Drama
Databases are a good place to start searching for current research and online journal articles. See Additional databases for reference, image and video databases such as Drama Online, Theatre in Video, Kanopy and EduTV to see programs about drama and recorded performances.
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ProQuest Performing Arts Periodicals DatabaseThe International Index to Performing Arts (IIPA) is a comprehensive guide to the journal literature on performing arts; drama, theater, dance, film, and television.
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Oxford Reference - Performing artsIncludes Oxford Companions to Shakespeare, Theatre and Performance, Concise Oxford Companion to Theatre and Oxford Companion to American Theatre.
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JSTORAcademic journals, books and primary sources in the arts and humanities.
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AustLit - Australian Literature GatewayInformation on Australian literature, authors and playwrights.
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Project MuseFull-text scholarly journals and recent eBooks in the humanities, arts and social sciences. Subjects include literature and criticism and the visual and performing arts.
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Humanities International CompleteA collection for comprehensive coverage of the humanities with full-text content.
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MLA International BibliographyProduced by the Modern Languages Association (MLA), this database covers modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics and includes articles on theatre and dramatic performance.
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Actors and the Art of Performance by Publication Date: 2016The art of acting on stage is analysed here not only from the theoretical perspective of a spectator, but also from the perspective of the actor. The author draws on her experience as a theatre actor and a university professor whose teaching relies heavily on personal experience and her philosophical knowledge. -
Creativity: the Actor in Performance by Publication Date: 2014Creativity: the Actor in Performance focuses on what it takes to be a creative performer. Many stage-actors succeed in rehearsals, yet under-perform where it counts--in performance. -
Performance Studies by Publication Date: 2013This third edition includes discussion of the performing arts and popular entertainments, rituals, play and games as well as the performances of everyday life. It provides a lively and accessible overview for undergraduates and graduate students. -
Performing Age in Modern Drama by Publication Date: 2016This book is the first to examine age across the modern and contemporary dramatic canon, from Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams to Paula Vogel and Doug Wright. All ages across the life course are interpreted as performance and performative both on page and on stage. -
War and Theatrical Innovation by Publication Date: 2017This book examines the relationship between wartime conflict and theatre practices. Bringing together a diverse collection of essays in one volume, it offers both a geographically and historically wide view of the subject.
Database searching allows you to find articles from many journals, but you can also search within a specific journal. This will limit your results, but can be useful if your topic corresponds to the journal's focus. To search more widely, choose a database from this box or see Additional databases.
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Australasian drama studies
Established in 1982, Australasian Drama Studies (ADS) is a fully peer-reviewed journal which publishes articles, interviews, and production casebooks on world theatre by Australasian and international scholars. -
The Drama Review (TDR)
With an emphasis on the experimental, avant-garde, intercultural and interdisciplinary, TDR covers dance theatre, performance art, popular entertainment, media, sports, rituals and performance in politics and everyday life. -
NJ (Drama Australia) Journal
NJ is an internationally respected peer-reviewed journal, providing the drama education community of teachers, arts practitioners and researchers with reflection, discussion and research into innovative drama praxis, across the many fields of drama practice in Australia and internationally. -
Theatre Journal
Theatre Journal features social and historical studies, production reviews, and theoretical inquiries that analyze dramatic texts and production. Theatre Journal is an official publication of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE). -
Theatre Research International
Theatre Research International publishes articles on theatre practices in their social, cultural, and historical contexts, their relationship to other media of representation, and to other fields of inquiry. The journal seeks to reflect the evolving diversity of critical idioms prevalent in the scholarship of differing world contexts.
Media production
Databases are a good place to start searching for current research and online journal articles. See Additional databases for news and reference sources, images and videos.
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Communication & Mass Media CompleteFull text, indexing and abstracts for scholarly journals covering communication, mass media, linguistics, rhetoric, language, logic, and other closely related fields.
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SAGE Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Video CollectionCollection of streaming videos offering academic viewpoints and real-life insights into practices directly applicable to Communication and Media Studies courses. Topics include film production, new media, advertising, journalism, and representation.
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Academic Search CompleteLarge, multi-disciplinary, full text and index database. Includes peer-reviewed journals and other publications such as books, reports and conference proceedings.
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ProQuest CentralLarge, multidisciplinary, full text database. Over 160 subjects areas are covered extensively including business and economics, health and medical, news and world affairs, technology, and social sciences.
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Oxford Reference - Media studiesProvides access to online dictionaries including media, film studies, journalism and social media.
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Screen Production Research by Publication Date: 2018Drawing on the work of international experts as well as case studies from a range of forms and genres – including screenwriting, fiction filmmaking, documentary production and mobile media practice – the book is an essential guide for those interested in the rich relationship between theory and practice. It provides theories, models, tools and best practice examples that students and researchers can follow and expand upon in their own screen production projects. -
Digital Storytelling by Publication Date: 2014Digital Storytelling shows you how to create immersive, interactive narratives across a multitude of platforms, devices, and media. From age-old storytelling techniques to cutting-edge development processes, this book covers creating stories for all forms of New Media, including transmedia storytelling, video games, mobile apps, and second screen experiences. -
The Visual Story by Publication Date: 2013This book offers a clear view of the relationship between the story/script structure and the visual structure of a film, video, animated piece, or video game. Understanding visual structure allows you to communicate moods and emotions, and most importantly, reveals the critical relationship between story structure and visual structure. -
If It's Purple, Someone's Gonna Die by Publication Date: 2012If it's Purple, Someone's Gonna Die is a must-read book for all film students, film professionals, and others interested in filmmaking. It guides filmmakers toward making the right colour selections for their films, and helps movie buffs understand why they feel the way they do while watching movies that incorporate certain colours. -
Lighting for Digital Video and Television by Publication Date: 2012Enhance the visual quality of your motion pictures and digital videos with a solid understanding of lighting fundamentals. This complete course in digital video lighting begins with how the human eye and the camera process light and colour, progresses through the basics of equipment and setups, and finishes with practical lessons on how to solve common problems. -
Single-Camera Video Production by Publication Date: 2012Single-camera Video Production clearly explains the technology and the equipment of video production and details step-by-step the professional-level techniques that can be applied to any type of production or budget. In addition, this manual will train you to integrate technique, equipment, and creative concerns within the production process – from preproduction planning through final editing.
Database searching allows you to find articles from many journals, but you can also search within a specific journal. This will limit your results, but can be useful if your topic corresponds to the journal's focus. To search more widely, choose a database from this box or see Additional databases.
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Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies
Continuum is an academic journal of media and cultural studies. For over two decades it has contributed to the formation of these disciplines by identifying new areas for investigation and developing new agendas for enquiry in the fields. -
Critical Studies in Media Communication
Critical Studies in Media Communication is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering media and mass communication from a cultural studies and critical perspective. -
International Journal on Media Management
The International Journal on Media Management is a peer-reviewed academic journal. It provides a global examination of the fields of media and telecommunications management, with a strong emphasis on management issues. -
Journal of Communication
The Journal of Communication concentrates on communication research, practice, policy, and theory, bringing to its readers the latest, broadest, and most important findings in the field of communication studies. It also features an extensive book review section, and the symposia of selected studies on current issues -
Media, Culture & Society
Media, Culture & Society provides a major international, peer-reviewed forum for the presentation of research and discussion concerning the media, including the newer information and communication technologies, within their political, economic, cultural and historical contexts.
Music
Databases are a good place to start searching for current research and online journal articles. See Additional databases for general reference sources, images and videos featuring quality music programs, documentaries and films.
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Cambridge Companions to MusicProvides access to comprehensive eBooks on composers, instruments or musical topics including classical composers, Electronic Music, Hip Hop, Jazz, Pop and Rock, Musicals, Gilbert and Sullivan, Singing.
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Music Online: ListeningMusic Online: Listening is a streaming audio collection covering classical, jazz, world & popular musical genres.
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Oxford Music OnlineOxford Music Online is a gateway to the resources of Oxford's music reference collection.
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Oxford Reference - MusicA collection of musical dictionaries and companions, including the popular The Oxford Companion to Music.
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JSTORAcademic journals, books and primary sources in the arts and humanities.
Websites
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IMSLP/Petrucci Music LibraryA collection of public domain music scores, recordings, and information about musical works.
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RISMInternational Inventory of Musical Sources. RISM is recognized within the music world as the central place for the documentation of music primary sources.
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RILMA comprehensive bibliography of writings on music serving the global music research community.
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Trove: Music, Sound and VideoSearch for printed music, sheet music, musical sound recordings, interviews with significant people, audio books, movies and other videos.
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From Scratch by Publication Date: 2015James Tenney did pioneering work in computer music, tuning theory, and algorithmic and computer-assisted composition. From Scratch is a collection of Tenney's hard-to-find writings arranged, edited, and revised. Selections focus on his fundamental concerns "what the ear hears" and include thoughts and ideas on perception and form, tuning systems and especially just intonation, information theory, theories of harmonic space, and procedures of composition. -
Music Theory for Beginners by Publication Date: 2015Music Theory For Beginners was developed for anyone interested in learning to read and write music, a task that can be quite daunting for novices. This book, however, will allay any fears and set you on the path to learning what all those dots, lines, and symbols actually mean. -
Sound and Music for the Theatre by Publication Date: 2015Sound and Music for the Theatre traces the process of sound design from initial concept through implementation in actual performances. The book discusses the early evolution of sound design and how it supports the play, from researching sources for music and effects, to negotiating a contract. It shows you how to organize the construction of the sound design elements, how the designer functions in a rehearsal, and how to set up and train an operator to run sound equipment. -
A Style and Usage Guide to Writing about Music by Publication Date: 2010In A Style and Usage Guide to Writing About Music, Thomas Donahue presents a collection of guidelines to help express through the written word the special notations, terms, and concepts found in the discipline of music. The book draws on musically-oriented examples and is arranged by topics both musical and typographic, such as the proper use and spelling of composer names and musical concepts; the use of notes, pitches, and octave delineations; letters and numbers employed to describe form and harmony; and the proper citation of musical and audiovisual sources. -
A History of Singing by Publication Date: 2012Why do we sing and what first drove early humans to sing? How might they have sung and how might those styles have survived to the present day? This history addresses these questions and more, examining singing as a historical and cross-cultural phenomenon. It explores the evolution of singing in a global context and via the varieties of world music from Orient to Occident, classical music from medieval music to the avant-garde and popular music from vaudeville to rock and beyond.
Database searching allows you to find articles from many journals, but you can also search within a specific journal. This will limit your results, but can be useful if your topic corresponds to the journal's focus. To search more widely, choose a database from this box or see Additional databases.
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Musicology Australia
Musicology Australia is the scholarly journal of the Musicological Society of Australia. Articles and reviews cover a broad spectrum of music research, including historical musicology, ethnomusicology, popular music, indigenous music practices, jazz, theory and analysis, organology, performance practice, contemporary music and psychology of music. -
Resonate
Resonate is a specialist online magazine devoted to Australian composers, sound artists and their art form, published by the
Australian Music Centre. -
Journal of New Music Research
Emphasizes an interdisciplinary foundation for music by means of the most advanced technologies. Covers musicology, psychology, information sciences, philosophy and brain sciences. -
Contemporary Music Review
Provides a forum for musicians and musicologists to discuss recent musical currents in both breadth and depth. The main concern of the journal is the critical study of music today in all its aspects—its techniques of performance and composition, texts and contexts, aesthetics, technologies, and relationships with other disciplines and currents of thought. -
Eighteenth-Century Music
Eighteenth-Century Music is a journal dedicated to all areas of eighteenth-century music research. It features articles and essays by leading and emerging scholars, reviews and reports on conferences and other items of interest from around the world. -
Nineteenth-Century Music Review
Nineteenth-Century Music Review locates music within all aspects of culture in the long nineteenth century (c.1789-1914), covering the widest possible range of methods, topics and concepts. Through themed and general issues, articles provide both depth and breadth in their contribution to this expanding field. -
Twentieth-Century Music
Twentieth-Century Music disseminates research on a broad spectrum of scholarly interest in the long twentieth century. It features articles on all kinds of musical practice, including folk and popular music, media and film music, as well as art music and sound art.
Visual arts
Databases are a good place to start searching for current research and online journal articles. See Additional databases for general reference sources, images and videos featuring quality programs, documentaries and films about the visual arts and artists.
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Art and Architecture SourceCovers a broad range of subjects, from fine, decorative and commercial art, to various areas of architecture and architectural design. Includes full text as well as indexing and abstracts for journals, books and more.
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Bloomsbury Applied Visual ArtsOver 170 books which combine visual inspiration with practical advice on idea generation, research techniques and portfolio development across the main visual arts disciplines.
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Informit CompleteFeatures Australian research content, including journals Artlink, Art/Asia Pacific, Craft Art International.
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JSTORAcademic journals, books and primary sources in the arts and humanities.
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Oxford Art OnlineA collection of art reference works, including the Grove Dictionary of Art and the Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Includes journal articles that span ancient to contemporary art and architecture, as well as over 19,000 images.
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Oxford Reference - Art & ArchitectureA source for art and design terms.
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Project MuseFull-text scholarly journals and eBooks in the humanities, arts, and social sciences. Subjects include the visual and performing arts, literature and criticism, history, cultural studies, education, political science and gender studies.
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ProQuest Design & Applied Arts Index (DAAI)Abstracts and bibliographic records for articles, news items, and reviews published in design and applied arts journals from 1973 onwards.
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Design and Australian Art Online (Dictionary of Australian Artists Online)A research tool that presents biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators.
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Modern and contemporary artists and art (the-artists)Modern and contemporary visual artists are represented with links to web resources.
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Reading Graphic Design in Cultural Context by Publication Date: 2019Explains key ways of understanding and interpreting the graphic designs we see all around us, in advertising, branding, packaging and fashion. -
Surrealism by Publication Date: 2019The Dada movement and then the Surrealists appeared in the First World War aftermath with a bang: revolution of thought, creativity, and the wish to break away from the past and all that was left in ruins. Describing Dada with its dynamic free-thinkers, and the Surrealists with their aversive resistance to the system, the author brings a new approach to studying this period. -
How Art Works by Publication Date: 2018This book examines a number of questions about the arts (broadly defined to include all of the arts). Examples include:
- What makes something art?
- Can anything be art?
- Do we experience "real" emotions from the arts? -
Painting War by Publication Date: 2018During the First World War the Australian Government established an official war art scheme, sending artists to the front lines to create a visual record of the Australian experience of the war. Around two thousand sketches and paintings were commissioned and acquired between 1916 and 1922. In Painting War, Margaret Hutchison examines the official art scheme as a key commemorative practice of the First World War and argues that the artworks had many makers beyond the artists. -
Artist Toolbox: A Practical Guide to Color and Its Uses in Art by Publication Date: 2017Artist’s Toolbox: Color explains how colour captures mood and helps communicate meaning, as well as how to use colour to create personal, expressive works of art. This book explains basic colour theory and topics include the colour wheel, hue, saturation, value, temperature, relativity, colour relationships, and colour mixing.
Database searching allows you to find articles from many journals, but you can also search within a specific journal. This will limit your results, but can be useful if your topic corresponds to the journal's focus. To search more widely, choose a database from this box or see Additional databases.
Australian art journals
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Art and Australia
Contains interviews, essays and a platform for emerging practitioners and a regional focus section penned by distinguished voices from Australia and the world, including the best of contemporary creative practice. -
Artlink
Australian (Asia-Pacific) contemporary art magazine; visual art, Australian artists, Indigenous art, ideas and more. -
Art Monthly Australia
Australia's flagship visual arts publication, critically engaging with contemporary and historical practice. Contains commentary, news and reviews on the visual arts. -
Australia and New Zealand Journal of Art
The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art is published by the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand. AAANZ is Australia’s professional body for art and design historians, arts writers, artists, students of art history and theory, and museum professionals.
International art journals
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Flash Art
Flash Art is a bimonthly magazine focused on contemporary art. -
ArtForum International
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art -
Frieze
Publishes articles in contemporary art and culture eight times a year. -
October
October focuses critical attention on the contemporary arts – film, painting, music, media, photography, performance, sculpture, and literature – and their various contexts of interpretation. -
Art Journal
An academic journal featuring articles by and about artists, exhibition reviews and book reviews. -
Art in America
Features articles on major achievements and events throughout the art world, particularly in painting, sculpture, photography and prints.
Additional creative and performing arts databases
Dictionaries and encyclopaediae are handy for gathering background information when you start researching a topic. They can help you clarify topics and identify related concepts and terms which you can use to develop a search strategy.
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Credo ReferenceProvides access to encyclopediae, dictionaries, reference books as well as images, audio files and videos. Features topic pages and a handy mind-mapping tool which can be used to identify related search terms.
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Gale eBooksDatabase of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.
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Oxford Reference (online premium collection)Online reference product providing access to Oxford University Press’s dictionaries, companions and encyclopedias. Results range from short-entry, general reference to more in-depth articles on specialised subjects.
Video databases are a good source for quality programs, documentaries and films about Design, Film Studies, Music, the Performing Arts and Visual Arts.
Video Databases
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Drama OnlineAccess works by playwrights & practitioners, genres, periods, as well as critiques on major works. Search for monologues by males or females and word count or find plays limited by number of total roles and scenes.
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EduTVSearch this video database for documentaries, TV programs and films related to Media Studies, Performing Arts, and Visual Arts & Design.
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KanopyA collection of popular and educational streaming videos. Browse by Subjects and choose The Arts or Movies to see independent, art house, cult, horror and blockbuster films.
You can find images rights-cleared for education purposes to illustrate assessments and presentations in image databases.
Image Databases
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ARTstorASTstor is an online resource of images in the arts, architecture and the humanities.
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VADS - the online resource for visual artsVADS provides over 140,000 digital images free for use in education.
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NGA ImagesA repository of digital images of the collections of the National Gallery of Art in America. More than 20,000 open-access digital images are available for download and use.
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Trove: Pictures, photos, objectsSearch photographs, negatives, artworks, drawings, posters, postcards and other pictures, as well as physical objects such as puzzles, instruments and clothing.
Consult media sources to keep up to date with news, reviews, interviews and feature articles related to exhibitions, performances and the creative arts.
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PressReaderProvides access to world-wide newspapers and magazines for the last 90 days in the original format. Includes categories such as art, including the magazine Wallpaper, design, music, photography, computers and technology, crafts and hobbies.
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ProQuest Australia & New Zealand NewsstreamProvides access to the full text of major Australian and New Zealand newspapers, including radio transcripts and news from current affairs television programs such as ABC's 7.30 Report. Major subject areas of study are represented including the arts.
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TV NewsTVNews indexes Australian television news, current affairs and selected documentaries from the free-to-air networks with links to the digitised video content.
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Last reviewed: 5 November 2020