Library Guides: Theatre 381: History of Theatre II: Databases

Core Databases

Drama Online
Drama Online is a digital library of plays from Aeschylus to the present day. It also includes critical analysis, contextual information, A-Z reference and practical texts.
International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance
IBTD, a fully-indexed databank of journal article, book, and dissertation citations on all aspects of theatre and performance the world over, includes full-text from over 170 journals and 360 books.
MLA International Bibliography
This database is a classified listing and subject index of scholarly books and articles on modern languages, literatures, folklore and linguistics which has been compiled by the Modern Language Association of America since 1926. The electronic version includes the Bibliography's entire print run and currently contains more than 2 million records.

Newspaper Databases

Times Digital Archive
A historical newspaper archive covering the 18th-20th century. Here you can locate newspaper articles from the best-known and most cited newspaper in the world.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers
Another historical newspaper database offering full-text and full-image articles across 23 newspaper databases, such as the Baltimore Sun, The (1837-1986), The New York Times (1851-2008), and more!
ProQuest Newsstream
Find more recent full-text articles (1980-current) about theatre from the US, Canada, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Australia

Tip: Combining Database Searches

Remember, you can search for a topic or text across multiple databases. In EBSCOhost, for example, you can search both the International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance and MLA International Bibliography by using the "Choose Databases" tool.

Before searching, locate the "Choose Databases" link directly to the right of the name of the database being searched.
Select the individual databases you want to combine in your search. Then, click "OK."

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3. Now you can see that your search query will be applied to all of the databases you selected.

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More Theatre Databases at Purdue

Black Drama
Black Drama (Third Edition) contains approximately 1200 plays by 201 playwrights, together with detailed, fielded information on related productions, theaters, production companies, and more. The database also includes selected playbills, production photographs and other ephemera related to the plays.

Coverage: 1850 - present
British Literary Manuscripts Online
Contains facsimile images of literary manuscripts, including letters and diaries, drafts of poems, plays, novels, and other literary works, and similar materials dating from roughly 1120-1900. Searching is based on tags and descriptive text associated with each manuscript (note: the text of the manuscripts is not full-text searchable).
Drama Online
Includes the full text of plays from across the history of the theater, ranging from Aeschylus to the present day. Includes non-English-language works in translation, scholarly and critical editions, first night program texts, and critical analysis and contextual information. Critical interpretations, theater history surveys and major reference works on authors, movements, practitioners, periods and genres are included alongside performance and practitioner texts, acting and backstage guides. Also includes over 500 images from the Victoria and Albert Museum's archive of production photos.
Humanities Full Text
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Humanities Full Text™ provides coverage of feature articles, interviews, bibliographies, obituaries, and original works of fiction, drama, poetry and book reviews, as well as reviews of ballets, dance programs, motion pictures, musicals, radio and television programs, plays, operas, and more.
International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance
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IBTD, a fully-indexed databank of journal article, book, and dissertation citations on all aspects of theatre and performance the world over, includes full-text from over 170 journals and 360 books.
JSTOR Understanding Shakespeare
Understanding Shakespeare is a research tool that allows students, educators and scholars to use the text of Shakespeare’s plays to quickly navigate into the scholarship written about them—line by line. Users simply click next to any line of text in a play and relevant articles from the JSTOR archive immediately load.
MLA Directory of Periodicals
The MLA Directory of Periodicals contains all information available on the journals and series on the bibliography's Master List of Periodicals. Over 7,100 titles are included; of these, over 4,400 are currently indexed. The entries list editorial addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses, frequency of publication, descriptions of the periodicals' scopes, circulation figures, subscription prices and addresses, advertising information, and submission guidelines. The directory also provides statistics on how many articles and book reviews the periodicals publish each year, as well as how many are submitted.
OntheBoards.tv
A small but growing collection of feature-length films of performances by contemporary artists representing the Pacific Northwest, New York, Australia, Germany, France, Poland, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Belgium, Montreal, and more.
Play Index
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Searches over 31,000 plays written from Antiquity to the present published individually or in books, anthologies, or journals. Covers a wide range of plays written in or translated into English, including plays in verse, puppet performances, radio and television plays, and classic drama. Search by title, author, subject, genre.
Shakespeare in Performance
Showcasing over 1,000 rare prompt books of 34 of Shakespeare’s plays from the collection of the Folger Shakespeare Library, including editions owned by notable actors and directors. These prompt books (scripts of the plays marked up for performance) tell the story of Shakespeare’s plays as they were performed in theaters throughout Great Britain, the United States and internationally. Other archival material includes letters, photographs, illustrations, costume and set designs.

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Select List of Theatre Journals

You may want to search specific theatre journals to hone in on a particular research topic. This is not a complete list of theater journals available from the Libraries. To find more theatre journals, see this list of search results.

Studies in Theatre and Performance
Publishes peer-reviewed articles examining theatre and performance practice across histories, cultures and disciplinary boundaries.
Theatre History Studies
Publishes critical, analytical, and descriptive articles on all aspects of theatre history.
Journal of American Drama and Theater
Publishes research on theatre, drama, and performance in the Americas, both past and present, providing information on the heritage of American theatre and contributions to world literature and the performing arts.
Studies in Musical Theatre
This peer-reviewed journal brings together a variety of critical approaches to contribute to the discussion surrounding live performance, the development and form of musical theatre and its value as a cultural product in theory and practice.
Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film
Publishes research from all countries and regions on the theatrical arts from the Age of Revolution to sound motion pictures, including ‘pre-cinema’ and ‘silent’ motion pictures and illusions.
Latin American Theatre Review
Publishes research on all aspects of Latina/o and Latin American theatre.