Theater & Drama: Web Resources
This guide provides starting points for research in Theater..
Useful Web Resources for Research in Theatre
- "Queen of Off-Broadway:" Lucille Lortel Collection Photographs 1902-1998This very small, representative selection of photographs originally served to illustrate the electronic finding aid for the Lucille Lortel Papers, and to show the range of Miss Lortel's career. Numbering in the thousands, the photographs in her collection fill 26 boxes (10.7 linear feet) and document all aspects of her personal and professional life.
- Cia Fornaroli CollectionThe Cia Fornaroli Collection pays tribute both to the rich history of Italian dance and to the remarkable Cia Fornaroli Collection, a jewel of the Library's Jerome Robbins Dance Division.
- André Studios 1930-1941This digitized collection of thousands of fashion drawings and sketches produced by André Fashion Studios between 1930 and 1941 is the result of a partnership between the Picture Collection of The New York Public Library and the Special Collections & FIT Archives of the Fashion Institute of Technology Library.
- Claire Holt Collection of Indonesian Dance and Related ArtsThe photographs were taken chiefly by scholar Claire Holt (1901-1970) during her visits to Indonesia in 1930-38, 1955-57 and 1969 to visually document the plastic and performing arts for her research. A number of these photographs were published in her books Dance Quest in Celebes (1939), Art in Indonesia (1967), and the exhibition catalog Théâtre et Danses aus Indes Néerlandaises (1939).
- Dance in Photographs and PrintsThroughout NYPL's research collections, dance images are available for study. Since 1944, a special unit devoted to collecting, preserving, creating and accessing dance documentation has developed into the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center at Lincoln Center.
- Inter-PlayInter-play is an index to individual plays appearing in collected works and anthologies.
- Internet Broadway Database (IBDB)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.
- Marquees, 1997-2001: New York City Theatre Photographs by Christopher FrithThis collection documents changing theater marquees and exterior displays of signage and posters on Broadway from late 1997 to 2001. It features some 79 productions, including The Scarlet Pimpernel, Seussical, Chicago, The King and I, Jekyll and Hyde, The Iceman Cometh, Phantom of the Opera, and Jane Eyre. The photographs were created for a project initiated in 1997 by the Billy Rose Theatre Collection of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts to add to its collection of documentation about contemporary Broadway theater. The photographer, Christopher J. Frith (b. 1956), is a staff member of the Theatre Collection.
- On Stage and Screen: Photograph File of the Billy Rose Theatre CollectionThe Billy Rose Theatre Collection's photograph archive holds personalities, productions, theatre buildings, and production studios. It is organized into three series, grouped by size of photographic print: "A" for the smallest, less than 8 x 10 inches; "B" for approximately 8 x 10 inches and slightly larger; and "C" for oversize prints. This digital presentation offers the complete contents of the so-called "A" files, which are rich in 19th-century carte-de-visite and cabinet card portraits, as well as 20th-century portrait proofs, personal snapshots, and photographic postcards. The series also includes some early production photographs, and a section on theatres subdivided geographically.
- Playbill OnlineThis has news articles about plays, actors, and groups. There are listings of theatre shows by region and a search engine to find additional theatre performances.
- Playbill VaultPlaybillVault.com is a comprehensive database of Broadway history from Playbill Inc.
- Theatrical Lighting Database (beta)Modern theatrical lighting has been developing over the past 60 years, primarily in America. Until now it has been exceedingly difficult to study due to limited access to original lighting documents. This collection contains actual plots, focus charts, cue sheets and much more from four landmark productions digitized from the collections of the New York Public Library.
- Uniforms and Regimental Regalia: The Vinkhuijzen Collection of Military Costume IllustrationThe collection assembled by H. J. Vinkhuijzen (1843-1910), a Dutch physician, and presented to the Library by Mrs. Henry Draper in 1911, consists in its entirety of over 32,000 pictures, from many sources, mounted in 762 scrapbooks. (The digital presentation will ultimately include them all.) The collection is remarkably diverse, depicting costume as various as the rough wool garments of Bronze age Etruscan warriors, the robes of Ottoman Turk court officials, and the elaborate uniforms of the preening armies of 19th-century Europe, the collection's special strength.
Useful Handout
Website Evaluation
While conducting research on the web, it is imperative to evaluate the website in question for authority, documentation, currency, and bias. Doing so will ensure that you are using the most credible information possible to support your thesis.
Authority and Accuracy
Who produced the site? Are they a credible source? What is the purpose of the site? Why was it created? Is the person, organization, or group qualified to write this content? What is the domain of the URL?
- .com or.biz - a business or commercial website
- .edu - an educational institution
- .gov or .mil - a U.S. military or government website
- .net - a personal website
- .org - a website for a not-for-profit organization
Documentation
Is there adequate documentation for factual statements? Is the documentation reliable, verifiable from a second source? Is there enough information to cite this information in a paper (author, title, source, date)?
Currency
Is the information up to date? When was it created, or last edited? Are the links up to date or dead? Is the author using outdated statistics?
Objectivity and Bias
Is the document biased or slanted? Are there few or no logical errors such as appeal to authority or circular reasoning? If you found this information a printed source, would you trust it?