Research Guides: Theatre: Home

VT Theatre and the University Library

Theatre, a part of the School for the Performing Arts housed in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design is an area in the Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Theatre faculty and staff invite students "to discover [their] artistic voice. A thriving and creative home for evolving theatre artists, we prepare our students for life in the 21^st century - both onstage and off."

Per their webpage: A degree in theatre provides the foundation for a fulfilling, imaginative, and ever evolving future career. By exploring each area of production over the course of your program, you can develop a wide range of skills and a full-scale appreciation of the theatrical art form.

We believe in learning by doing and offer individualized attention and hands-on training in both the classroom and in practice.
Comprehensive training empowers students with the knowledge, skills, and techniques to succeed in whatever they choose to do.
State of the art facilities give students access to innovative technologies and a wide range of support and opportunities encourage double majors and cross disciplinary work.

This guide provides a collection of recommended resources for Theatre research such as databases, journals, books, articles, and so on. The recommendations are not comprehensive, but these resources are very likely to contain materials useful for your projects.

Some recommended online resources beyond Virginia Tech

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences resources
A core part of the Academy Collection, the Academy Library, also known as the Margaret Herrick Library, is one of the world’s preeminent research facilities dedicated to preserving the artform and industry of motion pictures. Its holdings, amassed since 1928, contain over 52 million items, including books, photographs, scripts, posters, production records, costume design drawings, and so much more. Located in Beverly Hills, the library is open to the public and is used year-round by students, scholars, historians and industry professionals.

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Representing more than 35,000 items, the Academy Library Digital Spotlight presents a curated selection of materials from the library's extensive holdings on motion picture history. Items include correspondence, photographs, sheet music, scrapbooks, lobby cards, movie ephemera, books, film magazines and industry publications. The collections also provide access to publications of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences dating back to the founding of the organization in 1927. At https://digitalcollections.oscars.org/
AMC Filmsite
The site includes rich reference material including Academy Awards history, film genres, film terms, film history by decade, trivia, and lots of lists of 'best' films, stars, scenes, quotes, resources, posters, etc.
Brown University Library Audio Resources
A set of links to sites with sound effects, other sound, and dialects.
IDBD (the internet broadway database)
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. IBDB provides a comprehensive database of shows produced on Broadway, including all "title page" information about each production. IBDB also offers historical information about theatres and various statistics and fun facts related to Broadway.
International Theatre Institute
ITI was created on the initiative of the first UNESCO Director General, Sir Julian Huxley, and the playwright and novelist, JB Priestly in 1948, just after the Second World War, and at the beginning of the Cold War, when the Iron Curtain divided the East and the West.  The aim of the founders of ITI was to build an organization that was aligned with UNESCO’s goals on culture, education and the arts, and which would focus its endeavours on improving the status of all members of the performing arts professions.

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They envisaged an organization that created platforms for international exchange and for engagement in the education of the performing arts, for beginners and professionals alike, as well as using the performing arts for mutual understanding and peace.  ITI has now developed into the world’s largest organization for the performing arts, with around 80 Centres spread across every continent.
Internet Archive: Theater/Theatre collection
The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, people with print disabilities, and the general public. Our mission is to provide Universal Access to All Knowledge.
Library of Congress: Theater
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.

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The Library preserves and provides access to a rich, diverse and enduring source of knowledge to inform, inspire and engage you in your intellectual and creative endeavors. Whether you are new to the Library of Congress or an experienced researcher, we have a world-class staff ready to assist you online and in person.
Library of Congress: theatre
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.

more... less...

The Library preserves and provides access to a rich, diverse and enduring source of knowledge to inform, inspire and engage you in your intellectual and creative endeavors. Whether you are new to the Library of Congress or an experienced researcher, we have a world-class staff ready to assist you online and in person.
New York Film Academy script source suggestions
A list of ten websites that allow you to download professional movie scripts to review.
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, one of NYPL’s renowned research libraries, houses one of the world's most extensive research collections in the fields of theater, film, dance, music, and recorded sound, as well as a wide array of circulating and reference materials.
Numeridanse
Numeridanse is a free video database of dance curated by the Maison de la Danse, Lyon. Genres represented include: butoh, classical ballet, neo-classical ballet, baroque, Indian, African, flamenco, contemporary, traditional dances, hip-hop, tango, jazz, circus arts, and more.
Open Culture
Watch 4,000+ movies free online. Includes classics, indies, film noir, documentaries and other films, created by some of our greatest actors, actresses and directors. The collection is divided into the following categories: Comedy & Drama; Film Noir, Horror & Hitchcock; Westerns (many with John Wayne); Martial Arts Movies; Silent Films; Documentaries, and Animation.
Playbill online
Provides information about professional theater productions in the US. Emphasis on Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including Equity national tours.
Theatre Communication Group
Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology. TCG offers networking and knowledge-building opportunities through research, communications, and events
University of WI Superior guide for Music Education and Pedagogy