Theatre & Film Studies

Online Reference Sources

Canadian Film Encyclopedia, Film Reference Library
An online reference project from the Film Reference Library, the Canadian film encyclopedia includes almost 500 film title, biographical and subject entries, covering some of Canada's foremost historical and modern films and filmmakers.

The Oxford Dictionary of Plays / Patterson, Michael.
"Provides essential information on the 1,000 best-known, best-loved, and most important plays in world theatre. Each entry includes details of the title, author, date of writing, date of first performance, genre, setting, and composition of cast; there is also a summary of the play's plot, and a brief commentary. Around 80 major plays are treated in detail, for example The Oresteia and Waiting for Godot. Genres covered include: burlesque, comedy, farce, historical drama, kabuki, masque, melodrama, morality play, mystery play, No, romantic comedy, tragicomedy, satire, and tragedy."

A Dictionary of Shakespeare / Wells, Stanley W.
Provides extensive information on William Shakespeare, his plays, his characters and the time in which he wrote. Compiled by one of the best-known authorities on the Bard's works, this dictionary offers up-to-date information on all aspects of Shakespeare in his own time and on his impact and influence on later ages. It includes entries on the plays and the major characters, on Shakespeare's life and his contemporaries, on actors from Edmund Kean to Peter O'Toole, on theatres and directors, plus comments on Shakespeare by later authors such as Jane Austen, Dr Johnson, and Bernard Levin.

North American Theatre Online
North American Theatre Online (NATO) is a comprehensive reference work covering all aspects of the Canadian and American Theatre. Its goal is to provide detailed reference information for every theatrical figure, every play, every theatre, every major production, and every production company, from Colonial times to the present, in both Canada and the United States.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance / Kennedy, Dennis
Over 4,300 entries. This encyclopedia provides authoritative and up-to-date information about theatre and performance from ancient Greek theatre to the latest developments in London, Paris, New York, and around the globe. In addition to performances in playhouses, it covers dance, opera, radio, film, television, and popular performance, including carnivals, circus, and public executions. Entries range from short definitions of terms to lengthy considerations of genres and movements, such as feminism and psychoanalytic criticism. Entries on cities and regions place performance in its local social and political context. Written in accessible language, this encyclopedia brings together an international cast of over 300 specialist contributors.

Additional titles:

• Cinema Studies: the Key Concepts 
• The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre 
• Critical Dictionary of Film and Television Theory 
• Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts, and Analysis 
• Encyclopedia of Chinese Film 
• Encyclopedia of Early Cinema 
• International Dictionary of Broadcasting and Film 
• The Oxford Companion to American Theatre 
• Who's Who in Contemporary World Theatre 
• World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre, Volume 4: The Arab World 
• World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre, Volume 5: Asia/Pacific