This web page is an online workshop for students in David Krasner's Theater Studies 300a, Production Seminar. This guide should provide a framework and a starting point for research, but there are also people to help with specific questions. The library has several research workshops that expand on the online tutorials provided here and there is always a reference librarian who can help at the Reference Desk in Sterling Memorial Library.

Barbara Rockenbach
Instructional Services Librarian, Arts Library
September 10, 1999

Table of Contents:

1. People & Places to know in the Yale Library

2. Preliminary Research

Finding...
plays in books and journals
books & journals
biographical information about directors
theater reviews in magazines and newspapers

3. Research on a specific director's work

Finding...
writings by or about a director
production books
articles and scholarly criticism in journals
short critical essays in reference books

4.Selected bibliography

People and Places to know in the Yale Library

Finding plays in books and journals

Eldredge, H. J."The Stage" Cyclopaedia: a Bibliography of Plays. London: 1909. SML Reference Z2014 D7 E43 (LC)

On title page: "An alphabetical list of plays and other stage pieces of which any record can be found since the commencement of the English stage, together with descriptions, authors'names, dates and places of production, and other useful information...." Lists about 50,000 titles. Useful finding list.

Keller, Dean H. Index to Plays in Periodicals. rev. and exp. ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1979. SML, Starr Main Reference Rm Z5781 K45 1979 (LC)

Kellery, Dean H. Index to Plays in Periodicals, 1977-1987. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1990. SML, Starr Main Reference Rm Z5781 K45 1979 suppl.

These two volumes together help the reader locate over 14,000 plays published in periodicals.

Ottemiller, John H. Index to plays in collections Ottemiller's index to plays in collections : an author and title index to plays appearing in collections published between 1900 and 1985. 7th ed. Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press, 1988. DRAMA, Reference, LC Z5781 O88 1988 (LC); SML, Starr Main Reference Rm Z5781 O88 1988 (LC)

Useful for locating full-length plays in anthologies and collections, as well as for verifying information such as a author's name, birth death dates, the year the play was first produced, and variant titles.

Play index. New York, H. W. Wilson Co. SML, Starr Main Z5781 P53 (LC) Reference Rm; DRAMA, Reference, LC Z5781 P53 (LC)

Stratman, Carl J. Dramatic Play Lists, 1591-1963. New York: New York Public Library, 1966. SML Starr Main Referenc Rm Z2014 D7 S86 (LC)

A master-list of printed play lists, issued separately or as part of larger works. Arranged chronologically by date of the list, with author/title index. Extremely useful.

 

Finding books & journals

Orbis
The first place to start looking for books and journals is the Yale Library online catalog Orbis. Together Orbis and Morris (the law library catalog) represent the Yale Library online catalog. Only materials cataloged after 1977 will be found in these online versions. Pre-1977 materials (about half of the libraries collection) can be found in the card catalog at Sterling Memorial Library. Start with Orbis to determine what material Yale owns (books, journals, etc.) and where it is located.

Connect to Orbis

Orbis Searching Guide

Oribis Tutorial

Yale Library Orbis Workshops

Sample title, subject, & keyword searches in Orbis:

t=great directors at work stanislavsky, brecht, kazan, brook
t=theatre journal
s=theatrical production and direction
s=theatre--production and direction
s=stanislavski konstantin
k=direct? and theat? (the ? is a truncation symbol, so it is finding director, directors, directing & theater, theatre)

Locating Journals in the Yale Library
Finding books on plays, people, genres and other topics


Eureka & Worldcat
Eureka (RLG) and Worldcat (OCLC) are two databases that offer online access to library materials in research, corporate, and public libraries, as well as museums, archives and historical societies throughout the country. Materials found in these databases that are not at Yale can be interlibrary loaned to Yale for use. These databases cover books and journals, plus items such as maps, sound recordings, musical scores, films, archives, and computer files.

Connect to Eureka or Worldcat
Eureka Search Guide
Worldcat Search Guide

 

Finding biographical information about directors

In Orbis try to following searches:

k=biograph? and theat? and director (truncation symbol ? searches biographies, biography, biographical, theater, & theatre)
k=[directors name]

Biography and Genealogy Master Index (Detroit: Gale, 1985- ) SML Reference Z5305 U5 +B562 (LC)

Biography and Genealogy Master Index is a comprehensive index to nearly 12 million biographical sketches in more than 2700 volumes and editions of current and retrospective reference books, covering both contemporary and historical figures throughout the world.

Biography Index: A Cumulative Index to Biographical material in Books and Magazines. (New York: H. W. Wilson, 1946 - .) SML Reference Z5301 B56 (LC)

Excellent source for contemporary theater people. Cumulative index to biographical information in books and magazines. The print volumes cover 1946- present, and the online version goes back to 1984.

Contemporary theatre, film, and television. Detroit, MI : Gale Research Co. SML, Stacks PN2012 +W47 DRAMA, Reference, PN2012 +W47 (LC)

Continues Who's Who in the Theatre (1984-present)

The International Index to the Performing Arts (Alexandria, VA : Chadwyck-Healey, Inc., 1998-)

IIPA indexes more than 200 scholarly and popular performing arts periodicals as well as biographical profiles, conference papers, obituaries, interviews, discographies, reviews and events. IIPA has full text coverage of articles from 1998 to the present, while the pre-1998 articles are indexed with a full citation and abstract. Find articles here on dance, film, television, drama, theater, stagecraft, musical theater, broadcast arts, circus performance, comedy, storytelling, opera, pantomime, puppetry, magic and more. Coverage does not go back very far, so use the print idexes for older material.

Who's Who in the Theatre. London : Pitman ; Detroit : Gale Research, 1912-1981. SML, MUSIC, Hist Sound Recordings PN2012 W628; BEINECKE, Reference PN2012 W46; DRAMA, Reference, Non-LC Class C W62; SML, Stacks, LC Classification PN2012 +W46

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 Co., c1978. SML, Starr Main Reference Rm PN2597 W52

 

Finding theater reviews in magazines & newspapers

To find theater reviews, first start with Orbis and search:

s=theater--reviews

Academic Search (Ipswich, MA : EBSCO Publishing, [199-?])

EBSCOhost's Academic Search database provides access to journal articles in most academic areas of study. It includes full-text coverage of nearly 1,200 journals from 1990 to the present and
abstracts/indexing of nearly 3,000 journals from 1984 to the present. Search for performance reviews.

Academic Universe (Dayton, OH: Mead Data)

Academic Universe is a full-text news and information service that provides access to newspapers, magazines, transcripts, business and legal information and much more. For reviews search under News, and choose Arts & Sports (Reviews, entertainment & sports news ).

International Index to Periodicals ( New York : H.W. Wilson Co., 1907-1965.) SML Reference Index Case, AI1 S63 (LC)

Index to scholarly and general interest publications beginning in the year 1907. Consult each annual volume under Dramas -- Criticism, Plots to retrieve a list of reviews. Continued by Humanities Index and Humanities Abstracts Full Text via WilsonWeb.

New York Theatre Critics' Reviews. New York, Critics' Theatre Reviews, inc., 1940-1994. SML Stacks, PN1707 A1 +N48 (LC) Drama Periodicals, N

"Theatre reviews is a complete guide and record of the New York Stage, reprinted from New York Sun, New York Times, New York Herald Tribune, New York Post, New York Daily News, New York World Telegram" (1940-) ;reprinted from the New York Daily News, Wall Street Journal, Time, New York Post, Women's Wear Daily, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Newsweek, NBC (1976-). Continued by National theatre critics' reviews.

New York Times Theater Reviews. (New York: New York Times, 1870 -) SML Reference, PN2266 +N48;Drama Reference, PN2266 +N48 (LC)

Indexed photographic reprints of theater reviews as they appeared in the the New York Times from 1870 to the present. There are cumulative indexes for the years 1870-1919 and 1920-1970. Subsequent indexes are in each annual volume. The most current New York Times reviews can be found online in Lexis-Nexis Universe.

Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature (New York: HW Wilson, 1901-) SML Reference, AI1 R43 (LC)

Index to articles in popular american magazines. To find reviews, search each annual volume under the name of the playwright, or look under Dramas -- Criticism, Plots. Continued by Readers' Guide Abstracts Full Text via WilsonWeb.

Salem, James. A Guide to Critical Reviews. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 197? -. SML, Reference Z5781 S25 1973 (LC)

In three volumes: American Drama, 1909-1982, The Musical, 1909-1989, and Foreign Drama, 1909-1977. An index to reviews of plays and musicals produced in New York published in U.S. and Canadian Periodicals.

Samples, Gordon. How to Locate Review of Plays and Films: a bibliography of criticism from the beginnings to the present. (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1976). SML, Reference Z5781 S19 (LC)

A guide for locating theater and film criticism in books, newspapers, magazines and other sources.

 

Finding writings by or about a director

Use Orbis, Eureka, and Worldcat as shown above in the section on finding books and journals. In Orbis use both keyword and subject searches. For example:

k=sam shepard (seaches for Sam Shepard anywhere in the record in that specific word order)
s=shepard sam (searches for all items with Sam Shepard as the subject)
a=shepard sam (searches for Sam Shepard as the author)

Also try searching for diaries, interviews, casebooks, and prompt books:

k=theat? and direct? and interviews
k= casebook and theat?
k=promptbook? and drama
s=prompt books ddddddor ddddds=prompbooks 

Finding production books

In Orbis try the following search:

k=production book?

Also try similar searches in Eureka and Worldcat to find production books that Yale may not own.

Finding articles and scholarly criticism in journals

Magazine and journal articles can be found be searching in periodical indexes and bibliographies. To find bibliographies and indexes in addition to the ones listed below use the following Orbis searches...

Bibliographies:

Bibliographies:
1. In orbis search, k=[subject] and bibliography
2. Find the Library of Congress Subject Heading
3. Use the subject heading in Orbis, Eureka, or Worldcat
4. Consult the bibliography for citations to articles

Indexes:

1. In orbis search s=theater--periodicals--indexes
or s=theater--bibliography--periodicals
2. Consult the index for citations to articles
 

Arts & Humanities Citation Index (via Web of Science) (Philadelphia, Institute for Scientific Information)
Print version: SML, Reference. Z5937 +A795 (LC)

The database covers 1980 to the present, and the print volumes go back to 1975. An international interdisciplinary index to the literature of the arts and humanities. Published in three parts:

* Citation Index (through which you can find what later articles have cited earlier books or articles
* Source Index (an author index)
* Permuterm Subject Index (which offers keyword access to the titles of articles)

The Dramatic Index. Boston: Boston Book, 1909-1949. SML AI3 M343 (LC)

Also known as Annual Magazine Subject-Index. Indexes articles and illustrations in American and English periodicals and includes books, printed plays, government publications, and pamphlets. The Dramatic Index was published as Part II of Magazine Subject Index.

Humanities Abstracts/Full-Text ( Bronx, NY : H.W. Wilson Co.)

Humanities Abstracts Full Text covers the fields of archaeology and classical studies, art and photography, folklore, general scholarship, history, journalism and communications, language and literature, literary and political criticism, music and performing arts, philosophy, and religion and theology. Periodical coverage includes some of the best-known scholarly journals and numerous lesser-known but important specialized magazines. Full-text coverage begins in January 1995.

International Bibliography of Theatre. [Brooklyn, N.Y.] : Theatre Research Data Center, Brooklyn College, City University of New York ; New York, NY : Distributed by the Publishing Center for Cultural Resources, 1982- . SML Reference, Z6935 +I53 (LC) Drama Reference, Z6935 +I53 (LC)

Major index of theater materials published throughout the world from 1982 to the present. Includes books, dissertations, periodicals, and ephemeral publications on all aspects of theater, performance and dance.

Periodicals Contents Index (Alexandria, VA: Chadwyck-Healey, 1993- )

PCI Web indexes the contents of thousands of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences, from their first issues to 1990/1991. The scope is international, including journals in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and other Western languages.

 

Finding short critical essays in reference books

To find criticism in reference books, first start with Orbis. Most of the reference books will be located in the Sterling Memorial Library Reference Room.

Orbis search examples:
s=mamet david criticism and interpretation
s=dramatic criticism
s=drame--history and criticism

Adelman, Irving and Rita Dworkin. Modern Drama: a Checklist of Critical Literature on Twentieth Century Plays. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1967.SML Reference Z5781 A33 (LC)

Includes both general studies and studies of individual plays.

Breed, Paul F. and Florence M. Sniderman. Dramatic Criticism Index: a Bibliography of Commentaries on Playwrights from Ibsen to the Avant-Garde. Detroit: Gale Research, 1972. SML Reference Z5781 B74 Drama Reference Z5781 B74 (LC)

Cites criticism found in English-language monographs and periodicals. Arranged by playwright's name. Indexes to critics and to play titles.

Coleman, Arthur and Gary R. Tyler. Drama Criticism: a Checklist of Interpretations Since 1940 of English and American Plays. Denver: 1966. SML Z1231 D7 C65 Drama Reference Z1231 D7 C65

A quick way to find citations to criticism published during the years 1940-1964. Arranged by playwright, then play, with a separate section on Shakespeare.

Critical Survey of Drama. Frank N. Magill, ed. Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press, c1994. SML Reference, PR623 C75 1994

A seven volume survey of British and American Drama including bibliographical references, critical essays on drama, and index.

Drama Criticism. Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research, Inc., 1991- . Drama, PN1601 +D72 (LC) SML Reference, PN1601 +D72

A good source of basic criticism on major playwrights.

International Dictionary of Theatre. Mark Hawkins, ed. London : St. James Press, 1992- 1994 SML Reference Z5781 +I57X 1992 (LC)

Short critical essays on plays and playwrights. Articles included good introductory listings of critical articles and books. In two volumes: Plays and Playwrights.

 

Selected bibliography

Baker, Blanch M. Theatre and Allied Arts: A Guide to Books Dealing with the History, Criticism, and Technic of the Drama and Theatre and Related Arts and Crafts. New York: Wilson, 1952. SML, Subject Bibliography Z5781 B354 (LC); Drama Library

Annotated entries often include table of contents. Author and subject indexes. Complete and thorough but old.

Directors in Perspective Series. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press
(search Orbis, t=directors in perspective) Drama Library

Includes the directors: Antoine, Appia, Bergman, Blin, Brecht, Brook, Chaikin, Copeau, Craig, Meyerhold, Mnouchline, Okhlopkov, Prince, Reinhardt, Stein, Strehler, Tairov, Vakhtangov, Wajda

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y. : McGraw-Hill, c1984. CCL, Reference, Upper Ref PN1625 +M33 1984; DRAMA, Reference, LC PN1625 +M3 1984 (LC); SML, Starr Main Reference Rm PN1625 +M33 1984

Nagler, A. M. Source book in theatrical history: Sources of theatrical history. New York : Dover Publications, 1959, c1952. CCL, Stacks PN2101 N34 1959

On directing : interviews with directors. edited by Gabriella Giannachi and Mary Luckhurst ; foreword by Peter Brook. London : Faber and Faber, 1999. CCL, Stacks PN2597 O54 1999

Santaniello, A. E. Theatre Books in Print: An Annotated Guide to the Literature of the Theater, the Technical Arts of the Theater, Motion Pictures, Television and Radio. 2d ed. New York: The Drama Book Shop, 1966. SML Z5781 S26 1966 (LC)

Lists books that were in print up to 1965 but useful now as a supplement to Performing Arts in Print (below). Note the Addenda. Indexes: author and editor; title. For more current books in print, search the online database of Books In Print.

Selected Bibliography of Reference and Internet Resources by Topic. Found on the Theater Studies Research Guide.

Includes annuals, bibliographies, biographical sources, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and much more.

Schoolcraft, Ralph Newman. Performing Arts/Books in Print; An Annotated Bibliography. New York: Drama Book Specialists, 1973. SML Z6935 +S36 (LC) Drama Z6935 +S36

This is a revised rewritten, up-dated edition of Theater Books in Print (see above). Presents descriptive information on books concerned with theater, drama, motion pictures, television, radio, the mass media. Arranged by broad aspects of the performing arts. Indexes: author and editor; title; list of publishers, with addresses. For more current books in print, search the online database of Books In Print.

Whalon, Marion K. Performing Arts Research: A Guide to Information Sources. Detroit: Gale Research, 1976 SML Reference Z6935 W5 (LC)

See in particular Part V: "Sources for Reviews of Plays and Motion Pictures" and Part VI: "Bibliographies, Indexes and Abstracts."

Writer-Files/Writer on File Series. London ; New York : Methuen
(Search Orbis, t=writer files) Drama Library

Biographical, bibliographical and production history material on individual writers. Includes: Aychbourn, Beckett, Bond, Brenton, Chekhov, Churchill, Coward, Edgar, Fo, Frayn, Fugard, Genet, Gorky, Hare, Ibsen, Lorca, Mamet, Miller, Nichols, O'Casey, O'Neill, Osborne, Pinter, Pirandello, Shaffer, Shaw, Shepard, Stoppard, Strindberg, Synge, Wesker, Wilde, and Williams

 

Yale University Library. Library Research Online Workshop.
http://www.library.yale.edu/humanities/theater/instruction/director.htm
Last revised 9/99. Comments to barbara.rockenbach@yale.edu