LibGuides: Theatre: Primary Sources


Library Research Guides

What are Primary Sources?

Primary sources provide first-hand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation.

ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS such as diaries, speeches, letters
CREATIVE WORKS such as poetry, music, art
RELICS OR ARTIFACTS such as pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings

What about Science? In the sciences, a primary source is the published result of experimental or observational research.

Digital Collections

At Mount Holyoke

Digital Theatre+ This link opens in a new window
Database of videos of live performances, productions, masterclasses, interviews, workshops, and documentaries. Written materials such as study guides, practical workshop guides, and encyclopedia entries also included. New content is added regularly.
EEBO / Early English Books Online This link opens in a new window
Early English Books Online (EEBO) 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.
ECCO / Eighteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
Works published in the UK during the 18th century. Includes books, pamphlets, essays, broadsides, plays and more.
National Theatre Collection This link opens in a new window
National Theatre Collection brings the stage to life through access to high definition streaming video of world-class productions and unique archival material offering significant insight into theatre and performance studies. Through a collaboration with the U.K.'s National Theatre, this collection offers a range of digital performance resources never previously seen outside of the National Theatre’s archive.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
Includes collection on British Theatre, Music, and Literature: High and Popular Culture.

On the Web

Marquees, 1997-2001: New York City Theatre Photographs by Christopher Frith
1,717 color photographs of Broadway theater marquees and theater facades from 1997 to 2001 by Christopher J. Frith.
Yiddish Theatre Placards: Buenos Aires and New York
Placards from the two leading centers of Yiddish theater in their respective heydays: New York, 1890s-1910s, and Buenos Aires, 1930s-1940s.
Russian Theater Designs from the Harvard Theater Collection
The entire collection of original Russian art work in the Harvard Theatre Collection, which comprises approximately 650 theatrical designs and portraits has been cataloged and digitized and is available in VIA. Most of these are associated with productions of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.

Primary Sources in the Library Catalog

Search by keyword for primary sources in the 5 College catalog
You can search the catalog to find direct references to primary source material. Here are some words to include as keywords that would identify a source as primary:

correspondence
diaries
early works
interviews
manuscripts
pamphlets
personal narratives
sources
speeches
letters
documents

Found what you need at MHC? Find its location in the library.
Found something in another library? Click on "request item" for delivery to MHC!