Research Guides: Drama: Primary Sources

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Find Primary Sources in Drama : U.S.

MELVYL - UC Libraries
Includes manuscript and archival holdings within the University of California system. Limit searches by format to 'Archives/Manuscript.'
Online Archive of California
Search selected archival and manuscript collections held in libraries, museums and archives across California.
Twentieth-century British and American Theatre : a Critical Guide to Archives, by Christopher Innes
Langson Library, PN2266 .I55 1999
American Theatrical Arts; a Guide to Manuscripts and Special Collections in the United States and Canada, by William C. Young
Langson Library, Z6935 .Y68

Find Primary Sources in Drama : Worldwide

WorldCat
Includes manuscript and archival holdings worldwide. Select 'Advanced Search' and limit to 'Archival Materials.'
ArchiveGrid
Search libraries and museums worldwide for personal papers, manuscripts, etc.
SIBMAS International Directory of Performing Arts Collections and Institutions
Directory of performing arts libraries, museums, archives, special collections, etc., worldwide.

Selected U.S. Repositories

Museum of Performance & Design
Formerly the San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum. Significant archival collections documenting history of performing arts in the Bay Area and beyond.
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
One of the world's most extensive collections in the performing arts. See especially the Billy Rose Theatre Collection.
Harvard Theatre Collection
Especially strong in the English and American stage. Also circus, minstrel, vaudeville, etc.

Selected Online Sources

The American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment, 1870 - 1920
From the Library of Congress American Memory Collection. English- and Yiddish-language playscripts, theater playbills and programs, and media materials documenting the history of the vaudeville era.
The New Deal Stage
From the Library of Congress American Memory Project. Stage and costume designs, photographs, posters, and scripts documenting the WPA's Federal Theatre Project.
Early English Books Online
Access books printed in the British Isles between 1473 and 1700. Does include selected plays, treatises on drama, and related materials.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO)
Access to nearly 150,000 titles published between 1701-1800 in art, history, literature, drama, music and more.