Research Guides: Theatre and Drama: Biographical Sources

Online Sources for Biographical Information

Biography in Context
This database provides biographies of countless individuals, drawn from over a hundred reference sources covering a wide variety of fields. Contemporary Authors; Contemporary Dramatists; Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television; International Dictionary of Theatre; and Who’s Who in the Theatre (17th ed.) are among the included resources with relevance for theatre studies.
Gale Literature
Allows simultaneous searching of three databases: Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism, and Dictionary of Literary Biography.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new window
Concise articles on noteworthy people from the British Commonweath who are no longer living.

Biographical Index of English Drama Before 1660 (free online)
A comprehensive annotated list of all playwrights, actors, patrons, musicians, and miscellaneous other people active in English drama before 1660.
American National Biography Online
Includes profiles of more than 19,000 men and women from all eras and walks of American life who have influenced and shaped American history and culture.
Biography and Genealogy Master Index
An index to more than 12 million biographical articles appearing in English-language Who's Who-type publications, major biographical dictionaries, subject encyclopedias, handbooks, directories and indexes. Includes both contemporary and historical figures from around the world.
Biography Index
A cumulative index to biographical material appearing in English-language periodicals (over 2700) and books (over 1800 added each year). Online coverage is from 1984 on, while the print volumes (Hatcher Z 5301 .W75 A1) go back to 1946.

Print Sources for Biographical Information

American and British Theatrical Biography: A Directory. by J. P. Wearing.
Call Number: AAEL: PN 2285 .W421
Publication Date: Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1979.
An index to sources of biographical information about figures in American and British theatre history.
A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers & Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800. 16 vols. by Philip H. Highfill, Jr., Kalman A. Burnim, and Edward A. Langhans.
Call Number: Hatcher Graduate/Music Library Reference: PN 1583 .A2 H64
Publication Date: Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1973-1993.
Provides brief biographical information for over 8500 individuals who were members of theatrical companies or occasional performers in London from 1660-1800.
A Dictionary of Actors and of Other Persons Associated with the Public Representation of Plays in England before 1642. by Edwin Nungezer.
Call Number: Hatcher Graduate: 822.9 N97
Publication Date: New Haven: Yale University Press, 1929.
Also available full text through Hathi Trust
Enter the Players: New York Stage Actors in the Twentieth Century by Thomas S. Hischak.
Call Number: Hatcher Graduate Reference Room: PN 2277 .N5 H5741 2003
Publication Date: Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2003.
Includes over 900 New York stage actors, from the familiar to the lesser-known, providing a brief biographical sketch and list of productions for each.
International Dictionary of Theatre. 3 vols. by Edited by Mark Hawkins-Dady and Leanda Shrimoton.
Call Number: Hatcher Graduate Reference Room: PN 2000 .I47411 1992
Publication Date: Chicago: St. James Press, 1992.
Volume two is devoted to playwrights, while volume three covers actors, directors, and designers. Entries include brief biographical information, a listing of plays, a bibliography of critical materials, and a critical evaluation.
Notable Names in the American Theatre. New and rev. ed. by Edited by Walter Rigdon.
Call Number: Hatcher Graduate: CT 9223 .N88 1977
Publication Date: Clifton, NJ: J. T. White, 1976.
Provides entries on over 2600 theatrical figures prior to 1976.
Notable Women in the American Theatre: A Biographical Dictionary. by Alice M. Robinson, Vera Mowry Roberts, and Milly S. Barranger.
Call Number: Hatcher Graduate Reference Room: PN 2285 .N66 1989
Publication Date: New York: Greenwood Press, 1989.
Examines influential women in American theatre from the earliest times to the present, including actors, directors, producers, playwrights, designers, critics, and others.
Performing Arts Biography Master Index by Barbara McNeil (Editor); Miranda C. Herbert (Editor)
Call Number: Hatcher Graduate Reference Room: PN 1583 .M371 1982
Publication Date: Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research Company, c1981.
Contains over 270,000 citations to biographical entries on individuals living and dead as they appear in over 100 biographical dictionaries of the performing arts.
Profiles of African American Stage Performers and Theatre People, 1816-1960 by Bernard L. Peterson; James V. Hatch (Foreword by)
Call Number: Hatcher Graduate Reference Room: PN 2286 .P461 2001
Publication Date: Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, c2001.
This directory includes over 500 African American performers and theater people who have made a significant contribution to the American stage from the early 19th century to the beginning of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
Stage Deaths: A Biographical Guide to International Theatrical Obituaries, 1850 to 1990. by Compiled by George Bryan. 2 vols.
Call Number: Hatcher Graduate: Z 5781 .S761 1991
Publication Date: New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
Provides basic biographical facts, citations of obituaries and death notices in selected Anglo-American newspapers, and references to book-length biographies and autobiographies in English of theatrical artists who died between 1850 and 1990.
Stage Lives: A Bibliography and Index to Theatrical Biographies in English. by Compiled by George Bryan.
Call Number: Hatcher Graduate: Z 5781 .S781 1985
Publication Date: Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985.
Cites collective and individual biographies and autobiographies of theatrical figures from the beginnings through 1985.
Theatrical Designers: An International Biographical Dictionary. by Edited by Thomas J. Mikotowicz.
Call Number: AAEL: PN 2096 .A1 T44 1992
Publication Date: New York: Greenwood Press, 1992.
Includes biographical information for approximately 270 set, lighting, and costume designers.
Theatrical Directors: A Biographical Dictionary. by Edited by John W. Frick and Stephen M. Vallillo.
Call Number: Hatcher Graduate Reference Room: PN 2205 .T541 1994
Publication Date: Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994.
Provides biographical sketches of nearly 300 directors, with emphasis on those who have established international reputations. Entries include a biographical summary, list of productions, and selected bibliography.
Variety Obituaries: Including a Comprehensive Index. 15 vols.
Call Number: Hatcher Graduate: PN 1583 .V351 1988
Publication Date: New York: Garland, 1988-1993.
Includes reprints of Variety obituaries of individuals connected with show business. Covers 1905-1994.
Who's Who in Contemporary World Theatre. by Edited by Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe.
Call Number: AAEL Reference/Hatcher Graduate Reference Room: PN 2035 .W4851 2000
Publication Date: London: Routledge, 2000.
Provides entries on 1,400 well-established, currently active theatre artists from 68 countries around the world.
Who Was Who in the Theatre, 1912-1976: Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Directors, Playwrights, and Producers of the English-Speaking Theatre. 4 vols.
Call Number: Hatcher Graduate Reference Room: PN 2597 .W63
Publication Date: Detroit: Gale, 1978.
Compiled from the 15 editions of Who's Who in the Theatre.

Last Updated: Aug 28, 2024 3:53 PM

Subjects: Arts

Tags: drama, performing arts, plays, theater, theatre