The Theatre of Revolt
Theatre 280
Definition of 19th c. Theatre

Theatre 280 Syllabus (PDF)	Ask a Librarian
Research Paper Guidelines (PDF)	Library Web Site
Research Projects	Theatre Research Guide

How to Find:
Books | Journal Articles | Theatre Reviews | Web Sites | Citing Sources

Using Catalogs to locate books:

1.) Ariadne

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• Browse the shelves by Call Number
• Request books through Ariadne [here's how! ]

2.) MeLCat

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• About MeLCat

3.) WestCat - Western Michigan's catalog

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• Browse the shelves by Call Number
• Waldo Library: Hours and How to get to Western

4.) WorldCat and 5.) Interlibrary Loan

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• Order item through Interlibrary Loan
  ($1 per filled request waived during Library Renovation)

See the Theatre Research Guide: Finding Books

See also: Library of Congress Classification...

Useful sources in Reference:

• Theatre: history, criticism, and reference, Z5781 .C48
• Analytical sourcebook of concepts in dramatic theory , Z5781 .B84
• Modern world theater; a guide to productions in Europe and the United States since 1945, PN6112.5 .K513
• Theatre language; a dictionary of terms in English of the drama and stage..., PN2035 .B6
• The theatre in history, PN2037 .K38 1989
• Modern drama: scholarship and criticism, 1981-1990: an international bibliography, PN1851 .C37
• Modern drama scholarship and criticism, 1966-1980: an international bibliography, PN1851 .C36
• Modern drama in America and England, 1950-1970: a guide to information sources, Z1231.D7 H36 1982
• English drama, 1900-1930; the beginnings of the modern period, PR721 .N45
• Modern world drama; an encyclopedia, PN1851 .M36
• 20th-century plays in synopsis, PN6112.5 .S68
• American theatre: a chronicle of comedy and drama, 1930-1969, PN2266 .B64 1996
• American playwrights, 1880-1945: a research and production sourcebook, PS351 .A7
• The World encyclopedia of contemporary theatre, PN1861 .W67 1994
• The encyclopedia of the American theatre, 1900-1975, PN2266 .B68
• The lively years, 1920-1973, PN2277.N5 A85
• Dictionary of literary biography, PS221 .D45.

General Sources from Professor Menta's Bibliography:

• Brockett, Oscar, A HISTORY OF THE THEATRE, PN2101 .B68 1995
• Brockett, Oscar & Findlay, Robert, CENTURY OF INNOVATION, PN2189 .B64
• Cameron & Gillespie, WESTERN THEATRE: REVOLUTION & REVIVAL
• Case, Sue-Ellen, FEMINISM & THEATRE, PN1590.W64 C37 1988
• Kuntz, Paul, THE MAKING OF THEATRE HISTORY
• Watson & McKernie, A CULTURAL HISTORY OF THEATRE
• Wilson & Goldfarb, LIVING THEATRE: A HISTORY

Note: Don't forget to use Print and Online Bibliographies

 Finding Journal Articles

Off-Campus Access to Licensed Resources

Scholarly Journals and Popular Magazines/Newspapers

Scholarly Journals (Theatre Journal)

• Authors are scholars or researchers in their fields.
• Authors cite their sources in footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies.
• Individual issues have little or no advertising.
• Articles must go through a peer-review process.
• Articles usually report original scholarly research.
• Most illustrations are charts, figures, or graphs.
• Authors use the specialized language or jargon of the discipline.

Popular Magazines (Time, Atlantic Monthly)

• Authors are free lance writers or magazine staff members.
• Authors may mention sources, but rarely cite them in notes or bibliographies.
• Individual issues contain many advertisements.
• There is no peer review process. Articles are reviewed by editors or publishers.
• Illustrations are numerous and colorful.
• Articles are meant to inform and entertain an educated audience.
• Language is written for the general adult audience (no specialized jargon).

Scholarly or Not?
Ulrich's Periodicals Directory (Ref. Desk Z6941 .U5) - OR - use Ulrich's Online!
Ulrich's Periodicals Directory Online < about >
Look for section called "Document Type"
Document Type MUST say "Academic/Scholarly Publication" to be considered scholarly!

Journal List

Do you have access to a journal?  

1.) Ariadne (print)

• Title search on Title of the Journal to locate print journal
• Request journal issues through Ariadne [here's how!]

2.) Electronic Journal Finder (online)

• Title search on Title of the Journal to locate article in a Full Text Database

3.) WestCat - Western Michigan's catalog

• Title search on Title of the Journal
• Waldo Library - Hours and How to get to Western

4.) Interlibrary Loan

• Order item through Interlibrary Loan
  ($1 per filled request waived during Library Renovation)
• Use *only* when the journal is not available through Ariadne, Electronic Journals, or WestCat.

Theatre journals available at our library:

List of Periodicals in Theatre

Journal Indexes

Advanced Search Help

MLA Bibliography < about >
The Modern Language Association International Bibliography indexes 3,000 English language and foreign periodicals as well as books, book chapters, and dissertations. Its subject matter includes critical works on literature, language, linguistics, and folklore. Reviews of literary and scholarly works are not included. There are no abstracts.
Coverage: 1963 - Present.

Arts and Humanities Search < about >
Arts & Humanities Citation Index is a multidisciplinary index to more than 1,100 journals spanning 25 disciplines. Records referencing many of the world's leading arts and humanities journals. Includes all aspects of visual and performing arts plus humanities.
Coverage: 1980 - Present.

Historical Abstracts < about >
Historical Abstracts is a reference guide to the history of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding the United States and Canada, which are covered in America: History and Life). Published since 1954. Currently over 2,000 journals published throughout the world are covered in the database.

Humanities Abstracts < about >
Humanities Abstracts is a bibliographic database that covers English language periodicals in the diverse subject areas of the humanities. Humanities Abstracts offers detailed abstracts describing the content and scope of source articles. Feature articles are indexed, as are interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, and reviews of plays, operas, ballets, dance, musicals, movies, television and radio.
Coverage: Indexing - 1984 - present; Abstracting - 1994 - present.

Periodical Abstracts < about >
General and academic journals, covering business, current affairs, economics, literature, religion, psychology, women's studies, and others.
Coverage: 1987- Present.

Essay and General Literature Index < about >
Cites essays contained in anthologies and collections published in the United States, Great Britain and Canada. Coverage spans the humanities and social sciences, including literary works, art history, drama, and film. Indexing: 1985 to present.

Dramatic Index for…
Index to materials on theatrical production and dramatic texts.
Library owns 13 volumes, from 1937 to 1949. (Ref. 1601 .D79)

See the Theatre Research Guide: Using Indexes and Databases to help select an Index.

Theatre Reviews

New York Times is available online Full Text through LexisNexis (not an Index)
Final New York City Edition
Coverage: June 1, 1980 - present. Updated daily.

LexisNexis Academic Universe < about >
To find theatre reviews in Lexis Nexis, first click on the link to News on the left of the screen. Under Step One: Select a news category, choose "Arts & Sports News." Under Step Two: Select a news source, choose "Book, movie, music, & play reviews." To find a review of a specific play, enter the play title into the search box under Step Three: Enter search terms. You also can choose to search within specific date ranges or a specific publication title.

To find articles published before 1980, use the New York Times Index in *print*. You must know the year that the play was produced, and look in the index volume for that year. The Index is alphabetical by subject. Under T, look for Theater - Reviews. Then look for the title of your play in the Theater - Reviews section.

The New York Times Index [Print]
Reference, Index Case 2 (next to the atlas case), call number: AI21 .N48
Library has: 1851 - 1997

Once you have found the citation to your pre-1980 play review in the New York Times, you will need to find your review in the New York Times, either through the online New York Times 1851-2001, or on microfilm.

New York Times 1851-2001 (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) < about >
Full Text of the New York Times from 1851-2001; all articles in PDF format.

The New York Times [Microform]
Microfilm Room/Main Level, AP2 .N4
Library has: 1851- (usually up to the last 30 days)

The New York Times [newspaper in print]
Newspapers/Lower Level
Library has: Until microfilm arrives. (usually the last 30 days)

New York Times Index Online Index < about >
Full text of all New York Times articles published within the last 365 days.
You must be in Michigan to access this index. Updated daily

Full Text Databases

Electronic Journal Finder

Project Muse < about >
Project MUSE offers the full text of Johns Hopkins University Press scholarly journals via the world wide web. Journals from these disciplines are included: the humanities, social sciences and mathematics.

Wilson Select < about >
Contains indexed and abstracted articles in ASCII full text. The database is comprised of records from Readers' Guide Abstracts, Social Sciences Abstracts, Humanities Abstracts, General Science Abstracts and Wilson Business Abstracts.
(Please note that each periodical can begin on a different month and year.)
Coverage: 1994-Present.

Proquest < about >
Proquest Research Library is a fulltext database providing access to over 2,000 periodicals. Graphics are included with the fulltext for many articles. Users may search the entire database or select specific subject modules (examples include Arts, Women's Studies and Humanities). Users also may select to search peer-reviewed journals only.

JSTOR < about > Title List.

Note: Don't forget to use Print and Online Bibliographies!

 Websites

To find Web sites, use search engines and web indexes. See Finding Web Sites and Web Indexes and Directories. See also Web Sites by Subject and Finding Web Sites on Theatre.

See the Following Web Sites:

• Theatre History on the Web
  Maintained by Jack Wolcott, University of Washington School of Drama.
• Theater and Performance Studies Resources
  Bobst Library, New York University. Site created and maintained by Pamela Bloom, the librarian for Performing Arts.
• ELAC (East Los Angeles College)
  Theatre Website of the Theatre Arts Dept of East Los Angeles College. Maintained by W. Colin McKay, Director of Theatre, and George K. Cybulski.
• TheatrePedia: The East Los Angeles College (ELAC) Internet Theatre Library. "The searchable TheatrePedia contains entries on dramatic criticism, theatre terms, and important plays and characters, as well as brief biographical entries on famous playwrights, directors, actors, producers, and managers. The TheatrePedia also indexes major plays by author and title, and links to online texts if available.
• Theatre and Drama section of the WWW Virtual Library.

Use these points to evaluate the credibility of Websites:

1. Accuracy
How reliable is the information? Are there editors and fact checkers?
2. Authority
What are the author's qualifications? Is the publisher reputable?
3. Objectivity
Is the author trying to sway opinion? Is the information free from bias?
4. Currency
Is the publication date indicated? Is the source up to date?
5. Coverage
Does the site cover the topic comprehensively, or are there information gaps?

Sites that provide guidance on evaluating Websites:

• Evaluating Web Resources
  Widener University Library
• Evaluating Information Found on the Internet
  Johns Hopkins University Library
• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, or Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Resources
  New Mexico State University Library
• Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources
  UCLA College Library

 Citing Your Sources

See: How to Cite Sources

See also Citing Sources for help in citing print and electronic resources in various bibliographic styles (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.)

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
5th ed., New York : Modern Language Association of America, 1999.
Reference, LB2369 .G53 1999.

• MLA Style From The University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center.
• MLA Style From the Modern Language Association (MLA).
• MLA Style Form Guide from the Ohio State University Libraries
• Using MLA Style to Cite and Document Sources
  (includes information on citing electronic sources)

ALWAYS check the style manual!! DO NOT rely on other guides!