Theatre Performance and Design Collection

Theatre students and researchers can now truly see “behind the scenes” of the world’s greatest dramatic performances. Theatre Performance and Design Collection is the first comprehensive, international collection that covers all aspects of theater from production and design to performance, from the 17th century through to the present day, including, set design, lighting design, sound design, costume design, makeup, and more.

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Theatre Performance and Design Collection brings together Alexander Street’s premiere collections of video performances, audio dramas, and designs. Combining the most important video content types used in theatre education (filmed stage performances, masterclasses, documentaries) with top-of-the-line teaching tools (playlists, video clips, on-screen transcripts), and production designs, there really is no better way for faculty to bring the brilliance of stage right into their classrooms.

Included in the collection are:

• 390+ audio plays from L.A. Theatre Works

• 950+ hours of filmed stage performances, documentaries, and video training materials, including over 50 premium performances of plays and musicals from the BBC, Royal Shakespeare Company, and the UK's National Theatre

• 100,000 pages of primary and secondary design resources, including sketches, photographs, technical drawings, monographs, articles, and dissertations.

• 40,000 pages of monumental reference works, encyclopedias, images, flyers, playbills, postcards, scrapbooks, and other resources

How will you use it?

This collection brings a new dimension into nearly all aspects of performance studies and production history. Here are just a few of the tools available in the collection:

Users can bookmark specific scenes, monologues, and staging examples and then include those online links in their papers and course reserves. Class assignments and published papers take on a new dimension.
Multiple productions of Shakespeare’s plays allow for comparative analysis, showing various interpretations of the text and technical and cultural differences among the presentations.
The stage work of legendary directors and actors are together for the first time, cross-searchable, and available for side-by-side comparison.
Interviews with directors, designers, writers, and actors, along with excerpts of live performances, illustrate the development of the texts and the productions.
Additionally, the collection includes teacher packs that offer an in-depth look on the making of productions, guides instructors through each story, and provides activities that encourage active learning.