Library Guides: Theatre & Dance: Reference Works

Online Reference Works

Reference works provide basic or background information about a variety of topics. Click on a title below and log in with your NetID and password to access the reference book online.

The International Encyclopedia of Dance
Articles by scholars from fifty countries cover dance-theatrical, ritual, dance-drama, folk, traditional, ethnic, and social dance. Cultural and national overviews are accompanied by entries on dance forms, music and costumes, performances, and biographies of dancers and choreographers.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
Authoritative information about theatre and performance from ancient Greek theatre to the latest developments in London, Paris, New York, and around the globe. In addition to playhouse performances, covers dance, opera, radio, film, television, and popular performance.
Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre
This exciting theatre companion, edited by a former literary manager of the Royal Shakespeare Company, includes over 2500 entries that range widely over theatre in the last century.

Literature Criticism Online
Literary, historical and cultural analysis, both scholarly and popular, from broadsheets, pamphlets, encyclopedias, books and periodicals in online format that matches the look and feel of the print originals, providing thousands of hard-to-find essays.
Literature Online (LION)
A database for the study and teaching of literature in English. Includes thousands of literary works with a library of criticism and reference resources.
Oxford English Dictionary
The complete text of the 20-volume Second Edition OED. Quarterly updates of the in-progress third edition. Entries include etymology, usage quotes, and date charts.