Theatre and Performance Studies

Background information resources

Why start research with background information searching?

It is helpful to refer to reliable background reference sources to help familiarize yourself with important theatre, dance, or performance movements, styles, periods, companies, centers, individuals, and so on, and to situate a play or performance into its historical, social, and/or political context.

• Be sure to look over the bibliography at the end of each reference entry you read. This is an efficient way to find relevant secondary sources and discover key scholars to pay attention to. You'll start to recognize prolific authors, important theorists, and significant journals or publishers within performing arts studies.
• Terminology - Make note of useful details and terms during this initial research stage so that you can use them as search terms when you start to search for more in-depth information (e.g., scholarly articles, conference presentations).

Katsukawa Shunshô 勝川 春章. Actor Segawa Kikunojô III as the Dragon Princess in the Play “Saki Masuya Ume no Kachidoki”, Japan, 1773–1783, color woodblock print ôban, Art Institute of Chicago