performance houses, journals, and websites (e.g., Signature Theatre, Schubert Theatre, New York City Theatre—note, however, Anspacher Theater, American Repertory Theater, and many other exceptions; in publisher and distributor names (Applause Theatre, Theatre Communications Group); and in academic and arts-focused writing to express the collective art form (e.g., "the American theatre," "theatre arts," "theatre and performance studies").
• British & Canadian practice: theatre for all contexts (including titles of books issued jointly in the U.S. and the U.K., such as the Oxford and Cambridge university presses, and several others).
• Subject search in library catalog or database: use theater for all contexts (unless working in a Canadian or British resource or catalog), even if the title of the publication has "theatre." Tip: a truncation search on theat* will retrieve results on both spellings, plus the plural forms and the adjective "theatrical.
Windward Community College Library
