Theater: A Guide to Library Resources: World Theater

A reference work exploring the diversity of expression found in rituals, festivals, and performances, uncovering acting techniques and practices from around the world.

Provides biographical, historical, and technical information about actors both familiar and obscure whose work has been crucial in the development of acting methods and traditions from classical theatre to the present day. Includes entries on key directors, theorists and teachers, and on the elements and genres of acting.

Nine scholars provide entries on performance in twenty countries from Pakistan in the west, through India and Southeast Asia to China, Japan and Korea in the east. An introductory pan-Asian essay explores basic themes - they include ritual, dance, puppetry, training, performance and masks. The national entries concentrate on the historical development of theatre in each country, followed by entries on the major theatre forms, and articles on playwrights, actors and directors. The entries are accompanied by rare photographs and helpful reading lists.

Alphabetic listing of theatre culture and history, attempting to present "a comprehensive view of the history and present practice of theatre in all parts of the world, thus pointing to the dynamic interaction of performance traditions from all cultures in present day theatre."(Preface)

Covers 1860 to the present. Entries emphasize the cultural context of dramatic works and their authors and their relationship to significant social, political, artistic, and philosophical movements. Includes articles on emerging authors and the conventional and experimental theater worldwide.

"This concise version of the acclaimed Oxford Companion to the Theatre covers all aspects of theatre worldwide and throughout the ages. It contains entries on a vast range of theatrical styles, dramatists, performers, and directors, as well as information on theatres, festivals, and such technical topics as lighting, sound, and method acting." (publisher)

Designed to cover the "grand spectacle" from antiquity to the present, including theater, opera, ballet, film, vaudville and the circus. Entries discuss performers, authors, composers, directors, designers, etc. Profusely illustrated. Contains bibliographies.

2 vols. A detailed survey of traditional and contemporary Asian theatre. Includes hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries written by more than 90 expert contributors. Entries on the most important topics cite works for further reading, and the Encyclopedia closes with an extensive bibliography. (publisher)

"a comprehensive and accessible reference covering all of Greek comedy and its reception from antiquity to the present. Contains more than 1300 entries, organized in A-Z format, with helpful cross-references and an index of authors and plays.

Traces the history of Latin American theater, including the Nuyorican and Chicano theaters of the United States, and surveys its history from the pre-Columbian period to the present. Sections cover individual Latin American countries. Each section features alphabetically arranged entries for playwrights, independent theaters, and cultural movements.

3 vols. From the dawn of operetta in the 18th century through the 20th, this set offers information on the people, the songs and shows in America and around the world.

2nd edition. Includes entries on writers, movements, forms of writing and textual strategies, critical ideas, cultural processes, and texts that are significant in relation to postmodernist literature. Also provides a chronology and an extensive bibliography.

International and historical in scope, this reference includes nearly 1,500 entries and is divided into three volumes: Volume 1: Plays focuses on 600 of the world's most significant plays, with an authoritative essay on each play and more than 300 photographs. Volume 2: Playwrights contains biographical and bibliographical information and essays on 485 playwrights. Volume 3: Actors, Directors and Designers, features a capsule biography, descriptions: of roles and theatre productions and bibliographic information on 300 entrants.

"The purpose of the book is to present, in the clearest possible format, factual information and critical evaluations of numerous dramatists' work and stature." (Preface) Most entries contain a biographical sketch, a brief critique of the dramatist's work, a selection of synopses of his/her plays, a bibliography of editions and usually a list of critical and biographical works. Emphasis is on English and Western European playwrights. Includes some general essays on drama of the world as well as many photographs taken during actual productions.

Charts the expansion and development of Canadian theatre from the beginnings to the present. It contains some 680 entries including biographies of actors, playwrights, directors, designers and details of major plays, and such subjects as theatres and companies, collective theatre, ethnic theatre, musical theatre, and radio and television drama. Indexed

This handbook provides information on every aspect of the theatre up to the end of l982. Coverage is international in scope. Some articles deal with contemporary theatre in foreign countries, dramatic criticism, musical comedy, scenery, opera, Shakespearean Festivals, and blacks in the American theatre. All articles are signed. Separate sections in the back include a select list of theatre books, and notes on the illustrations.

"The Oxford Dictionary of Plays provides essential information on the 1000 best-known, best-loved, and most important plays in world theater. Each entry includes details of title, author, date of composition, date of first performance, genre, setting, and the composition of the cast, and more. A synopsis of the plot and a brief commentary, perhaps on the context of the play, or the reasons for its enduring popularity, follow. Around 80 of the most significant plays - from The Oresteia to Waiting for Godot - are dealt with in more detail. Genres covered include: burlesque, comedy, farce, historical drama, kabuki, masque, melodrama, morality play, mystery play, No, romantic comedy, tragicomedy, satire, and tragedy." --From the publisher's website

Provides information about theatre and performance internationally, through history and in the present. The 4300 entries are complemented by over 100 illustrations. Coverage ranges from ancient Greek theatre to 21st century developments in London, Paris, New York, and around the globe. Pays special attention to non-Western styles through articles on theatre and performance throughout Asia and Africa, often written by practitioners or critics from those areas. Dance, opera, performance art, radio, film, and television are covered at length. Also embraces para-theatrical, non-drammatic, and popular performance, including ritual, carnivals, parades, the circus, and public executions. Biographical entries cover the lives and work of major figures from the past and present: actors, playwrights, directors, designers, and critics. Entries on cities and regions place performance in its local social and political context.

Features articles showcasing composers, singers, musicians, dancers, and choreographers across eras and styles. Includes overviews of genres, such as opera, ballet, cabaret, modern dance, rock, disco, and hip-hop; discussions of topics like glam rock, music videos, and AIDS activism; as well as biographical entries.

Documents the stage, television and screen histories of plays that were produced in other media.

This work is designed to "offer an overview of theatre activity in North America and the British Isles since 1900, and to provide a "date-finder" for those who want information about a particular theatre event, production, personality or playhouse." (Preface) Arrangement is chronological, beginning with 1900 and ending with 1979. Within each year, arrangement is by month and covers theatre productions, American and British play premieres, revivals and repertoires, and births, deaths, and debuts. An author, title, subject index at the end of the volume helps to provide access to specific items. There is, in addition, an excellent bibliography of books about the theater, although its arrangement in chronological order by date of publication makes it awkward to use.

Beginning with 1945, surveys the "range of national theatrical activity on a country-by-country basis from a specifically national standpoint." (intro) Each article covers a nation's theatrical history, artistic trends, structure of its theatre community, artistic profile, dance theatre, youth theatre, puppet theatre, theatre space and architecture, theatrical training, theatre criticism, scholarship and publishing. Bibliographies included. The 6 volumes are dispersed among several campus libraries:
v 1. Europe, v 2. Americas, v.4 The Arab World, v 6. Bibliography/Cumulative index, Olin Reference PN1861 W67w 1994+
v 3. Africa, Africana Reference PN1861 W67x 1994
v 5. Asia, Kroch Library Asia Reference PN1861 W67x 1994