Research Guides: Theater &amp; Performing Arts Research Guide: Finding Websites

Google: Finding websites and more

Google is a powerful Internet search engine.
Google searches the web for content posted on the Internet, usually in the form of websites.
Since anyone post content on the Internet, you'll want to make sure you're using credible websites in your research. (Review the "Evaluating sources" section of this guide to learn how!)

Tips covered in the above tutorial include:

Google Books: Use Google Books to browse portions of electronic books found on the open web.
Google Images: Use Google Images to find images, charts, graphs, and statistics. Don't forget to cite the original source!
Google Scholar: Use Google Scholar to find peer-reviewed scholarly articles on the open web. Check our Google Scholar guide to see how to incorporate our library database links!

Recommended Websites

All Performing Arts

Digital Public Library of America
Access millions of images, videos, texts, and sound recordings from online library, museum, and archive collections across America.
Library of Congress Performing Arts Encyclopedia
This resource offers a look at historical texts, objects, images, and videos related to the performing arts, including sheet music and recordings of dance and musical performances from around the world.
National Archive of Data on Arts & Culture
This searchable, open access source of statistics related to arts and culture in the United States is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Dance

An American Ballroom Companion
This Library of Congress collection offers hundreds of historical social dance manuals, among other related resources.
Movement Research: Critical Correspondence
Critical Correspondence publishes timely and in-depth writing, videos, and podcasts related to dance and artistic performance.
NYPL Jerome Robbins Dance Division
The Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the New York Public Library is the world’s largest dance archive with an international collection that spans seven centuries.

Music

CHARM: Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music
In addition to a library of music recordings, CHARM offers information about the history of recordings and tools for analyzing sound recordings.
National Jukebox
This Library of Congress resource contains more than 10,000 historical sound recordings.
Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings
This digital collection contains roughly 40,000 recordings of music from the border regions of Mexico and the United States. While full recordings are only available to the public by visiting UCLA, clips of each recording can be accessed from off campus.

Theater

American Theatre Wing
American Theatre Wing's "Career Guide" and "In the Wings" video series provide an inside look into the lives, techniques, and careers of contemporary theater professionals
Internet Broadway Database
IBDB provides a comprehensive database of shows produced on Broadway, including all "title page" information about each production. IBDB also offers historical information about theatres and various statistics and "fun facts" related to Broadway.
Primary Stages Off-Broadway Oral History Project
A video archive collecting oral histories from actors, casting agents, directors, designers, press representatives, producers, playwrights, theater founders, and others who helped create Off- and Off-Off-Broadway theater.