Use encyclopedias and handbooks for overviews.
Search: "oxford reference" (theatre OR theater OR drama) for links to:
Search: handbook (theatre OR theater OR drama) for links to:
- Methuen drama handbook of gender and theatre
- Musical theater: A handbook of practical exercises
- The Palgrave handbook of theatre and race
- Routledge Handbook of Asian Theatre
- Routledge Companion to Audiences and the Performing Art
Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama; REF PN1861 .C65 2007
Critical Survey of Drama; REF PN1625 .C69 2003 8 volumes
Essays on 538 dramatists and 64 overview essays on topics including African American drama, feminist theater, gay and lesbian theatre.
Encyclopedia of Stage Lighting: REF PN2091 .E4B66 2003
Theatre etiquette, current and antiquated theatrical lighting instruments, and current lighting practices. Has some 300 line drawings and addresses standard lighting procedures, practices, historical development, and strategies for dealing with theatre personalities.
Mcgraw Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama: An International Reference Work: REF PN1625 .M3 1984 5 volumes
Focuses on the achievements of playwrights who have influenced the evolution of world drama.
Theatre Backstage from A to Z: REF PN2091 .M3L68 1998
Terms and treatments important to the understanding of lighting, sound, scene design, set construction, and properties in the United States.
The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: REF PN1584 .W67 6 volumes
Nations (47) and their theatres. From 1945 onward, each country's theatrical history is explored. V.4 (The Arab world) and v.5. (Asia/Oceania) available online.