Best of the Web

  • A refreshingly uncluttered site offering intelligent reviews of off-off Broadway shows. Past reviews are archived, and current "oobr" listings are provided. Also includes instructions on how to get a theatre production reviewed.

  • This site provides listings of acting and threatrical support positions on and off Broadway and throughout the United States, London, Canada, and Brazil.

  • A directory of websites by playwrights, a forum for playwrights, a directory of plays, and a messageboard of opportunities for playwrights, sponsored by the Internet Theatre Bookshop.
  • Comprehensive collection of electronic texts.
  • Puppeteers of America, a national nonprofit organization founded in 1937, provides information, encourages performances, and builds a community of people who love puppet theatre
  • This Toronto-based scholarly group tracks down the texts and traditions out of which the drama of Shakespeare grew. Includes a discussion group, texts of early English plays, and a link to the site for the journal Early Theatre, which has abstracts of its published articles. "All the World's a Stage: WWW Links for Theatre History and Early Music" < http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~reed/stage.html > provides a helpful analysis of medieval drama resources on the web and off.
  • While this personal site has no apparent link to any organization, library, or archives, its small collection of bibliographies, articles, images, and internet resources about this topic are worth perusing.
  • Chapters 5 through 8 in Volume 8 of this standard work provide an overview of the plays, playwrights and development of the Restoration Stage, with references to primary sources and bibliographies listing the works of Restoration dramatists.
  • From the Richard III Society, resources on films and plays about Richard III, including a hypertext version of Shakespeare's play.
  • Provides a search, or alternatively, listings of plays by type and number of characters.
  • Provides access to extensive holdings in dance, opera, theatre, music, and design via the online catalog, and also contains sections on its collections, exhibitions, events, and educational initiatives.
  • The Paris Music Hall Collection comprises over 6,000 original renderings of costume designs and 1,000 original renderings of curtain designs for the music halls of Paris from 1920-1938.
  • A set decorator selects furniture, drapery, lighting fixtures, art and other objects to "dress the set" of a motion picture, television program, music video or commercial.
  • A site championing Shakespeare as the author of the plays.
  • Links to scholarly articles and essays "Dedicated to the Proposition that Shakespeare Wrote Shakespeare."
  • A site championing Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (1550-1604), as the author of the works.
  • Information on the man, his works & his times, as well as play synopses, a copy of his will, a reading list, and a noteworthy section on Shakespeare's language.
  • The website of this weekly casting publication includes features, reviews, gossip about the New York theater scene, archives, contact info for casting agents, and a small collection of links useful for performers.
  • A resourceful site which includes bios of designers and examples of their work.
  • A publication with timely articles written by and for community, regional, & academic theater participants. A subject index of articles published since 1988 is online.
  • A growing collection of forms that describe the important technical features of stage houses throughout the country. Useful for planning touring productions.
  • A directory (names and addresses) of summer theaters in the U.S., listed alphabetically and by region. Also allows posting/linking of talent resumes.
  • Consistently reliable e-zine with 27 contributors, published twice weekly, with features, interviews, reviews and listings from on and off-Broadway, the West End, and Regional Theatre. Also find a history of Broadway with archival photographs, discussion groups, and a prominent link to the Internet Theatre Database (http://www.theatredb.com).
  • Theatre Communications Group offers the addresses, phone numbers, and websites of member theaters accessible by name or by state. On the left navigation menu, click on "membership" and then click on "search member theatres."
  • A searchable database of costume images from the stock of the costume program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Department of Dramatic Art and the PlayMakers Repertory Company. Searchable by period and/or type of garment.
  • This small site provides illustrated articles from such historical resources as a Milanese tailor's handbook from 1580 and Ladies' Home Journals from the early 1900's.
  • Provides an index of Costume Institute exhibits going back to 1937 features on current exhibits descriptions of the collections access information to the Collections and the associated library a history of the Institute and links to Costume Museums throughout the world.
  • Links to historical resources and more. Helpful for theatrical, motion picture and festival costumers as well as costume hobbyists.
  • Access provided to sites on this Costume Webring. Many detail a specific kind of costume or period in costume history.
  • Particularly useful is the "instruction" page on this site, which will lead you to answers for a wide variety of costume-construction problems.
  • Contains "How To" advice, info on ethnic costume & makeup, resources on designers, info about "Costume" films, and a proficient Costume History Resource Page, as the links are divided into a wide variety of periods. By a Costume Historian at the Univ. of Alaska-Fairbanks.
  • Resources and information on the creation of the scenic spectacle in Europe in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
  • The website of this association of Playwrights, Composers, and Lyricists holds information about membership, copyright, contracts, events &amp seminars, ways to contact playwrights and their agents, and articles from The Dramatist.
  • 1100 articles, with profiles of artists, institutions and their creations, historical documents, archived theatre reviews, local news bulletin, a quiz and a media library.
  • Full texts of plays from all periods, from classical to contemporary. The site also contains dramatic criticism.
  • Includes a history of improv, a glossary, lists of improv groups and games.
  • Publishes peer-reviewed editions of early Shakespearean texts. The site also contains an excellent online textbook, Shakespeare's Life and Times by Michael Best, developing sections on Shakespeare in performance, supporting reference materials, and a good page of links to diverse Shakespeare and Renaissance sites.
  • The Society of this Victorian actor-manager includes selections from past and present newsletters with illustrated articles describing Irving's life and cultural milieu.
  • Directed toward adventurous theatregoers, this site features topical articles and reviews about the NYC performance community, reporting by writers published in the New York Times, listings, and notes on activities of notable theatrical artists in New York.
  • Over 1500 books online
  • A rapidly expanding Digital Library from Tufts with a plentiful collection of Greek playtexts and other classical resources. The site also contains full-text versions of Christopher Marlowe's work, an edition of Shakespeare's First Folio, and source material on the history and founding of London. Atlases identify places mentioned in the collection of online texts.
  • This 229-page site by Richard Toscan is a detailed manual of the playwright's craft, with a plethora of Quotes on Craft from more than 375 professionals. Major Sections: " Starting from Scratch " Structure of Plays " Working as a Playwright " Format for Manuscripts " The Business of Playwriting " Resources " Running New Play Competitions.
  • The Point CDC Theater is a lively 100-seat, Black Box performance venue. This versatile 352 square foot performance space can be adapted to meet the needs of many types of performing and visual arts events.
  • A unique set of resources can be found at the bottom of this webpage: Puppet News, Organizations, Festivals, Theatres, Puppetry Definitions, Traditions, Schools, Workshops, Internships, Exhibits & Museums, Puppet Building & Materials, Puppet Builders & Sellers, Performers & Companies.
  • Leads to a variety of informative resources on Beckett, his influence, his work.
  • Located in Stratford-on-Avon, the Trust preserves Shakespeare's birthplace and maintains a museum and a library with a rich Shakespeare collection as well as the archives of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
  • Emphasizes Shakespeare in performance, with images, set designs, and a virtual tour of the new Globe Theater in London, as well as texts of the plays and guides to other Shakespeare websites.
  • Articles describing the work of Viola Spolin, the teacher and writer on the art of improvisation, and her son Paul Sills, who founded Second City.
  • The library at the Univ. of Kent in England holds 5 separate collections of papers, ephemera, playbills, & photos about Victorian Theatre.
  • Includes a timeline, a bibliography, and brief visual and textual commentary on the plays, casts, and staging of Restoration Drama, as well as on life in 17th Century London.
  • Devoted to promoting mime as a serious theatrical art, this attractive site holds articles, web and print resources, directories, calendars, and an index.
  • From Playbill Online, a large compendium of contemporary theatre links, geared toward the performer, the practitioner, the audience member, the devotee. Many of the sites are from individuals, reflecting their enthusiasms.
  • The national organization for the American theatre, TCG supports the not-for-profit theatre community with programs for artists and managers, advocacy, and publications, including ArtSearch, American Theatre, plays, and theatre reference books.
  • Jack Wolcott's spare but lucid directory of theatre history resources, regularly maintained.
  • Jerry Bangham, a theatre history scholar, has organized a multitude of theatre history sites from the Greeks to early 19th and 20th Century American theatre. The link at the bottom of the page will take you to a large list of general theatre sites, organized by subject.
  • An informative gateway to Welsh theatre companies, reviews, news, playwrights, resources and links.
  • Fully searchable, full-text versions of up to five years of such scholarly journals as Asian Theatre Journal, PAJ, TDR (The Drama Review), Theater, Theatre Journal and Theatre Topics can be accessed at The New York Public Library. Tables of contents, selected full-text articles, and the impressive search feature are available to anyone with an internet connection.
  • This organization of theatre archivists, librarians, & scholars promotes research and publishing in performing arts. The site includes a page of internet resources.
  • From the Burcardo Library and Theatre Collection in Rome, this selection of links is noteworthy for its scholarly flavor, its international focus, and some unusual resources. The site, primarily categorized by country, also contains links to cinema and dance resources.
  • Britain's National Museum of the Performing Arts holds the world's largest collections relating to the British stage. Exhibitions, education and more.
  • Up-to-date Theatre Resources maintained by volunteer contributors.
  • TWB is an informal group of individual artists around the world who are working to support international theatre exchange. The website offers opportunities to discover people and organizations, find resources, and exchange information and conversation about international theatre projects.
  • A primer on how to do dramaturgical research. Links to databases at the Library of the University of Puget Sound don't work, but the resources mentioned are online at The Humanities and Social Sciences Research Library of NYPL.
  • Yet another theatre e-zine, with info, news, reviews, interviews about the theatre scene in New York, Boston, Chicago & Los Angeles. Also contains a Festivals Button, which links to information about various theatre festivals across the U.S.
  • The British site that does what Playbill Online does for U.S. theatre.
  • This well-designed site functions like an encyclopedia on theatre, with descriptions of terms, biographical data on actors, directors, playwrights and other theatre people, critical material on plays, and career information. Internet links are woven into each topical article.
  • Abundance of musical theatre links--to performers, to shows, to librettos and lyrics, to recordings & multimedia clips, to magazines, mailing lists, newsletters & reviews.
  • Official site for the Tony Awards. Searchable database of nominees & winners from 1947 to present. Also search by presenter of award.
  • A stunning collection of art images, with annotations relating to historical accuracy, from Hope Greenbert, a Humanities Computing Specialist at the Univ. of Vermont.
  • The oldest and largest consortium of professional theatre training graduate programs and associated theatre companies.
  • The University of San Francisco's compendium of links to Asian theatre, arranged by country.
  • The foremost provider of entertainment news. The current day's articles are available full-text, along with other industry information. Paid subscribers to the online site can access a year's worth of full-text archives, as well as other features.
  • A 3D simulation of a complete act by legendary vaudeville comedian Frank Bush and a 3D tour of an extravagant Victorian theater, as well as extensive historical information.
  • Women & Performance features essays, scripts, interviews, and articles on performance from interdisciplinary feminist perspectives. Full text & cutting edge (but published only sporadically).
  • Click on a name or a play for multi-faceted resources on African-American Women playwrights and their plays.
  • Pointers to resources in over 50 countries for professionals, amateurs, academics and students. Includes a keyword search. The General Organizations and Resources and Theatre Image Collections Online categories are most helpful.
  • Guide to quality theatre and drama resources on the web. Links to international online journals, museums, theatre companies, and collections of theatre images.
  • A company founded by Stephen Sondheim to develop the talent of playwrights aged 18 and younger. YPI is devoted entirely to introducing young people to writing for the theater and for themselves, and provides multiple opportunities for development.

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