LibGuides: Theatre Arts: Primary Sources

Primary Texts Online

Primary literary texts, images, and video can be accessed online through the following databases:

Black Drama: Third Edition This link opens in a new window
This full-text database includes plays, many previously unpublished, rare, or out-of-print, by playwrights from North America, English-speaking Africa, the Caribbean, and other African diaspora countries.
LitFinder This link opens in a new window
under "content type," select "primary sources & literary works."

Project Gutenberg
Producer of freely available electronic versions of books and other texts.

Theatre in Video This link opens in a new window
Streaming video of over 250 dramatic productions and documentaries about theater, covering works from Sophocles through 20th century playwrights. Access limited to three simultaneous users.
ARTstor Digital Archive Collection This link opens in a new window
Digital images and information about works of visual art, including architecture, decorative arts, fashion, and design from many times and cultures.

Search for the original critical reception of a play in newspapers. These reviews may also be considered primary sources:

Historical New York Times This link opens in a new window
Find theatre reviews and criticism written between 1851 - 2009.
New York Times (Current) This link opens in a new window
Full-text coverage, 1980-present

What are Primary Sources?

Primary sources provide firsthand evidence of historical events. These include

letters
diaries
photographs
manuscripts
newspapers
interviews
memoirs
audio or video recordings
research data
objects or artifacts such as works of art

To locate primary resources in the library catalog, perform a Subject or Keyword search on the person, place, event, etc., in combination with one of the following terms:

diaries
personal narratives
correspondence
sources
pictorial works
maps
speeches
addresses

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