Theatre and Dance Research Guide: Article Databases

International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text was initiated by the American Society for Theatre Research, and since 1984, the Theatre Research Data Center (TRDC) at Brooklyn College has published 14 volumes of the IBTD. It contains more than 530 full-text titles, including more than 170 full-text journals and more than 360 full-text books & monographs. Indexed is 60,000 journal articles, books, book chapters and dissertation abstracts on all aspects of theatre and performance in 126 countries.

After clicking on the access link above, click the light blue box labeled "BBC Shakespeare Plays", The " to see a drop down menu containing a list of available videos.

When the BBC first undertook this six-year project, it became the most ambitious undertaking ever attempted on film. This was the first time in the 400 years since they were written that all 37 plays would be preserved on tape. Now they are available to watch online in streaming video.  Produced by Cedric Messina and Dr. Jonathan Miller, it includes performances by Britain's most distinguished theatrical talent. This resource includes performances by Britain's most distinguished theatrical talent, John Gielgud, Ben Kingsley, Claire Bloom, Anthony Hopkins, Michael York and Derek Jacobi. Closed Captions are available for each video.

Permanent links to each individual video are available below (remote access ready).  Click on the title to watch the video:

*Humanities Full Text brings you full text plus abstracts and bibliographic indexing of the most noted scholarly sources in the humanities, as well as numerous lesser-known but important specialized magazines. 

*The database indexes, abstracts and delivers the full text of feature articles, interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, original works of fiction, drama, and poetry, book reviews, and reviews of ballets, dance programs, motion pictures, musicals, operas, plays, radio and television programs, and more.

*Coverage dates: Indexing 1984+, Abstracting 1984+, “select” Full Text 1994+

*Subjects Covered:
Archaeology, Area Studies, Art, Classical Studies, Communications, Dance, Film, Folklore, Gender Studies, History, Journalism, Linguistics, Literary & Social Criticism Literature, Music, Performing Arts, Philosophy, Religion and Theology.

International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text was initiated by the American Society for Theatre Research, and since 1984, the Theatre Research Data Center (TRDC) at Brooklyn College has published 14 volumes of the IBTD. It contains more than 530 full-text titles, including more than 170 full-text journals and more than 360 full-text books & monographs. Indexed is 60,000 journal articles, books, book chapters and dissertation abstracts on all aspects of theatre and performance in 126 countries.

The MLA Directory of Periodicals, produced by the Modern Language Association (MLA), provides detailed information on thousands of journals and book series in the fields of literature, language, linguistics, film, rhetoric and composition, and folklore. All periodicals and book series indexed in the MLA International Bibliography are listed in the directory. 

Each journal or series entry provides detailed information, including:

* Publication details, such as publisher, sponsoring organization, ISSN, frequency, and year of first publication

* Editorial policies, such as scope, including subject terms assigned by the directory editor; peer review; average number of readers per manuscript; publication language or languages; acceptance of book reviews, brief notes, abstracts, and advertising; copyright policy; and charges associated with publication 

* Contact details for editors, including e-mail addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, and mailing addresses for manuscripts

* Submission requirements, including recommended style and format for article submission, article length, and blind-submission requirements 

* Electronic availability, including URLs for article submission and links to open-access online content where available

* Subscription information with full subscription contact information, distributors, subscription rates, and circulation numbers

* Useful statistics, such as the average number of manuscripts of various types submitted to a journal each year and the number published, time from submission to decision, and time from decision to publication

*Lists international journal articles, books, book chapters, conference proceedings, dissertations and bibliographies

*Covers topics in modern language, literature, linguistics and folklore

*Covers items published from 1926 to the present

The Motley Collection of Theatre and Costume Design is a valuable source of documentation on the history of theatre and is housed in the Rare Book and Special Collections Library of the University of Florida. It is a rare collection of original materials on the theatre comprising over 5000 items from more than 150 productions in England and the United States. These materials include costume and set designs, sketches, notes, photographs, prop lists, storyboards, and swatches of fabric.

*Search over 30,000 plays written from antiquity to the present and published from 1949 to the present

*Includes mysteries, pageants, plays in verse, puppet performances, radio and television plays, and classic drama

*Search for plays by title; author; subject, style, genre and cast type

*The Ringling Collection is comprised of cabinet cards, postcards and photographs of American and British actors and actresses. The Collection is one of several housed in the Belknap Collection for the Performing Arts in the Smathers Libraries' Department of Special Collections on the campus to the University of Florida (Gainesville, FL).

*This glorious assemblage of images traces the history of stagecraft through Shakespearean prints, 18th, 19th and 20th century European and American handbills, posters and heralds, souvenir photographs and prints of the legendary performers of the past three centuries, numerous production and publicity stills of 20th century plays and films, and hundreds of individual photographs of the legendary and the now forgotten stars of minstrel, vaudeville and burlesque.