Costume Resources for Students and Teachers

Theatre involves the collaboration of performing artists in order to present an experience of a real or fictional event before a live audience. The performing artists create this experience through a series of gestures, songs, music, dance, and speech patterns. Various stage props and layouts are used to enhance the scenery, which may reflect a certain region and time period where the event originally took place. The word “theatre” derived from the Ancient Greek word “théatron” translates into the phrase “a place for viewing.” Modern theatre adapted a large portion of its formation from the Ancient Greeks, including the many themes, characters, and plot elements of previous stage shows. Theatre consists of plays, musicals, opera and ballet.

Theatre Organizations and Associations:

• International Amateur Theatre Association: The IATA organizes and initiates members, international festivals, workshops and seminars.
• The World of Mime Theatre: The World of Mime Theatre promotes Mime as a specialized performance art by providing education courses, entertainment, information exchange, and networking.
• The National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST): The NAST is the official accrediting agency of performance arts schools in the United States.
• Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KC/ACTF): The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival consists of over 18,000 students from various colleges and universities nationwide.
• Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC): The Southeastern Theatre Conference is the largest and most active theatre organization in the United States.
• United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT): The United States Institute for Theatre Technology is a network consisting of design and production professionals.
• University/Resident Theatre Association (U/RTA): The University and Resident Theatre Association consists of the largest consortium of professional, graduate, and other performance arts training programs.
• Institute for Outdoor Drama: A public service agency promoting the outdoor drama movement through training, research, and advisory programs.
• American Society of Theatre Consultants: A theatre consulting organization consisting of numerable consultants for stage, backstage, and stage door areas of the performing arts.
• Strawhat Auditions: An organization supporting various careers of non-equity actors and technical artists looking to progress in their careers.

Actors and Acting:

• The Ins and Outs of the Acting Business: An article introducing the ins and outs of the cinematic acting business.
• Ancient Greek Theatre: Actors and Acting: An brief summary of the various roles that actors played in Ancient Greek theatrics.
• World Wide Web Resources for Actors: A compilation of Internet resources for new and seasoned actors.
• 19th Century American Theatre: Actors: A profile of 19^th century American theatrical actors, including their hand-drawn portraits.
• Teaching Acting Philosophy: A brief introduction to how a theatrical teacher instills acting philosophy within the minds of newly aspired actors and actresses.

Costume Resources:

• Historic Costume Resources: Ohio State University provides a resource page consisting of historic costume resources.
• Bursting at the Seams with Costume Resources: Indiana State University presents a compilation of costume resources from a wide range of origins.
• Fashion Resources: Clothing and Costume History: A compendium of resources surrounding the clothing and costume history of various regions around the world.
• Theatre and Costume: A compilation of websites specializing in theatre and costumes.
• : The University of Connecticut offers costume resources for aspiring theatrical students.

• Stagecraft and Technical Theatre: A pathfinder specifically for those parties interested in the backstage development and technical aspects of theatre.
• Fundamentals of Stagecraft: Costumes: An article addressing the fundamentals behind costuming in stagecraft.
• A Glossary of Technical Theatre Terms ; A glossary of common technical theatre terms for aspiring theatrical students.
• The Stagehand Primer: An extensive resource guide for aspiring stagehands.
• Stage Lighting Resources: Jack Wolcott shares a compilation of stage lighting resources for aspiring electronic stagecraft students.

Plays and Playwrights:

• Greek Plays and Playwrights: An extensive list of Greek plays and playwrights from each time period associated with its composer.
• Plays and Playwrights: A list of data resource centers that currently list much of the world's renowned plays and playwrights as free electronic texts.
• Theatre: Plays and Playwrights: A comprehensive list of resources linking to classical plays and playwrights that defined and shaped modern theatrics.
• 2011 Best Playwrights Festival: An introduction to a festival for young playwrights in 2011.
• Doolee: Online Guide to Modern Playwrights: Doolie, a free online guide to modern playwrights, allows interested parties to peruse and read publications by aspiring playwrights.
• Elizabethan Plays and Playwrights: A compilation and resource page of Elizabethan plays and playwrights, including William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlow, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, Thomas Middleton and Thomas Kyd.
• Playwriting 101: How to Write a Play: An extension resource guide for aspiring playwrights that includes specific steps on creating a play.
• Midwestern Plays and Playwrights: An abstract article addressing the style of Midwestern plays and playwrights.
• The Playwrights' Center: A play-writing support center offering help to aspiring playwrights.

Miscellaneous:

• The London Theatre Guide: The London Theatre Guide provides information for various performing arts shows scheduled for the main events in London.
• Shakespeare's Globe: A modern reconstruction of the 1599 performance stage originally crafted for Shakespearean performances.
• Shakespeare's Theatre: An annotated guide to understanding the works of William Shakespeare.
• The History of the Costume: An extensive historical account behind the creation of the first costume.
• Introduction to Roman Stagecraft: A website providing an extensive history on the origins and influences of Roman stagecraft.
• Theatre on a Shoestring: Glossary Terms: A comprehensive list of technical terms often used in modern theatre.
• A History of Light and Lighting: An outline providing a historical outlook on the origin of light and lighting props used throughout the ages.
• Lighting and Special Effects: The National Theatre located in the United Kingdom offers three different articles describing the technicality behind lighting, special effects and video in the creation of theatrical performances.
• Lighting, Sounds, and Special Effects: An article providing general information on stagecraft, including lighting, sounds, special effects, costume construction, and make-up.
• ACQWeb: Performing Arts Publishers: A comprehensive list of resources linking to well-known performing arts publishers.
• Theatre Central: A website connecting prospective students and enthusiasts to theatre professionals throughout the world.
• Collectors Post: Medieval Drama: A collection of medieval drama links.
• The Internet Classics Archive: The Internet Classics Archive connects interested parties to electronic texts of classical and modern plays and playwrights.
• The Library of Congress: The Library Congress provides free and open access to electronic text, spoken word, sound recordings, moving images, maps and sheet music.
• The Shakespeare Quartos Archive: A comprehensive assortment of Shakespeare's literature.
• Early Modern Literary Studies: A searchable database of modern literary works, including plays and playwrights.
• ProjectMUSE Theatre Journal: A publication providing an array of scholarly articles written about theatre and other performing arts.
• Proptology: The Journal of Prop Professionals: A collection of journal selections supporting the professional work of prop specialists.
• Randomhouse: A modern literary publisher for authors, playwrights, and poets.
• The Oxford Text Archive: The Oxford Text Archive develops and disseminates electronic literary and linguistic resources.

Article written by Janice D. McDonald