Starting Points - THR 250 Script Analysis - Research Guides at Augsburg College

Research Tools

Style Guides

Check out these MLA (Modern Language Association) style guides for tips on creating citations and organizing a research paper.

MLA Formatting and Style Guide (Purdue)

Purdue University's online guide to MLA style.

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers

Call Number: Reference LB2369 .G53 2009

The Modern Language Association's comprehensive guide.

Research and Documentation in the Electronic Age (4th ed.) - Hacker, Diana

Call Number: Reference Desk LB2369 .H33 2006

Diana Hacker's respected guide also has a handy online companion where you can quickly see citations and sample papers in MLA (and other) styles.

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Databases

ProQuest Newspapers
Proquest Newspapers is an excellent source to track down reviews of plays that opened in cities other than New York.
MLA International Bibliography
Search here for scholarly theatre criticism. You might want to consider searching by the name of your play, a character in your play etc.
Project Muse
Project Muse is a resource for theatre history. It is a small database. Remember, when you search Muse, select article search, and choose Film, Theater and Performing Arts and your discipline choice!
Academic Search Premier
A good resource for locating recent play reviews and sometimes criticism.
No full text? Click "Find It" by the article to get it elsewhere, or to order it (learn more).

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Books on theatre criticism, history

Search CLICnet

If your first search brings up too many irrelevant items, try using the Refine by Topic suggestions in the box on the left of the search results screen.

Some example searches:

enter the name of your play, director or playwright
drama criticism or theater criticism
theater history
theater production
theatre direction
scenography

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Dance

Call Number: online resource

A very readable work with up-to-date information about theatre and performance from ancient Greek theatre to the latest developments in London, Paris, New York, and around the globe.Use it online!

Theatre World

Call Number: REF PN 2277 N5 A17

Theatre World is the annual record of Broadway and Off-Broadway. It is well illustrated. Our subscription to Theare World begins with the 1960-61 season.

American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1930-1969, Volume II, 1969-2000

Call Number: Reference PN2266 B64 1996 and Reference PN 2277 N5 H57 2001

American Theatre is a series of chronological essays about the American Theatre--be aware, strong opinions are used!

The New York Times Book of Broadway

Call Number: Reference PN2277 N5 N45 2001

This is a collection of Ben Brantley's ( chief theatre critic of the New York Times) essays about plays he considers to be the best of the 20th century.

American Women Stage Directors

Call Number: Reference PN 2286.8 F55 2008

This is an excellent starting point for anyone researching women directors. It also includes a very useful bibliography on women directors.

Encyclopedia of Musical Theater - Kurt Ganzl

Call Number: REF ML 102 M88 G3

ISBN: 0028649702

Publication Date: 1905-06-01

A great starting point for research in the area of musical theater!

Broadway : An Encyclopedia of Theater and American Culture

Call Number: Reference PN2277.N5 B62 2010

Publication Date: 2010

Covers the mid-19th century to the present, this encyclopedia offers nearly 200 entries on a variety of topics, including spotlights on 30 landmark productions.

Shakespeares after Shakespeare

Call Number: PR2880.A1 S48 2007

This vast encyclopedia attests to the presence of the Bard in contemporary popular culture, including radio, film, television, and other media to which his works have been adapted

The Theater Reference section begins with the call number PN 1579 and ends with PN2860

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Web Resources

IBDB: Internet Broadway Database
The IBDB provides records of productions from the beginnings of New York theatre in the 1700's up to today. Details include pertinent people involved as well as interesting facts and production statistics.
Lortel Off-Broadway Archives
The Lortel database goes back to 1958.
New York Times Archives
This resource is one of the best sources for theatre reviews! The NYTimes archives gives you a few free articles-after that it will offer to sell you the articles- DO NOT buy the articles. This library maintains a complete subscriptionon NYTimes in microfilm.
Playbill Vault
This site provides photos, grosses, ticket prices, plot synopsis, cast, production credits and the Playbill covers/inside pages for Broadway shows going back to 1931.

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