Research Guides: Theatre: Find Secondary Sources

Find Articles: General

Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text access to scholarly articles in theatre and other performing arts periodicals.
Some journals are indexed as far back as 1864, but the majority of citations date from 1998 or later.
Language: English, German, French, Spanish, etc.
Keywords: International Index to the Performing Arts IIPA
Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
Good source for multi-disciplinary topics relating to theatre and the performing arts.
Language: English, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Turkish, French, Chinese, Arabic etc.
Keywords: ASP
America: History and Life This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Useful for anthropological and historical research concerning the United States and Canada from pre-history to the present.
Content type: Scholarly articles, magazine articles, dissertations, conference proceedings, books
Coverage dates: 1914-present
Language: English, French, Russian, German, Spanish, etc.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to major scholarly journals; however, in some cases access is not provided to titles for the current five years. You may need to consult the Performing Arts database.for recent years access of particular titles.
Many journals include only backfiles and do not include current content. Use other databases to find the most recent issues of these journals.
Language: English, French, German, Spanish

Complete List of Claremont Colleges Library Databases
List is arranged alphabetically by database title and subject. Good place to explore multi-disciplinary relationships to theatre topics.

Find Articles: Literature-Related

MLA International Bibliography with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Major database for accessing information of critical scholarship on all modern literatures.. Citation coverage from 1963-present.
Language: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, etc.
Keywords: Modern Language Association
Literature Online This link opens in a new window
Includes full-text of drama written in English.
Criticism includes the database ABELL.
Language: English
Literature Criticism Online This link opens in a new window
Provides biographical and bibliographical information for 20th-century and contemporary playwrights as well as other authors
Covers several genres, including drama, poetry, and short stories. Includes classic reference book series like Contemporary Literary Criticism and Children's Literature Review.
Language: English
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Another place to check for full-text biographies of authors and cricial analysis of literary works.
Includes a "Person Search" and "Works Search" to gather multiple resources on specific authors and titles.
Language: English
Gale Literature This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Good for biographies of writers, literary criticism, and literary works themselves.
Content type: Biographical information, literary works, scholarly articles, encyclopedia articles, interviews, reviews, bibliographies, primary sources
Cross-searches four databases, including Literature Criticism Online and Literature Resource Center (each available separately in the Databases A-Z list). Covers several genres, including screenwriting, song lyrics, and sports writing. Includes authors from around the world but primarily focused on the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.
Language: English

Find Background Information

Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Good for background information on theatre and performance-related materials, including playwrights, performers, genres, venues, and theoretical terminology.
Content type: Encyclopedia articles, bibliographies
Coverage dates: 2005
Special Note: Limited to 3 simultaneous users.
Entries arranged alphabetically. Some longer entries have short bibliographies. Personal profiles may be created to save searches and annotations.
Language: English
Cambridge Companions Online This link opens in a new window
Collection of Cambridge Companions to Greek Comedy, African American Theatre, Arthur Miller, Greek and Roman Theatre, Chekhov, etc. Check "Literature" in the left hand column to refine your search to just ebooks including theatre.
Companions are organized as eBooks on specific topics with chapters written by different experts. Disciplines with especially rich coverage include literature, philosophy, religion, music, and history. Additional Cambridge Companions in Literature available in the database Literature Online under 'Publications'.
Language: English

NYPL Best of the Web - Theatre
Internet sites recommended for theatre-related content by the New York Public Library.

Encyclopedia of Latin American Theatre
Traces the history of Latin American theatre, including the Nuyorican and Chicano theaters of the United States, and surveys its history from the pre-Columbian period to the present. In print.
Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre
Survey of traditional and contemporary Asian theatre In print
The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre
Three-volume print source provides information about musical theatre around the world during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, covering performers, composers, writers, shows, producers, directors, choreographers, and designers.