Research Guides: Theatre & Dance: Primary Sources

Primary Sources: What Are They?

Primary sources in theatre and dance include many categories:

The written or spoken words of the person being studied, such as
- the text of a play
- notated choreography
- autobiographies
- memoirs
- letters
- diaries
- interviews
- manuscripts of their own work
- early versions or sketches of their own work
- their own commentary on their work
Archives of the work or performance being studied, such as
- video recordings
- audio recordings
- photographs
- reviews written by people in attendance
- documents from the performance (programs, playbills, posters)

Primary Source Timeline

See our Primary Source Timeline to browse a selection of primary source databases organized by coverage dates and locations.

Primary Sources: Where Are They?

JumpStart contains many primary sources that have been published or digitized. For everything beyond the scope of the catalog, we offer many databases of primary sources. Several useful examples for theatre and dance are listed below.

British Theatre, Music, and Literature: High and Popular Culture This link opens in a new window
Access primary sources related to arts and popular culture in the Victorian era. Documents range from playbills, scripts to operas and complete scores to archival documents, such as personal letters, annotated programs, meeting minutes, and financial records. This collection is part of Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO). Coverage: 1733-1968, contains primary sources. Full text.
Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson This link opens in a new window
Access documents related to the life and work of Renaissance writer Ben Jonson. This collection includes major works, letters, diaries, music scores, and contextual documents. Full text.
Drama Online (Bloomsbury) This link opens in a new window
Access play scripts and scholarly works on theory, criticism, and practice, from Ancient Greece to the present. Use the "Advanced Play Search" to search by cast size (including monologues for auditions) or play length. Coverage: antiquity to present, contains primary sources. Full text.
New York Times -- Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Access articles and images from historical issues of the New York Times. Coverage: 1851-2020, contains primary sources. Full text.
Eighteenth Century Drama This link opens in a new window
Access an archive of almost every play submitted to the Lord Chamberlain for license between 1737 and 1824, along with documents that provide social context for the plays. Coverage: 1737-1824, contains primary sources. Full text.
Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
Search across primary source collections including Eighteenth Century Collections Online, Nineteenth Century Collections Online, Making of the Modern World, Indigenous Peoples: North America, Archives Unbound, Archives of Sexuality and Gender, Associated Press Collections, as well as a variety of periodical archives including: Nineteenth Century British Library Newspapers; Nineteenth Century United States Newspapers; Financial Times; The Economist; Liberty Magazine, 1924-1950; The Listener, 1929-1991; The Sunday Times (London); The Telegraph; The Times (London); and The Times (London) Literary Supplement. Coverage: 19th-21st centuries, contains primary sources. Full text.

Waidner-Spahr Library

Theatre & Dance: Primary Sources

Primary Sources: What Are They?

Primary Source Timeline

Primary Sources: Where Are They?