Drama & Performance (Theater & Stagecraft)

Resources in this category:

All Magic Guide
http://allmagic.com/allmagicguide/

Online guide for stage magic practitioners, both amateur and professional. Searchable.

Applied and Interactive Theater Guide
http://www.tonisant.com/aitg/

This site supports "theatre professionals throughout the world [who are] working to bring their skills as change agents, as awareness builders, and as empathy masters to the personal and social needs of a world hungry for connection." Hosts an on-line forum.

The Aural Imagination
http://homepages.enterprise.net/micpool/

A resource for students of theatre sound design. Formerly "Mic Pool's Theatre Sound and Music Page," it has been redesigned to emphasize the educational material for student sound engineers.

Based on the Book
http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/readers/movies/

'Based on the Book' is a compilation of over 1,000 book titles, short stories, and plays that have been made into motion pictures. Utilizing the Internet Movie Database as the authority on release dates, all movies in this collection have been released since 1980.

The Costume Page
http://members.aol.com/nebula5/costume.html

This page offers over 2000 links to information about costumes including costume history, the making and wearing of costumes, costume buying guides, and Halloween costume suggestions. One section offers dozens of links to ethnic and folk costume material. This site is geared to those in theater, students, researchers, and many others.

The Costumer's Manifesto
http://www.costumes.org/

Just about anything you need to know about costuming: advice and how-to, photo references, designs, and many, many links.

La Couturiere Parisienne Costume and Fashion Site
http://www.marquise.de/

History of European costume from the Renaissance through the 20th century, with illustrations, images, descriptions and many sewing patterns.

Didaskalia
http://www.didaskalia.net/

An electronic resource and journal dedicated to the study of ancient Greek and Roman drama in performance.

The Digital Performance Archive
http://ahds.ac.uk/ahdscollections/docroot/dpa/authorssearch....

"Traces the rapid developments taking place which combine performance activity with new digital technologies--from live theatre and dance productions that incorporate digital projections, to performances that take place on the computer-screen via webcasts and interactive virtual environments. The Archive also collates examples of how computer technologies are being used to create, document or analyse performance - from software applications for choreography and theatre design to specialist websites, e-zines and CD-ROMs. The website provides detailed information on the Archive's activities and acquisitions, and includes a continually updated Events page, an evolving Bibliography, and a 'New Acquisitions' page, which is updated every month. The custom-built database enables users to search the Archive in a variety of ways: by practitioner(s); by technology; and by keywords."

The English Server Drama Collection
http://drama.eserver.org/

A collection of both long and short English drama plays and criticism (complete scripts) that includes authors like: Shakespeare (complete works,) Shaw, Johnson, Gay, Moliere, Biggs and Sophocles. Also has links to other theater sites.

Eye on the Industry
http://www.caryn.com/biz/

A compilation of Web resources available to assist people in the entertainment industry. Sections include: Actors Area, Independent Film, Industry Buzz, Writers Resources, Book & Movie Recommendations, Filmmakers Alliance, and Newsgroup/Discussion.

FX Glossary: A compendium of common FX terms
http://www.character-shop.com/glossary.html

Glossary of terms and techniques used in movie, TV, and theatre special effects.

Glossary of Technical Theatre Terms
http://www.theatrecrafts.com/glossary/glossary.shtml

Hundreds of British (and American) technical theatre terms, explained. From the University of Exeter Drama Department.

Harlem Renaissance
http://www.fatherryan.org/harlemrenaissance/

This site portrays the "Harlem Renaissance as a cultural movement that allowed African-Americans to show their creative abilities to the world." It includes visual, theater, music and performing arts displays. Contains links to other Harlem Renaissance sites.

The History of the Australian Theatre
http://www.hat-archive.com/index.html

Covers Australian Theatre history with articles, pictures, and programmes.

The Improv Page
http://www.improvcomedy.org/

"A clearinghouse for information about improvisational theatre. Improvisation is a form of theatre in which no script is used. Instead, the actors create the dialog and action themselves, as they perform." Includes links to improv groups, a short history, an improv glossary, and an annotated bibliography.

McCoy's Guide to Theatre and Performance Studies
http://www.stetson.edu/csata/custom/thr_guid.html

Annotated guide to theater- and performance-related Internet resources, including Web sites, newsgroups and e-mail lists.

Milieux: The Costume Site
http://milieux.com/costume/

A directory of links about all the costume-related topics one could imagine. Research the history of various arms and armor, find instructions on making period costumes and links to suppliers, resources for costume materials, and organizations. There is also a section that has drawings of costumes used in various plays or theater productions. A good site for theater groups and science fiction and fantasy fans.

The New Deal Stage: Selections from the Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fedtp/fthome.html

"This online presentation includes over 13,000 images of items selected from the Federal Theatre Project Collection at the Library of Congress. Featured here are stage and costume designs, still photographs, posters, and scripts for productions of Macbeth and The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus as staged by Orson Welles, and for Power, a topical drama of the period (over 3,000 images). Also included are 68 other playscripts (6,500 images) and 168 documents selected from the Federal Theatre Project Administrative Records (3,700 images). The Federal Theatre Project was one of five arts-related projects established during the first term of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt under the Works Progress Administration (WPA)."

Playwrights Guild of Canada
http://www.playwrightsguild.ca/pgc/main.asp

"Playwrights Guild of Canada (formerly Playwrights Union of Canada) is a national association of professional and emerging playwrights." It was established in 1972 as the Playwrights Co-op with its stated purpose to publish and distribute scripts to encourage more productions of Canadian plays. By 2006, the guild provides programs and services that support, promote, and advocate for over 500 members. The PGC also contains the Women's Caucus, established to meet the particular needs of women playwrights. Check the site for programs, playwrights, plays, and other links of interest. You may browse the digital library of Canadian plays as a visitor.

The Pulitzer Prizes
http://www.pulitzer.org

Information about the Pulitzer prizes for American journalism, letters, drama and music can be found here with the lists of prize winners since 1917.

Riggers Page
http://www.rigging.net/

Technical information about stage rigging equipment; includes rigging formulas. Illustrated.

The Shakespeare Art Museum
http://shakespeare-art-museum.com/

Featuring the writings and visual works (oil paintings, graphics, and watercolors) of visual artist Hannah Tompkins, these works based on the plays and themes of William Shakespeare were displayed at the Shakespeare Art Museum in Ashland Oregon. The Museum was founded in 1984 as a non-profit organization by Wolf Tomkins and Hannah Tompkins. "At the museum, Hannah often gave gallery talks and tours sharing her wit and wisdom of the Shakespearean experience." The museum closed in 1990 and Hannah died of cancer five years later. This online art museum displays Tompkin's oil paintings, multi-color graphics, and watercolors with her text and descriptions, all dealing with the works and themes of Shakespeare.

Small-Cast One-Act Guide Online
http://www.heniford.net/1234/index.htm

"Small-Cast One-Act Guide Online is a free resource for playwrights, actors, dramaturgs, agents, producers, publishers, students, and librarians. This site accesses one-act plays in all media worldwide, citing over 600 scripts in many languages for four or fewer actors." Through a variety of indexes (author, title, genre, cast size/gender), users of the site can find citations for one-act plays, including synopses, author information, and publication information. A glossary of genres and a directory of play publication houses are also included.

Stage Lighting Math
http://www.le-us.com/stagemath.html

"A collection of math formulas that can prove useful to lighting designers and electricians."

Stage Lighting Tech Pages
http://freespace.virgin.net/tom.baldwin/index.html

The Stage Lighting Tech Pages are "for anyone involved in performance lighting needing information fast. These pages contain links to the sites of equipment maunfacturers, hire companies, organisations and other sites on the internet dedicated to lighting. There are also pages of technical information, such as connector pinouts, channel listings for intelligent lighting, dimensions of lanterns and so on." There is also an illustrated glossary of over 360 technical terms.

Stagecraft Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/theatre/stagecraft/faq/

Frequently asked questions from the rec.arts.theatre.stagecraft and alt.stagecraft newsgroups. The questions are sorted by lighting, sound, props, etc.

The Stephen Sondheim Stage
http://www.sondheim.com/

The Stephen Sondheim Stage is a site devoted to the works of Stephen Sondheim. It contains a library of information about Sondheim's works, as well as music clips, interviews with Sondheim and the latest news about him.

The Theatre Design and Technical Jobs Page
http://backstagejobs.com/

"This site is designed to help the "behind-the-scenes" people in the live entertainment industry find work, and to help entertainment groups fill their job openings."

Theatrecrafts.com
http://www.theatrecrafts.com/

"The aim of theatrecrafts.com is to eventually be the best resource for practical information and advice about technical theatre. It's designed to be of use to theatre people at all levels."

Tony Awards Online
http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/

The Tony Awards site lists the most recent Tony Award nominees and winners and includes photos and video interviews from the latest awards ceremony. Also offers related feature articles.

The World of Mime Theatre
http://www.mime.info/

"Information on mime as a theatre art: articles, resources, contacts, and a calendar of upcoming events."