Introduction
There are multiple archival theater collections around the United States that offer great online guides to their holdings. While you may not have the resources to access these collections in persion, their online finding aids can still provide information on important primary resources, adding depth to your research. Some archives may be willing to send copies of information for a fee or free.
Selected Archival Research Resources
- Gilbert Hemsley Collection at Wisconsin Historical SocietyThe Gilbert Hemsley Papers document his career as a lighting designer, production manager, and university professor. The majority of the collection consists of technical lighting production materials such as light plots, hanging plots, ground and section plans, blocking sheets, preset and cue sheets, focus charts, electrics, and more.
- Harvard Theater CollectionThis archive holds the collections of notable scenic designers such as William and Jean Eckart, Jo Mielziner, Frederick Kiesler, Gordon Craig, and Robert Edmond Jones.
- Jean Rosenthal Papers at the Wisconsin Historical SocietyThis collection includes the lighting notes for a number of productions mounted between 1941-1966.
- Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research InstituteThe Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute serves as an archive for performers, playwrights, choreographers, designers, producing organizations, and theatre and dance companies, among others, and advances the study and inspiration of the performing arts.
- Theatrical Lighting DatabaseThis collection contains actual plots, focus charts, cue sheets and much more from four landmark productions digitized from the collections of the New York Public Library.