For this paper you will analyze the given circumstances and research basic context information for the script you have selected. This page should help you with the outside research portion of the assignment.
There is a collection of playscripts for browsing in the Fine and Performing Arts Collection (4th floor). There are also still some playscripts that have not been identified that are still in the library stacks (typically in the Ps on the 4th floor).
The Flick by Great place to start to better understand your playwright and begin to gather insights about their play. Do be cautious not to equate the artist with the work of art!
Playwrights are often interviewed by newspapers and magazines, but also for web content. You should ABSOLUTELY do a Google Search for your playwright "name" AND interview.
If you hit a paywall, reach out to your librarian or search OneSearch to see if Rod Library subscribes to this content. It may even be possible for us to request it from another library through Interlibrary Loan.
Literary criticism is the evaluation, comparison, analysis, or interpretation of literary works. Criticism may examine the themes in the work, look at the author's writings as a collection, analyze a work through a particular lens or school of thought, or compare works of the same theme, genre, time period, etc.).
NOTE: A book review is different from literary criticism. Book reviews summarize the book and give the reviewer's opinion on whether the book is worth reading. Authors of book reviews can intend them for a general or an academic audience.
OneSearch searches many (although not all) of the library's databases. It's a great place to start, but do not be afraid of jumping into individual databases for more comprehensive results.
Article searching often requires a narrow search with multiple terms to get the information you want. Consider searching for the author AND criticism OR analysis AND the title of the work. Once you have an idea of what is out there, you might also add another search term related to the theme or lens you are analyzing.
For example: "Annie Baker" AND (criticism OR analysis) AND "The Flick"
Tips for searching the library catalog, OneSearch
Some books are available in library stacks, and books are shelved by topic, so browsing the area might be of interest once you find one relevant item! Others are available as eBooks. If you have trouble accessing either, do not hesitate to reach out for support.
Can you locate any history on where the play debuted? How about notable performances that happened in other spaces? This is an excellent use of Wikipedia or Google! Once you have those theatre names, we can dig into the theater archives.
If you are having a hard time navigating the search on a website, you can always limit your Google search to a specific domain. For example, search site:.playwrightshorizons.org "the flick" to find articles on the Playwrights Horizon's website about The Flick.
In addition to theater websites, there is information about Broadway and off-Broadway productions on aggregate sites.
Using news sources and limiting by "reviews" is one of the best ways to find large production theatre reviews for your play.
Sometimes theatres include quotes from reviews on their webpages. Sometimes they even give you the link! Use those. If they don't give you the link. You can use a Google Advanced search string to locate the review.
One of the most helpful Google hacks is to search a particular website as a limiter. For example, if I know there was a quote in the New Yorker that says “We're lucky to be living in the era of Annie Baker.” I can turn that into a search site:.newyorker.com “We're lucky to be living in the era of Annie Baker.”
Locating scholarly articles or news on the context in which your text was published can offer insight into your understanding of the story.
For example, if I were researching Annie Baker's The Flick. I might look up history AND cinema AND digital AND film to get a better understanding of how moving away from 35mm has changed the industry.
Available in library stacks. Books are shelved by topic, so browsing the area might be of interest once you find one relevant item!
For example, if I were researching Annie Baker's The Flick. I might look up history AND cinema AND digital to get a better understanding of how moving away from 35mm has changed the industry.
