Yale has a variety of videotapes and DVDs of stage productions, dance performance, movies based on plays, and performance-related documentaries. The largest collection is at the Film Study Center. Most of its holdings are listed in Orbis, but a few are not; search the Film Study Center's database online for the complete list. NOTE: You may need to accept a site security certificate when you enter the database.

There are also videos (including operas) at the Sterling/Cross Campus Library, the Music Library, the Divinity Library, the British Art Center and elsewhere. These videos are listed in Orbis, Yale's online catalog.

There are two ways to search for videos in Orbis:

• Use the Limit feature. First search for the title, and then use the Refine Search button. Then you can either (1) go to the Medium section and select "Videorecording," or (2) go to the Item Type section and select "Visual Materials." Click the Set Limits button. Remember to clear the limits before you do another Orbis search.
• Do a Keyword search. Enter the author, title, geographic origin or subject, and add the phrease "and videorecording" (without the quotation marks) to the Keyword search. This approach is more dependable than the previous method, as well as easier to perform. There are more examples and details below.

These searches will include videotapes, DVDs, and laserdisks.

To find videos that Yale doesn't have, please see the page on "Finding Films and Videos at Yale and Beyond" in the Yale Research Guide for Film Studies.

Examples of Orbis KEYWORD searches:

For videorecordings of plays by a specific author, you can do a Keyword search:

ibsen and videorecording

shakespeare and videorecording

NOTE: The "Shakespeare" search brings up the movie Shakespeare in Love, which is about the Bard but not by him. To improve your search, use Advanced Search, limit the playwright's name to the Author field, and put "videorecording" in the second search field.

For videorecordings of a particular play:

"romeo and juliet" and videorecording [note use of quotation marks in a Keyword search]
NOTE: If you limit "Romeo and Juliet" to the Title field, you can eliminate movies based on Romeo and Juliet such as West Side Story.

For videorecordings of plays from a particular country or region:

"american drama" and videorecording [note use of quotation marks in a Keyword search]

NOTE: You may be able to improve your search limiting "american drama" to the Subject field

 

For videorecordings on a subject:

theater and videorecording
NOTE: This is a situation in which you will almost always want to limit the subject terms to the Subject field. But be aware that most videos of a performance do not have "theater" anywhere in the record.

 

For videorecordings involving a certain director or actor:

branagh and videorecording

"bloom claire" and shakespeare and videorecording [note use of quotation marks in a Keyword search]

NOTE: You may need to use the "Long" view in Orbis to see the actor's name in the cast list.

Videos Online

Catalogs and Indexes of Plays on Film or Video

Yale University Library Research Guide in Theater Studies
Last modified Mon, 14 Jan 2008 . © Yale University Library.
Comments to Tobin Nellhaus, Librarian for Drama, Film and Theater Studies.