George and Sherry Middlemas
Arts and Humanities Library
Performing Arts

This Site People Department Penn State

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• Penn State Resources
• Guides to Resources & General Links
• Sources for Plays
• Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, and Handbooks
• Biographical Resources
• Sources for Reviews, History, & Criticism
• Historical Repertory

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Theatre Research Guide

Penn State Resources

• The CAT: Penn State University Libraries Catalog
• Microfinder: Index of Collections Available in Microforms
• Research Resources for Literatures in English
• School of Theatre

General Links

• Artslynx International Theatre Resources
• A Brief Guide to Internet Resources in Theatre and Performance Studies
• The Costume Page
• theatrecrafts.com

Visual Resources

• American Memory
• ARTSTOR
• The History of Costume, by Braun & Schneider

Sources for Plays

Full-text resources

• American Drama 1714-1915
• Black Drama--1850 to Present
• English Drama (1280-1915)
• Editions and Adaptations of Shakespeare
• Twentieth-Century Drama

Indexes to plays

• Play Index. New York: H. W. Wilson Co., 1949-.
  Z5781.P53  / Pattee, 2nd Floor - Ready Reference
• Index to Plays in Periodicals. Rev. and expanded ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1979. [Supplements, 1977-87.]
  Z5781.K43 1979  / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections: An Author and Title Index to Plays Appearing in Collections Published Between 1900 and 1985. Eds. Billie M. Connor and Helene G. Mochedlover. 7th ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1988.
  Z5781.O8 1988  / Pattee, 2nd Floor - Ready Reference
• Inter-play.
  

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Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, and Handbooks

• Cambridge Guide to Theatre. New ed. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge UP, 1995.
  PN2035.C27 1995 / Pattee, 2nd Floor - Ready Reference
• The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama. New York: Columbia UP, 2007.
  PN1861.C651 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• International Dictionary of Theatre. Chicago: St. James Press, 1992.
  PN2035.I49 1992 / Pattee, 2nd Floor - Ready Reference
• The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. New York: Oxford UP, 1992.
  PN2035.C63 1992 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2004.
  PN2220.B6 2004 / Pattee, 2nd Floor - Ready Reference
• The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2003.
  PN2035.O92 2003 / Pattee, 2nd Floor - Ready Reference
• The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre. London and New York: Routledge, 1994-2000.
  PN2035.W67 1994 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• Theatre Backstage from A to Z . 4th ed. Seattle: U of Washington P, 1999.
  PN2091.M3L68 1999 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• Encyclopedia of Stage Lighting. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2003.
  PN2091.E4B66 2003 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
  

Musical Theatre

• American Song: The Complete Musical Theatre Companion. 2nd ed. New York: Schirmer Books; London: Prentice Hall International, 1996-2001.
  ML128.M78B6 1996 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• Hollywood Song: The Complete Film & Musical Companion. New York: Facts on File, 1995.
  ML128.M7B6 1995 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre. 2nd ed. New York: Schirmer Books, 2001.
  ML102.M88G3 2001 / Pattee, 2nd Floor - Ready Reference
• Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers. 3rd ed. New York and Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000.
  ML128.M78S86 2000 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
  

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Biographical Resources

• American National Biography
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• Biography and Genealogy Master Index
• Dictionary of Literary Biography
• Contemporary Authors
• Contemporary Dramatists. 6th ed. New York: St. James, 1999.
  PR737.V5 1999 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television. Detroit: Gale Research, 1984-.
  PN1583.C65 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Abstracts & Indexes
• Notable Women in the American Theatre: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989.
  PN2285.N65 1989 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• Variety Obituaries, 1905-. New York: Garland, 1988-.
  PN1583.V35 1988 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• Who Was Who in the Theatre, 1912-1976: A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Directors, Playwrights, and Producers of the English-Speaking Theatre. Detroit: Gale Research, 1978.
  PN2597.W52 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• Who's Who in the Theatre. 17th ed. London: Pitman; Detroit: Gale Research, 1981.
  PN2012.W5 17th 1981 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
  

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Sources for Reviews, History, and Criticism

Electronic journals and newspapers

• American Periodicals Series 1740-1900
• JSTOR
• Literature Online Full-Text Journals
• Project MUSE
• The New York Times (1851-2001)
• The Times (London) Digital Archive, 1785-1985

Indexes to journals

• America: History & Life
• International Index to the Performing Arts
• MLA International Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modern Languages and Literatures
• ProQuest
• World Shakespeare Bibliography
  

Bibliographies and compilations

• International Bibliography of Theatre. New York: Brooklyn College, Theatre Research Data Center, 1985-1999.
  Z6935.I53 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Abstracts & Indexes
• American Drama Criticism: Interpretations, 1890-1977. 2nd ed. Hamden, CT: Shoe String Press, 1979. [Four supplements to the Second Edition (1984, 1989, 1992, 1996).]
  Z1231.D7P3 1890-1965 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• British Theatre: A Bibliography, 1901 to 1985. Mottisfont, Hampshire: Motley Press, 1989.
  Z2014.D7C28 1989 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• United States Theatre: A Bibliography from the Beginning to 1990. Romsey: Motley Bibliographies, 1993.
  PN2221.Z99S55 1993 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• Theatrical Costume, Masks, Make-up and Wigs: A Bibliography and Iconography. London and New York: Routledge; Romsey: Motley Press, 2000.
  PN2067.J68 2000 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• New York Theatre Critics' Reviews. New York: Critics' Theatre Reviews, 1940-1996. (National Theatre Critics' Reviews, 1995-96).
  PN1601 .N4 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• A Guide to Critical Reviews: Pt. I. American Drama, 1909-1982; Pt. II. The Musical, 1909-1989; Pt. III. Foreign Drama, 1909-1977. 2d/3rd ed. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1984-91.
  Z5784.C7S3 1984 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference

Histories

• The Cambridge History of British Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004.
  PN2581.C36 2004 / Pattee, Stacks 2A
• The Cambridge History of American Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998-2000.
  PN2221.C37 1998 / Pattee, Stacks 2A

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Historical Repertory

• Theatre World. New York: Applause, 1944-.
  PN2277.N5A17 / Pattee - Stacks 2A
• The Best Plays. New York: Limelight Editions, 1894-.
  PN6112.B4501; earlier eds. PN2266.A2 / Pattee - Stacks 2A
• American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2001.
  ML1711.B67 2001 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1969-2000. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001.
  PN2277.N5H57 2001 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1930-1969. New York: Oxford UP, 1996. [preceded by vols. for 1914-1930 and for 1869-1914]
  PN2266.B64 1996 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• American Theatre Companies, 1749-1887. New York: Greenwood Press, 1986.
  PN2237.A43 1986 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• American Theatre Companies, 1888-1930. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987.
  PN2256.A44 1987 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• American Theatre Companies, 1931-1986. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989.
  PN2266.A54 1989 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• Annals of the New York Stage. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970.
  PN2277.N5O4 / Pattee, Stacks 2A
• The Encyclopedia of the New York Stage, 1920-1930. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985. [With successive volumes by decade.]
  PN2277.N5L36 1985 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• The London Stage, 1660-1800: A Calendar of Plays, Entertainments & Afterpieces.... Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1960. [Biographical Dictionary, PN2597.H5; Index, PN2592.L63S3; A New Version of Part 2, 1700-1729]
  PN2592.L6 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference
• The London Stage, 1890-1899: A Calendar of Plays and Players. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1976. [With successive vols. by decade.]
  PN2596.L6W37 / Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference

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William S. Brockman
Paterno Family Librarian for Literature
W329 / Pattee Library
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802
uxb5@psu.edu
814-865-9718

 

Send comments to William S. Brockman, Paterno Family Librarian for Literature, at uxb5@psu.edu
last updated: 9/10/08
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