Introduction to Acting (DR 10)
by Chao Chen, Humanities Reference Librarian
chao.chen@tufts.edu |
617.627.2057 |
Homepage
Quick Lookup:The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance
Course Materials on Course Reserves.
WorldCat (catalogs of libraries worldwide)
Procedure Note:
1. Verify if Tufts Library has the book you need.
2. Use ILliad (interlibrary loan service) to request non-Tufts books.
Suggested searches in the Tufts Library Catalog:
Note: a. substitute "women" with your own themes/genres; b. be sure to include the word "and" between keywords in your search. c. Browse, in the Bookstacks, by the call numbers starting with PN2080 |
WorldCat (catalogs of libraries worldwide)
Procedure Note:
1. Verify if Tufts Library has the book you need.
2. Use ILliad (interlibrary loan service) to request non-Tufts books.
1. Search MLA (International Bibliography of Language & Literature)
Enter your search terms:
2. Collection of Journals
JSTOR (with omission of the current years)
Project Muse (with current years only)
3. Performing Arts
International Index to the Performing Arts
4. Additional Databases
Arts & Humanities Citation Index
Film & Television Literature Index
Women's Studies International
Each Database is selective
Subject Matter —disciplinary perspective, period, geographical region, and more;
Scope —types, number, and years of publications covered
Depth (of indexing) —citation, abstracts, full texts, which determines their search capabilities.
First, run a relatively broad search in them to assess their relevance on a topic;
Next, try out a variety of keyword, subject, and author searches in a chosen database.
Last, use newly learned ideas and words in other databases.
1. The collections include journals from all disciplines— literary studies, Performing Arts, and others;
2. JStor is likely to include seminal works on a subject, which are highly original and influential, and central to the development or understanding of a subject.
3. Must check for up-to-date information from other sources when using JSTOR.
Click to browse some journals here:
1. Start with a general search with simply the author's name, or title of a play.
2. Examine the general search results to discover possible focuses on some typical elements; evidences you have collected in your reading of the text and you will use to support your thesis of the paper.
1. Click on the 
button to these three options:
2. Search for a journal directly here:
Current (United States and International)
Ethnic, Altenative and Independent Press
Historical
Print Sources New York Theatre Critics' Reviews. (1944 to 1994) Ref. PN1601 .N4 Theatre Record 1985- . (Bound Periodicals PN2596 .L6 L66) |
IM: TischLibrarian
| 
Often, plays, if published at all, are collected in a book, printed in a journal/magazine, instead of being published in singular volumes.
Here is a sample Play Index record of a play with a link to a book citation (the link is not live):
1. Identify the book that contains your play in this Play Index record :
2. Sometimes, click on the full display of the record in the database would be helpful.
3. Next, use the Catalogs to find the book
Use the Catalogs to find plays directly:
1. Use names of playwrights or title of plays as keywords in your search.
2. The Best Plays (1899 – present). Stacks: PN2266.A2 B4
Contents of the annual volumes vary somewhat but include such sections as: 1. digests with critical comment on selected plays of the year; 2. title list of plays produced in New York during the year, giving for each: title, author, number of performances, theater, cast of characters, and brief outline of plot; 3. plays produced outside of New York; 4. Shakespeare festivals; 5. statistics of runs. 6. list of actors; 7. prizes and awards, and 8. index.
3. Play Index. 1949-02. Ref. Z5781 .p53 (the index in print)
I. Author, title, and subject index; II. Cast analysis; III. List of collections indexed