Research Guides: Theatre Arts Research Guide: Start Here

Recommended Databases

MLA International Bibliography with Full Text
Scholarly sources on all aspects of modern literature, languages and linguistics, theatre, and film.
Humanities Source
Journals and publications covering the arts and humanities, literary and creative thought.
JSTOR
Scholarly, academic journal articles, books, and book chapters.
Project Muse
Scholarly academic journal articles and books in many disciplines.

Play Databases

Asian American Drama
Collection of more than 250 plays by over 40 playwrights, along with related biographical, production, and theatrical information.
Black Drama
Plays in full text, written by playwrights from North America, English-speaking Africa, the Caribbean, and other African diaspora countries, from the mid-1800s to the present.
Latin American Drama
Plays by Latin American playwrights from the 19th - 21st centuries.
Contemporary World Drama
Collection of plays by contemporary playwrights around the world, from 2000 to present
North American Indian Drama
Plays and stories by American Indian and First Nation playwrights of the twentieth century.
North American Women's Drama
Full text of plays written by over 100 women from the United States and Canada, spanning Colonial times to the present.
Twentieth Century North American Drama, 2nd Edition
Over 2,000 plays by playwrights from the US and Canada; more than 150 of the plays are published here for the first time, including some by major authors.
Royal Shakespeare Company Collection
Recordings of William Shakespeare’s plays featuring the world’s best Shakespearean actors in high-definition and surround-sound.
In addition to the plays, you can find Teacher packs which contain lesson ideas and additional resources.
National Theatre Collection
Performances by the United Kingdom National Theatre in high definition streaming video. Includes archival material on theatre and performance studies.
Audio Drama: The L.A. Theatre Works Collection
Streaming audio of the L.A. Theatre Works Archive Collection - dramatic masterpieces and contemporary plays from the archive of the nation’s premiere radio theatre company.

Theatre Reviews

New York Times (1980-Present)
Full text of New York Times East Coast edition from June 1980-present. Text only - no images.
New York Times (1851 to 3 years ago)
Historical New York Times with articles in PDF format, including ads, cartoons, photos, maps, graphics, and more.
New Yorker (2002-present)
Includes theatre and drama reviews

Set and Costume Design

Performance Design Archive Online
Covers all aspects of theater production design, from the 17th century to the present day, including scenic and set design, lighting design, sound design, costume design, and more.

Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute Collections
The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Even More Resources

America: History & Life
Scholarly journals, magazines, and books covering history of the United States and Canada from pre-history to present. For coverage of the rest of the world see Historical Abstracts.
Historical Abstracts
Scholarly journals, magazines, and books covering the history of the world from 1400 to the present (excluding the history of the United States and Canada, which are covered in America: History and Life).
Theatre in Context Collection
Materials on the history of theatre, including reference works, encyclopedias, images, posters, playbills, postcards, scrapbooks, and related theatrical ephemera.

History Research Guide
by Kelly Frost Last Updated Feb 4, 2025 12 views this year

Education Source
Covers major journals in the field of education, with some in full text.
ERIC: Education Resources Information Center
Journal articles, books, conference papers, technical reports, policy papers, and unpublished materials on thousands of Education topics.

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Recommended Databases

Play Databases

Theatre Reviews

Set and Costume Design

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