Theatre Research Guide

indicates Top-pick
Note: Off-campus access to some online sources is restricted to current UCF students, faculty, and staff via Pegasus or Proxy connection

Books and Multimedia

Theatre Books & Videos: Online Versions & Excerpts

provides links to some encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, handbooks, texts, video documentaries, and other resources for which the UCF Libraries provide online access.

Classical Music Library

collection of selected recordings which may be listened to online; includes performances from musicals composed by Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Noel Coward, George Gershwin, Richard Kapp, Jerome Kern, Frederick Loewe, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, John Philip Sousa, and more.

Early English Books Online

"contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700," including over 600 works with the subject keyword of "drama" or "theater".

Evans Digital

Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800 - "Books, pamphlets, broadsides and other imprints listed in the renowned bibliography by Charles Evans," including over 300 plays.

North American Theatre Online - Reference Works

"a major initiative to provide detailed reference information for every theatrical figure, every play, every theatre, every major production, and every production company, from Colonial times to the present, in both Canada and the United States."

Theatre in Video

contains more than 100 definitive performances of the world's leading plays and more than 130 documentaries, online in streaming video.
See also:

American Theatre Wing - audio & video recordings

• Working in the Theatre - "Bringing together performers, directors, playwrights, designers, choreographers, producers and behind-the-scenes personnel from the American and international theatre, the program offers a rare opportunity for students and audiences to see the people who create theatre engaged in thoughtful conversation with one another."
• Downstage Center - "a weekly theatrical interview program that spotlights the creative talents on Broadway, Off-Broadway, across the country and around the world"
• Career Guides - "a series of one-on-one video interviews with the theatre's leading artists and professionals, explaining each specific discipline in the theatre and what it takes to pursue that specialty and make a career in the theatre."

UCF Library Catalog

Use the online catalog to locate books and multimedia on theatre in the UCF Libraries. You can search by author, title, keyword, or subject.

• To search for a person, as AUTHOR or SUBJECT, search by last name, first name without punctuation; for example:
  • Hagen Uta
    Stanislavsky Konstantin
• To limit by FORMAT in order to find multimedia and scores, go to the Advanced Search in the Library Catalog and use the Limit Your Search Further By option.

• SUBJECT searching requires use of Library of Congress subject headings. Here are some sample subject headings:
  • Acting
  • Actors
  • Actresses
  • Costume
  • Costume--History
  • Costume design
  • Drama--History and criticism
  • Ethnic theater
  • Mime
  • Monologues
  • Musicals
  • Playwriting
  • Puppet theater
  • Stage lighting
  • Stage management
  • Stage props
  • Theater
  • Theater--History
  • Theater--Production and direction
  • Theater audiences
  • Theaters
  • Theaters--Sound effects
  • Theaters--Stage-setting and scenery
  • Theatrical makeup
• If you are unsure of the exact title or unsure of the correct Library of Congress subject heading, try a KEYWORD search using two or three of the most significant words from the title or subject you are trying to find.

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Periodical Articles - Key Resources

Use the following sources to find periodical articles about theatre topics. In some instances books or essays in books also may be found in these sources. Once you have identified the articles you want, in some instances you will need to check Online Journals (SFX) or the UCF Library Catalog to determine if we own the periodicals you need.

See also Periodical Articles and Essays - Other Resources, Reviews and Key Journals.

Art Index (1929+)

Online version (indexing 1929+; abstracting 1994+; "select" full text 1997+)
Index NX 1.A1 A88 (1929-2003/04)

Databases covering leading art publications from around the world; useful for locating articles on set design and costume topics.

Cumulated Dramatic Index, 1909-1949

Reference PN 1620 .A1 C95

"a cumulation of the forty-one annual volumes of the Dramatic Index...for articles and illustrations concerning the stage and its players that have appeared in American and British periodicals.... More than 150 quarterly, monthly and weekly periodicals are indexed.... The critical, historical and biographical articles cited cover information about dramatists, librettists, performers, notices of production, scenes, synopses and reviews of plays, and stage portraits that include costumes from Shakespearean productions, grand opera and famous characters."
Appendices:

• Author List of Books about the Drama - over 6,500 books
• Title List of Published Play Texts - about 24,000 entries
• Author List of Published Play Texts - approximately 20,000 entries

International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance (1982+)

Online version (1984+)

"a fully indexed, cross-referenced and annotated databank of over 60,000 journal articles, books, book articles and dissertation abstracts on all aspects of theatre and performance in 126 countries....contains more than 400 full-text titles, including more than 130 full-text journals...and more than 270 full-text books & monographs."

Reference PN 1561 .I53 (1982-1998)

International Bibliography of Theatre - A bibliography of books, articles, dissertations, and miscellaneous materials dealing with theatrical performance worldwide. Book and performance reviews are excluded, as are most literary studies of plays without a substantial discussion of performance. Entries are arranged in nine genres (e.g., drama, dance, music-drama, puppetry) and have brief annotations. Subject, geographical, and scholar indexes.

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Periodical Articles and Essays - Other Resources

See also Periodical Articles - Key Resources.

See also the list of article resources in the research guide for Literary Criticism: Plays.

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Reviews

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Literary Criticism

See the related research guide for Literary Criticism: Plays

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Key Journals

The following selected periodicals are devoted exclusively to theatre topics. Please note, however, that many other periodicals not listed here will contain articles about some aspect of theatre studies; thus, the need to consult a periodical database or index. Current print issues of periodicals to which the Libraries subscribe are arranged by title on the third floor; print back issues are shelved in the general collection by call number, while microform back issues are arranged by call number on the third floor.

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Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias

Handbooks, dictionaries, and encyclopedias are excellent sources to find introductions and overviews of topics or to begin a literature search. They often will contain bibliographies.

Dictionaries

Diccionario Ingles-Espanol, Espanol-Ingles de Terminologia Teatral / English-Spanish, Spanish-English Dictionary of Theatre Terms

Reference PN 2035 .P57 1986

Dictionary of Puppetry

Reference PN 1972 .P47 1969b

The Drama Dictionary

Reference PN 1625 .H62 1988

Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts, and Analysis

Reference PN 2035 .P2913 1998

Arranged alphabetically, the terms are also grouped into eight categories of the thematic index: dramaturgy, text & discourse, actor & character, genres & forms, the staging, structural principles & aesthetic questions, reception of the performance, semiology

An International Dictionary of Theatre Language

Reference PN 2035 .I5 1985

Contains some 10,000 English-language and 5,000 foreign-language terms, historical and current, covering drama and theatre worldwide. Definitions are very brief but do cite works in the accompanying bibliography that offer fuller definitions or discussions.

The New Penguin Dictionary of the Theatre

Reference PN 2035 .N49 2001

"its 5000 articles include entries on actors, playwrights, directors and producers, plays, venues and companies, genres, technical terms, organizations, and other related topics."

General

American Theatre Companies

Reference PN 2237 .A43 1986

A three-volume set that provides summaries of stock and resident acting companies founded between 1749 and 1986. Each volume has an index of play titles and personal names.

• Volume 1: 1749-1887
• Volume 2: 1888-1930
• Volume 3: 1931-1986

The Cambridge Guide to Theatre

Online version
Reference PN 2035 .C27 1995

An international dictionary of theatre, classical to contemporary, that emphasizes performance, popular entertainment, and traditions outside Europe and North America. Entries cover traditions, theories, playwrights, performers, movements, folk drama, types of performance, and acting companies.
See also:

• The Cambridge Guide to African & Caribbean Theatre
  Reference PN 2969.C36 1994
• The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre
  Reference PN 2220.C36 1996
• The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre
  Reference PN 2860.C35 1993

The Encyclopedia of the American Theatre, 1900-1975

Reference PN 2266 .B68

Covers plays written or adapted by British and American authors and produced on and off Broadway. Entries cite date and place of original production, length of run, cast, producer, director, screen adaptations, and include a brief synopsis.

Famous American Playhouses

Reference NA 6830 .Y67 (1716-1899)
Reference NA 6830 .Y68 (1900-1971)

Details the physical structure of 199 American theatres of historical, architectural, and social or cultural importance with both primary and secondary readings culled from diaries, letters, journals, autobiographies, magazine articles, playbills, and other sources. Illustrations include architectural drawings, etchings, and photographs.
See also:

Directory of Historic American Theatres

Reference PN 2289 .D57 1987

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama: An International Reference Work in Five Volumes

Reference PN 1625 .M3 1984

While the focus primarily is with dramatists and dramatic literature, there are extensive articles on national and ethnic theatre traditions in individual countries or areas, as well as entries for theatre companies, major directors, and selected performance topics.

The Oxford Companion to American Theatre

Online version
Reference PN 2220 .B6 2004

Entries on actors, directors, playwrights, theatre companies, etc., as well as on individual plays or musicals. Emphasis is on Broadway and the New York stage.

The Oxford Companion to the Theatre

Reference PN 2035 .O9 1983

Entries on actors, actresses, producers, directors, designers, dramatists, groups, movements, and theatrical techniques and technology.

The Oxford Dictionary of Plays

Reference PN 1625 .P38 2005

"provides useful information and brief commentaries on the 1,000 most significant plays of the world theatre."

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance

Reference PN 2035 .O94 2003

"The Encyclopedia pays special attention to non-Western styles through articles on theatre and performance throughout the many countries and traditions of Asia and Africa, often written by practitioners or critics from those areas. Dance, opera, performance art, radio, film, and television are covered at length. The Encyclopedia also embraces para-theatrical, non-dramatic, and popular performance, including ritual, carnivals, parades, the circus, and public executions. Biographical entries cover the lives and work of major figures from the past and present: actors, playwrights, directors, designers, and critics. Innovative entries on cities and regions place performance in its local social and political context. A particular feature of the Encyclopedia is the series of entries on concepts, theories, and critical approaches to theatre and performance, from short definitions of terms to lengthy considerations of genres, and from detailed discussion of movements such as feminism and psychoanalytic criticism to discussions of semiotics and post-colonial studies."

Theatre World

Reference PN 2277.N5 A17 (1964+)

An illustrated yearbook of the American theatre, emphasizing the New York scene, but also including productions of national touring companies, professional regional companies, and Shakespeare festivals. Gives cast, production credits, dates of run or season. Also includes brief performer biographies, obituaries, awards, and name/title index.

The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre

Reference PN 1861 .W67

Aims to document artistic development all over the world, country by country, region by region, from 1945 to the present day. Coverage includes playwriting, music theatre, dance theatre, theatre for young audiences, puppet theatre, design, architecture and developments in theatre technology, theatre training, criticism and scholarship.

Volume 1: Europe
Volume 2: The Americas
Volume 3: Africa
Volume 4: The Arab World
Volume 5: Asia/Pacific
Volume 6: Bibliography and Cumulative Index

Musical Theatre

The American Musical Theatre Song Encyclopedia

Reference ML 102 .M88 H59 1995

Facts on over 1,800 songs from over 500 musicals from 1886 through 1994. Gives information on the song's author, original performers, and dates and history of recording. Brief glossary of theatre music terms. Bibliography.

American Song: The Complete Musical Theatre Companion

Reference ML 128 .M78 B6 1996

• Volumes 1 & 2 "focus on 4,863 shows from Broadway musicals to regional productions, from television musicals to ice shows, from nightclub scores to foreign shows by American writers, and many others. Each entry...contains not only more commonly known information -- such as the name and type of show, the cast list, composer, librettist, lyricist, director, producer, and choreographer -- but also lesser-known facts. In addition, each entry contains a complete list of all the songs in the show -- including those that were cut or written but not performed."
• Volumes 3 & 4, subtitled The Complete Companion to Tin Pan Alley Song, explore "the work of major pop songwriters from 'Tin Pan Alley' not included either in a Broadway show or film from the period 1880 to today. This carefully researched encyclopedia covers 125 composers with hundreds of entries on each."

Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre

Reference ML 102 .M88 G3 2001

Contains over 4,000 entries with production and performance information, characters, and plot summaries. Does not include information about opera, pantomime, revue, dance shows, or musical film and television. Covers works in France, Austria, Germany, England, and America. Lacks an index. Discographies are brief.

Songs of the Theatre

Reference ML 128 .S3 L55

Covers songs, both published and unpublished, from 1891 through 1983. Title listing with name of composer and lyricist, plus name and date of the show in which the song appeared. Index of composers, lyricists, and authors; alphabetical list of shows; chronology of shows.

Shakespeare

Technical Theatre

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Chronologies

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Biographies

There are countless sources for biographical information. In addition to the sources cited below, also check the sources listed under "Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias."

Biography & Genealogy Master Index

Online version (1857+)
Reference CT 213.B53 (1857+)

"indexes current, readily available reference sources, as well as the most important retrospective works that cover individuals, both living and deceased, from every field of activity and from all areas of the world.... BGMI indexes only reference works containing multiple biographies; it does not index periodical articles or books of biography about a single individual. Sources...are of several types:

• Biographical dictionaries and who's whos, which supply information on a number of individuals.
• Subject encyclopedias, which include some biographical entries.
• Volumes of literary criticism, which may contain only a limited amount of biographical information but give critical surveys of a writer's works.
• Indexes, which refer the user to a body of information found elsewhere."

Biography Index

Online version (1984+)
Index CT 100.B48 (1946+)

"cites biographical articles appearing in any of more than 3,000 periodicals indexed in other Wilson databases, plus select other titles. What’s more, some 2,000 current books of individual and collective biography are cited each year, as well as biographical material in otherwise non-biographical books. Besides biographies and autobiographies, you’ll find citations to interviews, obituaries, collections of letters, diaries, memoirs, juvenile literature, book reviews, bibliographies and exhibition reviews.  People covered range from antiquity to the present and represent all fields and nationalities." Biography & Genealogy Master Index identifies entries in Biography Index from the first print volume in 1946 forward.

Biography Resource Center

Contains biographical information on over one million individuals from all time periods, geographical locations, and fields of endeavor. The "Biographical Facts Search" allows searching for people based on one or more personal facts, such as occupation. Provides online access to:

Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television

Online version
Reference PN 2012 .W5

An ongoing biographical reference series providing brief biographical information and credits of performers, directors, writers, producers, designers, technicians, composers, executives, and critics in the United States and Great Britain.

Who's Who in the Theatre: A Biographical Record of the Contemporary Stage

Online version
Reference PN 2012 .W5 1981

Gives biographical sketches of actors, actresses, directors, dramatists, composers, scenic designers, critics, and theatre historians.

Who Was Who in the Theatre, 1912-1976: A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Directors, Playwrights, and Producers of the English-Speaking Theatre
Reference PN 2597.W52
reproduces the sketches of the first 15 editions of Who's Who in the Theatre

Contemporary American Theater Critics: A Directory & Anthology of Their Works

Reference PN 1707.9 C6 (1977)

Focus is on "regional" critics. Provides biographical information and sample pieces of criticism.

International Dictionary of Theatre

Online version (biographies only)
Reference PN 2035 .I49 1992

"The scope...is historical (ranging from the theatre of Ancient Greece to that of the present day) and international, covering plays of some 20 languages, and playwrights, actors, directors, and designers of many nationalities."

• Volume 1: Plays - over 620 notable plays. "Every entry contains, where known, the date and location of first publication and first production; a chronological list of books and articles about the play; and a critical essay on the play."
• Volume 2: Playwrights - 485 writers for the stage. "Each entry contains: a summary of the writer's life and career; a list of works by the entrant; a list of publications (bibliographies and critical studies) about the entrant; a signed critical overview of the entrant's work for the stage by one of the Dictionary's contributors. If any of an entrant's plays has an entry of its own in Volume 1 (Plays), a cross-reference makes this explicit at the end of the entry."
• Volume 3: Actors, Directors & Designers - 300 actors, directors, & designers for the stage. "Each entry contains: a summary of the subject's life and career; a list of relevant productions and roles, including film, television, and radio credits; a list of publications by the subject; a list of publications about the entrant; a signed critical overview of the entrant's work for the stage by one of the Dictionary's contributors."

Notable Women in the American Theatre: A Biographical Dictionary

Online version
Reference PN 2285 .N65

Lengthy articles on approximately 350 actresses, directors, scholars, and designers. Appendix lists names by professional category. Cross-references and topical index.

Theatrical Designers: An International Biographical Dictionary

Online version
Reference PN 2096 .A1 T48 1992

Gives articles on approximately 270 set, costume, and lighting designers of drama, opera, dance, and film productions, as well as theatre architects and theoreticians. Index of personal names and titles of stage works.

Theatrical Directors: A Biographical Dictionary

Reference PN 2205 .T54 1994

Articles on about 300 prominent nineteenth- and twentieth-century directors. Indexes of personal names and play, film, and television title.

Variety Obituaries, 1905-1986: An Eleven-Volume Set, Including a Comprehensive Index

Reference PN 1583 .V35 1988

Reprints in chronological order from Variety news stories, editorials, and obituary columns the death notices of individuals connected with the entertainment industry.

Who's Who in Entertainment

Reference PN 1583 .W47

Contains approximately 20,000 biographical sketches of prominent individuals in the entertainment industry.

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Monologues and Scene Indexes

The following sources are useful for locating monologues and scenes published in anthologies, collections, or periodicals.

UCF Library Catalog

• Search by Call Number PN2080
• Search by Subject Heading "Monologues"

Actors Guide to Monologues: An index of 700 Monologues from Classical & Modern Plays for Auditions & Classwork

Reference PN 4321.A3

Indexes monologues from published plays. Arranged by sex and approximate age. Each entry lists the title and author of the play, name and age of character, approximate time of performance, the first line of the speech, and the act and scene in which it appears. Nationalities are given when an accent is required. Lists publisher or journal location of the play and the page number where the monologue begins.

Actors Guide to Scenes

Reference PN 2054 .G784

A listing of two-character scenes classified by the gender of the characters and the style of the play (comic, serious, etc.). Running time and beginning line are indicated.

North American Theatre Online

Search for plays, characters or scenes by various criteria. Provides full text of plays from:

• Asian American Drama
• Black Drama - 1850 to Present
• Latino Drama
• Twentieth Century North American Drama
• North American Women's Drama

Smith and Kraus Monologue Index

Reference PN 2080 .S6 1999

Indexes 2,610 monologues from 1,420 plays. Entries describe the source play, character, scene, setting, & length in minutes of the monologue. The indexing identifies gender, contemporary/classic, dramatic/seriocomic/comic, ethnic/nationality/religious affiliation, time periods, geographic area, occupations, and character types/situations.
Identifies a specific Smith & Kraus anthology containing the monologue, e.g.

• The Best Men's Stage Monologues of 1990-1997
• The Best Women's Stage Monologues of 1990-1997
• 100 Great Monologues from the Neo-Classical Theater
• A Brave & Violent Theatre: Monologues, Scenes, & Critical Context from 20th-Century Irish Drama
• etc.

The Ultimate Scene & Monologue Sourcebook: An Actor's Guide to Over 1,000 Monologues & Scenes from More than 300 Contemporary Plays

Reference PN 2080 .H66 1994

In addition to basic information about each play listed (author and publisher), entries give a brief synopsis, brief critical comments, and the number of "audition-worthy" monologues and scenes in the play.

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Plays and Play Indexes - Key Resources

The following sources are useful for locating the texts of plays, including screenplays, published in anthologies, collections, or periodicals. See also Plays and Play Indexes - Other Resources.

UCF Library Catalog

• For a specific play, try a keyword search for the playwright's surname and one or two keywords from the title. DO NOT restrict your search to the author or title fields, since such a search might miss the play where it is part of a collection.
• Browse the call numbers beginning with "P" from the results of a search by Subject Heading "drama", e.g., PT 1-4897 German Literature
• For individual screenplays, browse the call numbers beginning with "PN1997" through "PN 1997.85" from the results of a call number search or a search by Subject Heading "motion picture plays"

American Film Scripts Online

Full text of hundreds of scripts by writers together with detailed, fielded information on the scenes, characters and people related to the scripts.

North American Theatre Online

Search for plays, characters or scenes by various criteria. Provides full text of plays from:

• Asian American Drama
• Black Drama - 1850 to Present
• Latino Drama (The same content is also listed in the Latino Literature database.)
• Twentieth Century North American Drama
• North American Women's Drama

Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections: An Author and Title Index to Plays Appearing in Collections Published between 1900 and 1985

Reference PN 1631 .O8 1988

An author index to over 6,500 plays in various languages, including translations, in 1,350 collections published primarily in the United States and Britain. Plays are keyed by symbol to the list of anthologies.

Play Index

Reference PN 1620 .A1 P53 (1949+)

A selective author, title, and subject index to English-language plays and translations -- classical through contemporary -- published separately or in collections. Entries usually include a brief plot summary and production specifications, and are keyed to a list of collections in the back of each volume.
The Cast Analysis section "is designed to locate plays by type and number of players or readers. It is divided into these six sections: (1) all male cast (2) all female cast (3) mixed cast (4) puppet plays (5) unidentified cast (6) variable cast. Unidentified cast is used for non-human characters. Variable cast is used when roles can be acted by either male or female characters, or when an actor can take several parts.... Under each type of cast the arrangement is by total number of characters in ascending order.... The symbol "c" denotes a play intended for children through grade six. A "y" indicates material for grades seven through twelve approximately."
See also:

Cumulated Dramatic Index, 1909-1949

Reference PN 1620 .A1 C95

Appendices:

• Title List of Published Play Texts - about 24,000 entries
• Author List of Published Play Texts - approximately 20,000 entries

Play Finder in Lit Finder

"Over 1,000 complete plays covering the range of dramatic expression: including one-act plays, puppet plays, Harlinquinades, tragedies, gothic, children's, religious, romantic, historical, children's and comedic plays. The collection includes many nationalities, all in English or English translations. Plays are analyzed for subjects, and also list all characters."

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Plays and Play Indexes - Other Resources

See also Plays and Play Indexes - Key Resources

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Directories

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Internet Sources

The following selected Internet "meta-sites" provide useful information in the field of theatre.

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UCF Theatre Department

See the UCF Theatre Department website for information about the current performance season, academic programs, faculty & staff, and other news.

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Style Manuals and Citation Management Tools

The style manual listed below offers assistance with the mechanics of paper presentation, such as preparing bibliographies, footnoting, underlining, and using quotation marks. The three major citation styles are MLA, APA, and Turabian/Chicago; check with your instructor as to which citation style you should use. In addition to the source cited below, brief online guides with examples are available; the UCF Libraries also provide several citation management tools, e.g., RefWorks, EndNote, Reference Manager, and ProCite.

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Other Resources

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Ask a Librarian

If you have questions or need additional assistance, Ask a Librarian, call the Reference Department at (407) 823-2562, or e-mail the Department at askalibrarian@mail.ucf.edu. The library liaison for Theatre is Rich Gause, Associate Librarian, rgause@mail.ucf.edu.

Last Updated:July 28, 2008

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