Theatre Arts 

• A-Z List of Databases
• A-Z List of Journals
• ILLiad
• E-Reserves
• RefWorks

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World Cat Basic Search

Hello. This guide will introduce you to basic Theatre Arts resources available in The Ames Library at Illinois Wesleyan University.  It includes information on how to locate:

• Books, Plays, Audio &Video Recordings
  
• Journal Articles
• Key Theatre Arts Information Sources (print & eclectronic)
• Guides to Web Resources
  

Search Ames Catalog (box at left) for books & other materials owned by IWU.

• Best when searching by title.
• If IWU owns the item you may check it out.
• If IWU does not own the item, use I-Share to check other CARLI libraries to see if it is available. If so, you may request the item. If not, search World Cat option below.

VU Find Version of Catalog: an alternative to the classic version of the Ames Catalog with a more modern look & feel. This is particularly good for subject searching.

Search World Cat (box at left) for books and other materials worldwide.

• Best when searching by title.
• Choose the button for availability.

Browse the Shelves:

GT510 Costume
GV 1580-1799.3 Dancing
PN 2000-3307 Dramatic representation. The theater.
PN 2061-2071 Art of acting
PN2071 Monologues
PN 2085-2091 Stage and accessories. Stage Design.
PN 2131-219 By period
PN 2131-2145 Ancient
PN 2152-2160 Medieval
PN 2171-2179 Renaissance
PN 2181-2193 Modern
PN 2219.3-3030 Special regions or countries
PN 3035 The Jewish theater
PN 3151-3171 Amateur theater
PN 3175-3191 College and school theatricals
PN 3203-3299 Tableaux, pageants, "Happenings," etc.
TT507 Costume Design

The Ames Library uses Library of Congress Classification.

The following resources are useful for locating plays in collections and journals:

• Inter-Play:  An index to plays in published collections

• Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections, 7th edition  Z5781.O8 1988

• Index to Plays in Periodicals:  Z5781.K43 1990

Use Quicklinks A-Z Journals to access holdings information about specific journal titles at the Ames Library

Use Quicklinks A-Z Databases to access of list of journal databases available at the Ames Library

Key Theatre Arts Journal Databases:

• International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text : 1984 to Present  (available soon) The definitive research tool for the study of theatre and the performing arts including Musical Theatre, Opera, and Dance. Indexes journals, book chapters, collections of essays, and dissertation abstracts.

• MLA International Bibliography:  1963 to Present. An essential index to articles and essays on drama, literature, languages, linguistics, and folklore.

• Humanities Abstracts:  1984 to Present

• LION (Literature Online):  Coverage varies. English and American poetry, drama and prose.  154 full-text literature journals, criticism and information sources.

• Project Muse:  Full-text electronic access to over 160 scholarly journals. 1993 to Present.

The following electronic and print resources provide scholarly information on all aspects of the Theatre & Performing Arts. Titles with Library of Congress call numbers are located in the Reference Collection on the entry level of The Ames Library

• Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama (Cody/Sprinchorn):  Ref. PN1861.C65 2007

• Concise Oxford Companion to Theatre

• Drama Dictionary(Hodgson):  Ref. PN1625.H62 1988

• Enclyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion (Steele):  Ref. GT507.E53 2005

• International Dictionary of the Theatre (Hawkins-Dady): Ref. PN2035.I49 1992

• International Encyclopedia of the Dance

• Library of Congress Performing Arts Encyclopedia

• Oxford Companion to the American Theatre

• Oxford Dictionary of Plays (Patterson):  Ref. PN1925.P38 2005

• Oxford Dictionary of Dance

• Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance (Kennedy):  Ref. PN2035.O94 2003

• Performing Arts: A Guide to the Reference Literature (Simons):  Ref. PN1584.S56 1994

• World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre (Rubin): Ref. PN1861.W67 1994

The World Wide Web Virtual Library: Theatre and Drama