A production history (also called performance history or stage history) is an account of significant productions or adaptations of a theatrical work.
Some questions to research:
a. What is the production history of this play (where and when were the significant productions)?
b. How was it received?
c. What notable artists have worked on it?
d. What significant design, casting, staging or producing choices were made?
e. Why were those choices successful/unsuccessful in their time/location?
f. What has contributed to the success/failure of this play in the past?
g. What aesthetic choices elevated/opened up the piece?
h. What aesthetic choices collapsed the piece?
How do you find production histories? Unless someone else has compiled one for you, there’s no single, simple place to find them. You have to piece the history together from several kinds of sources, both primary and secondary.
Looking for a production review ?
Production reviews can be found in newspapers, magazines, and journals. The databases below are a good place to start your search.
Searching for reviews looks a little different in each database, but the principles are generally the same.
Search by the play's title and author's name. You can also add the names of the director, designer, or any prominent members of the cast, if you know them. Pro tip: use " " around names and play titles (eg. "Peter Brook").
Using the database's advanced search option, you can target your search to find specific types of documents.
In most databases, choose the Advanced Search and enter your search terms (eg. "Rabbit Hole"). Then choose the type of information you would like, under "Document Type."
For example, in the ProQuest databases, like the Performing Arts Periodicals Database, choose "Review".
For databases that do not allow you to choose your document type, add a descriptive keyword, like "review" or "production" to your search terms.
You can use additional limiters as well, such as choosing "Newspapers" or "Magazines" over academic journals or other scholarly sources. You might decide to narrow by date range, or to limit by location, publication title, or language.
