Course-Related Guide:
Seminar on Interwar Drama (Connelly)
The following links provide
information, texts, and other resources to serve as starting
points in your research for this course. Suggestions for
additions to this list that might be particularly helpful for
classes or activities at Trinity may be sent to
Benjamin Harris, the
library's liaison for the Speech and Drama Department.
Searching for Information on Plays and Performances /
Searching for Images /
Browsing the
Collection
Internet
Resources / Citing
Sources
Academic Search Complete
Designed specifically for academic institutions, this is the
world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly,
multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,300
full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals.
In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and
abstracts for more than 9,300 journals and a total of 10,900
publications including monographs, reports, conference
proceedings, etc.
Chronology of American Musical Theater
(Reference, ML 1711.8 N3 N67 2002)
Beginning with the year 1750, this three volume set seeks to
offer a chronological history of American musical theater.
The text acts as something of a timeline, which could make
searching challenging. Searchers seeking information on various
productions of a single play, or those hoping to find out who
was involved in the production of musical plays, the title index
at the end of volume 3 should be helpful.
Humanities Abstracts
Citations and abstracts from articles and reviews in the
humanities.
Literature Resource Center
Find biographical and career information on playwrights in this database.
In addition, use the subject tabs to find full text of entries on the
writer in a number of reference works, some full-text examples of
criticism, as well as helpful bibliographies of related material. A
lifelong timeline is also offered for each writer, to show the historical
events occurring during the individual's life and work.
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama
(Reference, PN 1625 M3)
They don't make 'em like this anymore. This five-volume work
includes entries on playwrights, play productions, specific theaters and
theater groups, as well as more general entries on histories of drama in
differing communities. The wealth of images from the history of
stage drama might be particularly useful.
MLA International Bibliography
Major citation index to critical scholarship
in literature, language, linguistics, and folklore. Some full-text articles.
New York Times Theater Reviews
(Reference, PN 2266 N48)
These volumes, located in the Reference section of the library, include
the full printed text for all plays reviewed during the years covered by
the volume. An index is available to assist with locating the text.
However, the ProQuest database (listed below) includes the full-text
online for the same review. Until recent years, this print edition was the
primary method of gaining historical reviews for stage performances.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers
This database includes the full text for historical editions of the New York Times and the
Washington Post. Searchers can find reviews for specific productions of
plays on and off Broadway starting in the mid-1800s.
QUEST
Use the library catalog to find copies of plays (introductions of
plays may include information about different productions or the
production process as well as information about the reception of the
work), criticism, biography, and more.
Searching
for Images: Art and Photography
The following reference texts and
electronic resources are helpful starting points for locating
specific images or for browsing collections of images:
American Memory Collection Finder
Includes links to the following Library of Congress online collections: The
Federal Theater Project: 1935-39, The Plays of Zora Neale Hurston 1925-1944,
The American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment 1870-1920.
ARTstor
This database of images---currently the largest and most powerful
database of its kind---allows for easy searching and browsing.
The additional historical information provided with each image and
the ability to scan and focus on specific parts of the image allows
the viewer to see details obvious only to someone seeing the actual
painting.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers
Including full text for historical editions of the New York Times and the
Washington Post, the ProQuest database offers a search function for standalone
photos. Images published without matching text can be
found by clicking on the "More Search Options" tab and then
limiting the search to "Photo Standalone." A great number
of historical images can be located in this fashion.
Browsing the Library's Book Collection
A common method of finding information in libraries has been to browse the
collection. Since books and other resources are organized by topic, you
can find a specific section of the library and browse that section for
resources relevant to your search. The trick is knowing where to go
to browse:
1. Locate a book or resource using
the catalog. Find this resource in the library and then browse the area
where the resource is located. There is a very good chance that there will
be similar resources in the vicinity.
2. Go directly to call numbers that
you know to be relevant to your searching interest. The call number
is the identifying code given to each book, and these codes are based on
the Library of Congress classification system. If you are familiar with
the Dewey Decimal system, this should be a familiar organizing strategy.
If you would like to see a listing of the Library of Congress call numbers
arranged by topic,
follow this link. If you click on one of the topics in the
classification outline, you will be directed to a list of more specific
subtopics.
Internet Resources
Internet resources should be evaluated before
they are included in a scholarly project. Web resources are
not always helpful to students and scholars because
(1) website addresses and contents change, making it difficult for a
reader to verify or refer to the source;
(2) websites are difficult to evaluate, often due to missing
information related to authority, currency, and accuracy;
(3) and website authors do not always use materials with
consideration to copyright law.
Always consult with your instructors before using Internet Resources
as a component in your scholarly work. The following resources
have been evaluated by your Trinity University librarian:
Jack Wolcott's Theatre History on the Web
Wolcott, has maintained this resource since 1996. Including
annotated links to sites on theater history (from the classical to
contemporary periods), stagecraft (lighting, costuming, make-up),
and physical resources (libraries, archives, commercial contacts),
the helpful scope of the site is complimented by its accuracy.
Shakespeare Illustrated
Hosted by Emory University, this "work in progress, explores nineteenth-century
paintings, criticism and productions of Shakespeare's plays and their influences
on one another."
The WWW Virtual Library for
Theatre and Drama
While this site is not regularly updated, a number of the aggregate links are
some of the best on the web. Of particular note is the "Theater Image
Collections Online" page, featuring links to visual collections from a wide
variety of theaters and archives.
Cite Your Sources
Books, journal articles, images, and music are all governed by the
same U.S. copyright laws. Further, these resources are the
intellectual property of others, and should be cited when used in
a scholarly context.
Refer to the
library's pages for citing sources to find out how to cite
these sources in different formats.
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