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Basic Drama Reference Works

The following list of encyclopedias, dictionaries and bibliographies in Hunt Library are broad in scope and can often prove useful at at the start of a research project. Encyclopedias and dictionaries are separate from the circulating collections so that the researcher can gain quick and easy access to basic information. Most works are located near the Arts Reference Desk area on the 4th floor (HL4-FA-REF) or in the literature reference section (REF-1) on the 1st floor of Hunt Library. They are commonly used to:

• identify a person or topic
• get an overview of a person or topic
• aid in formulating keywords and concepts for database searching
• find definitions of key words and concepts
• provide leads to other resources on a person or topic
  

To locate subject-specific reference works in Hunt Library and on the Web try Drama Resource Guide: Topics.

For key databases for Drama navigate to Drama Research Guide: Library Catalogs, Indexes and Databases .

Also try Drama Research Guide: Web Gateways for Drama for meta-sites with hundreds of theater links.

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• Bibliography
• Dictionaries (Terms)
• Biographical Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias

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Bibliography

Carpenter, Charles A. Modern Drama: Scholarship and Criticism, 1981-1990: An International Bibliography. Toronto, Buffalo and London: Modern Drama and University of Toronto Press, 1997.

Theatre Research Center. International Bibliography of Theatre. Brookyln, N.Y.: The Center, 1982-1999.
HUNT FA-REF-4 Z6935 .I53

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Dictionaries (Terms and Concepts)

Mobley, Jonnie Patricia. NTC's Dictionary of Theatre and Drama Terms. Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company, 1992.
HUNT STACKS-4 PN2035 .M63 1992

Pavis, Patrice. Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts, and Analysis. Toronto and Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1998.
HUNT-FA-REF-4 PN2035 .P2913 1998

Trapido, Joel, ed. An International Dictionary of Theatre Language. Westport, CT and London: Greenwood Press, 1985.
HUNT-FA-REF PN2035 .I5 1985

Pickering, Kenneth. Key Concepts in Drama and Performance. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York, N.Y. : Palgrave Macmillan, 2005
HUNT FA-REF-4 PN1579 .P53 2005
Main ideas and terms are discussed at an introductory level regarding the textual (plays), performance, production, staging and criticism

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Biographical Dictionaries

Contemporary Dramatists. London: St. James Press.
REF-1 PR737 .V5 1973 and 1977; PR737 .C57 1982;
REF-1 928.2 C7611 1988; 1993

Writers for the stage, screen, radio and television.

Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Co., 1984- (Annual).
This reference work continues Who's Who in the Theatre.
FA-REF-4 PN2285 .C58 Volumes 1-21, 1984-1999.

International Dictionary of Theatre. Chicago : St. James Press, 1996.
FA-REF-4 PN2035 .I49 1992 3 Vols.
Plays, playwrights, actors, directors, and designers.

Magill, Frank N. Critical Survey of Drama : English Language Series. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Salem Press, 1985.
REF-1 PR623 .C75 1985 6 vols.
Biographical summaries; critical essays examine representative plays and identify themes and characteristics employed by English language dramatists.

Magill, Frank N. Critical Survey of Drama : Foreign Language Series. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Salem Press, 1986.
REF-1 PN1625 .C74 1986, 6 vols. with 1987 supplement
Biographical summaries; critical essays examine representative plays and identify themes and characteristics employed by more than 170 non-English speaking dramatists.

Encyclopedias

Banham, Martin. The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1995.
FA-REF-4 PN2035 .C27 1995

Hartnoll, Phyllis. The Oxford Companion to the Theatre, 4th ed. O xford: Oxford University Press, c1992.
FA-REF-4 PN2035 .C63 1992
Articles on theatre people, companies, styles and terminology.

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama, 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984.
REF-1 PN1625 .M3 1984, 5 vols.
Contains articles on dramatists, the theatre of nations or ethnic groups, genres, companies, and theoreticians. Includes indexes of subjects and the names of people and plays. Heavily illustrated.

Rubin, Don. The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre. London ; New York : Routledge, 1994- .
FA-REF-4 PN1861 .W67 1994, 5 Vols.
Vol 1: Europe, Vol 2: The Americas, Vol 3. Africa, Vol. 4 The Arab World (North Africa and the Middle East), Vol. 5. Asia/Pacific, Vol. 6 (forthcoming).