There are three main types of biographical sources:
Begin your search for biographical information by doing a subject search in the online catalog or WorldCat, a type of union catalog of thousands of libraries, including the Library of Congress, to determine if there is a whole book about the person. If not, use a resource described below.
Provides the full-text of biographical and critical materials from Contemporary Authors and Dictionary of Literary Biography and portions from Contemporary Literary Criticism and other Gale literary criticism sets covering the classical period to the present; also provides links to author web sites. For playwrights, the listing of plays often includes the date, city, and theatre of the first performance.
Provides full-text biographical information on deceased figures from American history who have lived since 1450. Each entry contains a bibliography which includes citations for primary sources, as well as the location of a playwright's papers.
Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford)
Provides full-text biographical information on deceased figures from the UK and the British Commonwealth who have lived since the 4th century BC. Each entry contains a bibliography which includes citations for primary sources, as well as the location of any archives, existing likenesses, and, in some cases, wealth at death.
Biography and Genealogy Master Index (BGMI)
Indexes more than 12 million biographical sketches in more than 3400 reference-type books, including persons from all walks of life.
Biography Index (BI)
Although all volumes of Biography Index are indexed in BGMI, BI provides the actual citation to biographical information in journal articles and chapters in books.
ref PN2285.W42
Wearing, J. P. American and British Theatrical Biography: A Directory. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1979.
Indexes approximately 170 volumes of biographies published prior to 1979. While a few of these are general sources, such as the Dictionary of American Biography, most are sources devoted to persons in the theatre. Begin most searches for a biography of theatre personnel here.
ref PN2205.S730
Bryan, George B. Stage Lives: A Bibliography and Index of Theatrical Biographies in English.
Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1985.
Part I lists books or dissertations of collective theatrical biographies, other collective biographies which include stage lives, and individual biographies or autobiographies. Part II lists the names of the biographees and refers the user to the volume(s) which contain biographical information.
ref PN2205.S720
---.Stage Deaths: A Biographical Guide to International Theatrical Obituaries,
1850-1990. 2 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1991.
A companion volume to Stage Lives (above), Stage Deaths indexes obituaries from 9 sources: The Clipper, The Era, Boston Transcript, The Times (London), New York Dramatic Mirror, New York Times, The Stage, Variety, and the Los Angeles Times. Names of theatre personnel are listed alphabetically (with any aliases included) with the following information: name of father, name of mother, name of spouse, birth and death dates and places, type of theatrical work done, citations to the obituaries. Occasionally, a book length biography is also listed.
ref PN2035.I48
International Dictionary of Theatre. Washington: St. James ,
1992-1996. Vol. 1, Plays; Vol. 2, Playwrights; Vol. 3, Actors, Directors
and Designers.
Volumes two and three of this set provide biographical information. For playwrights there is brief biographical information, an extensive listing of their plays, and a bibliography listing books and articles of criticism. Most important, though, is the signed critical evaluation of the playwright's work written especially for this volume. For actors, actresses, directors, and designers, there is brief biographical information, a list of their productions, including film and television as well as theatre (listed chronologically) followed by a bibliography of critical materials. Again, the most important material is the signed critical evaluation of the person's work.
ref PN2597.C580
Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television: A Biographical Guide Featuring
Performers, Directors, Writers, Producers, Designers, Managers, Choreographers,
Technicians, Composers, Executives, Dancers, and Critics in the United States and
Great Britain. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1984 to date.
A continuation of Who's Who in the Theatre, this ongoing set contains brief personal information about the subjects, a comprehensive listing of principal credits or engagements, a list of writings (if applicable), awards, and sidelights. Each volume indexes all previously published volumes in the set so use the index in the most recent volume. Many photographs are included. This is a first place to check for persons active in theatre, as well as film and television, since the 1980s. The first volume included a few folks who were no longer active but who had made significant contributions to their field.
ref PN 2597.M840
Mullin, Donald, comp. and ed. Victorian Actors: Leading Players and Their
Roles on the London Stage, 1837-1901. Boston: IHI Press, 1992.
Covering the London stage from 1837-1901, this volume of a three-volume set lists 641 (from 6000 known ) actors and actresses followed only by a chronological lists of roles which they played. For each role the names of the play and playwright (if listed on the playbill) are given along with the name of the theatre where the performance took place. A companion volume, Victorian Plays: A Record of Significant Productions on the London Stage, 1837-1901 (ref PN 2596.L6M85 1987) lists plays appearing on the London stages including for each the type of work, number of acts, date of first performance in the theatre, and names of the playwright, theatre where performed, and actors and actresses. For contemporary reviews of the performances, see the third title of the set, Victorian Actors and Actresses in Review, described in the section Reviews of Play Productions.
ref PN2205.T54 1994
Frick, John W. and Stephen M. Vallillo, eds. Theatrical Directors: A Biographical Dictionary.
Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1994.
Containing almost 300 signed entries, this volumes provides not only basic biographical information but critical evaluations of a director's work. Each entry also contains a listing of additional plays directed but not included in the narrative section and a lengthy bibliography of sources to consult for further information about the director's work. Included are a name index and a title index.
ref PN2597.H5
Highfill, Jr., Philip H., Kalman A Burnim and Edward A. Langhans. A Biographical
Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage
Personnel in London, 1660-1800. 16 vols. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois UP,
1973-1993.
Since this multi-volume dictionary was completed after Wearing's index (above) was published, not all entries are indexed in Wearing. These 16 volumes include biographical entries for the categories of theatre personnel mentioned in the title of the set for the years 1660-1800. No bibliographies are provided in the entries, though some sources of information are provided in the preface; nevertheless, the set is considered a landmark set--reliable and scholarly.
ref PN2597.M360 1996
Mann, David D. and Susan Garland Mann. Women Playwrights In England, Ireland,
and Scotland, 1660-1823. Bloomington, IN: Indiana, 1996.
Interfiling names of plays with names of playwrights, this volume includes basic biographical information about female playwrights from the first date women were permitted on stage in England, Ireland, and Scotland to 1823. Biographies are generally shorter than the information about plays. Each biographical entry concludes with a list of abbreviated entries for sources consulted. An excellent introduction on the history of women playwrights is included.
ref PN2096.A1 M54 1992
Mikotowicz, Thomas J., ed. Theatrical Designers: An International Biographical Dictionary.
Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1992.
Beginning with an overview of the history of theatrical design, this volume includes biographical information for approximately 270 set, lighting, and costume designers. The length of entries vary, depending on the importance of the designer and the availability of information. Entries focus on identifying the plays for which the person designed, and for some there is a listing of sources for further reading.
ref PN2067.O94 1987
Owen, Bobbi. Costume Design on Broadway: Designers and Their Credits, 1915-1985.
Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1987.
ref PN2091.E4O94 1991
---.Lighting Design on Broadway: Designers and Their Credits, 1915-1990. Westport, CT:
Greenwood, 1991.
ref PN 2096.A1O94 1991
---. Scenic Design on Broadway: Designers and Their Credits, 1915-1990. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1991.
These three volumes are identical in format, each for their respective area of design: costumes, lighting, and scenes. Each includes only brief information about the designer followed by a list of plays for which she or he designed. Each concludes with a title index of plays and appendices which list awards (Tony, Maharam, American Theatre Wing, and Donaldson). The volumes for scene and costume designers include illustrations. All three volumes are supplemented by Owen's The Broadway Design Roster: Designers and Their Credits (2003) which extends coverage back to the 1899-1900 season and up through the 2000-2001 season (ref PN2096.A1O93).
ref PN2285 .N65 1989
Robinson, Alice M. Vera Mowry Roberts, and Milly S. Barranger, eds.
Notable Women in the American Theatre: A Biographical Dictionary.
Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1989.
These lengthy biographical entries for over 300 women (actresses, producers, playwrights, directors, designers, critics, theatrical agents, managers, patrons, variety entertainers, dances/choreographers, educators/scholars, and administrators) active in the American theatre conclude with a listing of primary and secondary sources. Appendices listing the women by place of birth and by profession are included, along with an index of personal names, theatres, and plays.
ref PN1583.V35
Variety Obituaries, 1905-1986. 12 vols. New York: Garland, 1988-1989.
Supplements, 1989-1993.
Reprints obituaries from Variety (1905-1993) of theatre personnel. More recent obituaries from the magazine can be accessed using Journal Finder
Page Author: Nancy Fogarty
Theatre Librarian
