Theatre information resources: Background information

New:  Theatre.com Entertainment Technology Resources & History includes a Glossary of Technical Theatre Terms

Dictionaries and terminology

  • Coming to terms with acting: An instructive glossary [print]
  • Concise Oxford companion to the theatre [online or print]
  • Dictionary of the performing arts [print]
  • Dictionary of the theatre: terms, concepts, and analysis [print]
  • The drama dictionary [print]
  • The Glossarist: Theatre glossaries and theatre dictionaries [print]
  • Glossary of Technical Theatre Terms -- Over 1435 terms, from Theatrecrafts at the University of Exeter School of Performance Arts [online or print]
  • The language of American popular entertainment: a glossary of argot, slang and terminology [print]
  • The language of theatre [print]
  • The new Penguin dictionary of the theatre [print]
  • Theatre backstage from A to Z. 4th ed. [print]
  • Theatre lighting from A to Z [print]
  • Theatre words. 3rd ed [print]

Encyclopedias and theatre guides

  • Acting: an international encyclopedia [print]
  • American plays and musicals on screen: 650 stage productions and their film and television adaptations [print]
  • Backstage handbook: an illustrated almanac of technical information. 2nd ed [print]
  • Cambridge guide to American theatre [print]
  • The Cambridge companion to medieval English theatre [print]
  • The Cambridge guide to Asian theatre [print]
  • The Cambridge guide to theatre [print]
  • Cassell companion to theatre [print]
  • A chronological outline of world theatre -- A timeline from 3,000 BCE to 1970s [print]
  • Companion to theatre in Australia. [print]
  • The Continuum companion to twentieth-century theatre [print]
  • Encyclopedia of Canadian Theatre -- From Athabasca University, "The Encyclopedia collects and disseminates information on plays, playwrights and theatre practitioners."
  • Entertainment awards: a music, cinema, theatre and broadcasting reference, 1928 through 1993 [print]
  • International dictionary of theatre. 3 vol [print]
  • Internet Broadway Database -- "IBDB (Internet Broadway Database) archive is the official database for Broadway theatre information. IBDB provides records of productions from the beginnings of New York theatre until today."
  • Kabuki encyclopedia [print]
  • Masterplots II: drama series. 4 vol [print]
  • McGraw-Hill encyclopedia of world drama [print]
  • The New York Public Library performing arts desk reference [print]
  • The Obies -- Off-Broadway theater awards.
  • The Oxford companion to American theatre [online or print]
  • The Oxford companion to Canadian theatre [print]
  • The Oxford companion to the theatre. 2nd ed [print]
  • The Oxford encyclopedia of theatre and performance [online or print]
  • Theatre world -- This annual describes productions in American theatres. Includes cast lists, awards, biographies and reviews [print]
  • The Tony Award: a complete listing of winners and nominees of the American Theatre Wing's Tony Award [print] -- See also Tony Awards: Nominees & Winners
  • The world encyclopedia of contemporary theatre -- Geographic survey of theatre in Europe and the Americas since 1945 [print]

Biographical dictionaries

  • A to Z of American women in the performing arts [print]
  • A biographical dictionary of actors, actresses, musicians, dancers, managers & other stage personnel in London, 1660-1800. 2 vol [print]
  • Canada's playwrights: a biographical guide [print]
  • Contemporary dramatists. 4th ed [print]
  • Fifty key theatre directors
  • International dictionary of theatre. vol. 2-3 [print]
  • Who's who in contemporary world theatre [print]

Bibliographies and guides to theatre research

  • American theatre: a chronicle of comedy and drama, 1869-1914 [print]
  • American theatre: a chronicle of comedy and drama, 1914-1930 [print]
  • American theatre: a chronicle of comedy and drama, 1930-1969 [print]
  • American theatre: a chronicle of comedy and drama, 1969-2000 [online or print]
  • Bibliography of theatre history in Canada: the beginnings through 1984 [print]
  • A bibliography of theatre technology: acoustics and sound, lighting, properties, and scenery [print]
  • Critical survey of drama: English language series. 1985. 6 vol [print]
  • Critical survey of drama: foreign language series. 1986. 6 vol + suppl [print]
  • Directory of Canadian theatre archives [print]
  • Dramatic re-visions: an annotated bibliography of feminism and theatre, 1972-1988 [print]
  • Modern drama scholarship and criticism, 1966-1980: an international bibliography [print]
  • Modern drama scholarship and criticism, 1981-1990: an international bibliography [print]
  • North American Theatre Online -- Detailed bibliographic information on more than 10,000 plays.
  • The performing arts: a guide to the reference literature [print]
  • Performing arts resources. 1974- [print]
  • Recorded plays: indexes to dramatists, plays, and actors [print]
  • Theatre History on the Web -- Provides access to research sites throughout the world.
  • Popular entertainment research: how to do it and how to use it -- See Chapter 6: "Theater research." [print]
  • Theatrical design in the twentieth century: an index to photographic reproductions of scenic designs [print]
  • Twentieth-century British and American theatre: a critical guide to archives [print]