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Character Research for Theater

This is a research guide for finding materials on character research for theater in the Greenfield Library at the University of the Arts. Reference materials are listed first, followed by a list of suggested subject headings for searching library catalogs. Periodical indexes to magazine articles and newspapers are next, followed by style manuals and finally Web sites. If you have questions about this topic please see the librarian's e-mail address at the end of this document.

If you're interested in character research, you may also be interested in our guides for Theater Research, Musical Theater, or Shakespeare.

Reference materials || Subject Headings || Periodical Indexes || Style Manuals || Web Sites

REFERENCE MATERIALS

The first place to look when beginning research on a topic is in reference material: specialized dictionaries, encyclopedias or handbooks. These allow you to check names, dates and places, find additional information, look up unknown terms, and check for the proper spelling of words. They are particularly helpful for finding basic background information on a topic, and are often the only place many students may need to look to find answers to their questions. They may include bibliographies (lists of additional materials on a topic, usually considered by the author to be the best materials on that topic) that you can use to find other materials.

Listed below are just a few encyclopedias that might help with character research. Check the index under terms such as "social class", "social history", "social status", "daily life", "class system", etc. Call numbers that start with REF are in the reference section of the Greenfield Library.

Call numbers are for the Greenfield Library unless otherwise indicated.

Encyclopedia of American social history / Mary Kupiec Cayton, Elliott J. Gorn, Peter W. Williams, editors. New York : Scribner ; Toronto : Maxwell Macmillan Canada ; New York : Maxwell Macmillan International, c1993.
REF 301.0973 En19 vols. 1-3

Encyclopedia of Latin American history and culture / Barbara A. Tenenbaum, editor in chief ; associate editors, Georgette Magassy Dorn ... [et al.] New York : C. Scribner's Sons ; London : Simon & Schuster : Prentice Hall International, c1996. REF 980.003 En19t vols. 1-5

Bunson, Matthew. Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages. Facts on File, c1995.
REF 940.103 B885e

Harvard encyclopedia of American ethnic groups / Stephan Thernstrom, editor ; Ann Orlov, managing editor, Oscar Handlin, consulting editor. Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1980.
REF 973.04 H2615 1980

The Oxford illustrated history of medieval Europe / edited by George Holmes. Oxford University Press, 1988.
REF 940.1 Ox2h

Encyclopedia of the Renaissance / Paul F. Grendler, editor in chief. Scribner's published in association with the Renaissance Society of America, c1999.
REF 940.2103 En19 vols. 1-6

This fabulous century. Time-Life Books. [1969-70]
REF 973.9 T48

CHRONOLOGIES
For a broad overview of what was going on in the world or a particular country in a certain time period, try a chronology.
Our times : the illustrated history of the 20th century / editor in chief, Lorraine Glennon. 1st ed. Atlanta : Turner Pub. ; Kansas City, Mo. : Distributed by Andrews and McMeel, c1995.
REF 908.82 Ou7g 1995

The timetables of history : a horizontal linkage of people and events / Bernard Grun. New 3rd rev. ed. Simon & Schuster, c1991.
REF 902 G92 1991

Day by day : the sixties / by Thomas Parker and Douglas Nelson. Facts on File, c1983.
REF 909.826 P228d

Timelines of the arts and literature / David Brownstone and Irene Franck. 1st ed. HarperCollins, c1994.
REF 700.202 B825t 1994

The Wilson chronology of the arts / George Ochoa and Melinda Corey. H.W. Wilson Co., 1998.
REF 700.202 Oc3w

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Searching the Catalog by Subject

Use the University Libraries catalog to find books, videos, CDs, scores, journal titles, etc. To locate all of the materials the library holds on a topic, it is most efficient to search by Subject. Use the following subject headings in the online catalog. Be careful to follow the exact spelling and form. These subject headings are standard and are used in most libraries.

Doing character research requires creativity, perseverance and time. Think about your character and where and when they lived. Is your character male? Female? Member of an ethnic group? Think about the different social conditions under which your character might fall. If you have trouble finding material, ASK A LIBRARIAN FOR HELP. There is no one method or subject for researching a character.

To find out what it was like to live in a country in a particular time period, search by subject under the name of the country, city or continent followed by the subheading(s) SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS, SOCIAL CONDITIONS or CIVILIZATION. For example:

AFRICAN-AMERICANS--SOCIAL CONDITIONS
AFRICAN -AMERICANS--SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS
EGYPT--CIVILIZATION
ENGLAND--SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS--18TH CENTURY
EUROPE--SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS
ROME--SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS
UNITED STATES--SOCIAL CONDITIONS
UNITED STATES--SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS
WEST (U.S.)--SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS

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The Greenfield Library has a number of books that are part of a series called Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series. Searching this title is a quick method for getting an idea of what's available as well as finding other subject headings to try.
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FINDING MAGAZINE ARTICLES

Periodical indexes are research tools that allow you to search for articles in journals and magazines.

Be aware that there are different ways to find an article once you pull up a citation in the index:

PERIODICAL INDEXES
On the Web:
Go to the library's Research Tools and Resources page for a list of the UArts Libraries' subscription databases, indexes, and reference works. You can select View Databases by Type or View Databases by Subject to see which is best for your topic, or you can always ask a librarian which ones to try.

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CITING YOUR SOURCES

When you find information on a topic, no matter what format it takes (book, journal, Web page), there are style manuals to show you the correct way to give cite those sources in a paper.
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THEATER SITES ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB

Searching the Web can be overwhelming. If you are using the Internet for research you want to choose sites that meet the standards of accuracy, currency and authority.

Below are just a few theater-related sites that may be of interest to the University of the Arts community.

American Society for Theatre Research
http://www.astr.umd.edu/

Jack Wolcott's Theatre History on the Web
http://www.videoccasions-nw.com/history/jack.html

Theatre Library Association, New York NY
http://tla.library.unt.edu/
"The Theatre Library Association is a non-profit, educational organization established in 1937 to promote the collection, preservation, and use of theatrical and performing arts materials. Membership includes librarians, scholars, curators, archivists, performers, writers, designers, historians, collectors, and students." Be sure to see their "Related Theatre Resources" links.

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Send questions or remarks about this page to Sara MacDonald, Public Services Librarian.
Last updated 24 January 2006 sjm

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