The Online Books Page

Amateur theater

Here are entered works about, including history and criticism of, productions of plays, skits, recitations, etc. for production by nonprofessionals. Collections of such plays are entered under Amateur plays.

See also what's at Wikipedia, your library, or elsewhere.

• Amusements
• Theater
• Amateur plays

• Little theater movement

• Amateur theater -- Drama
• Amateur theater -- Fiction
• Amateur theater -- Juvenile fiction
• Amateur theater -- Russia
• Amateur theater -- Soviet Union
• Amateur circus
• Amateur plays
• Improvisation (Acting)
• Theaters, Miniature

• Amateur plays -- History and criticism
• Amateur theatricals
• Nonprofessional theater
• Women in amateur theatricals

• The Witmark Amateur Minstrel Guide and Burnt Cork Encyclopedia (revised edition, c1905), by Frank Dumont (page images at HathiTrust)
• A practical guide to private theatricals. Giving directions for arranging, decorating and lighting the stage, painting the scenery, making-up, preparing the costumes, mounting, rehearsing and performing plays. To which is added a collection of charades, plays and tableaux. For private performance. (New York, O. A. Roorbach, [c1881]), by Orville Augustus Roorbach (page images at HathiTrust)
• Brantford Amateurs [electronic resource]. ([Brantford, Ont.? : s.n., 18--?]) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Dramatic leaflets : comprising original and selected plays for amateur clubs, parlor theatricals, temperance societies, church entertainments, exhibitions, sociables, &c. (Philadelphia : P. Garrett & Co., c1887), by Phineas Garrett (page images at HathiTrust)
• Massey's exhibition reciter, and drawing-room entertainments; being choice recitations in prose and verse: together with an unique collection of petite comedies, dramas and farces ... (New York, S. French, 1856), by Charles Massey (page images at HathiTrust)
• Evening amusements and book of drawing-room plays: a comprehensive manual of in-door recreation, including all kinds of acting charades, proverbs, burlesques, and extravaganzas ... (New York, Cassell, [1883]), by Henry Dalton (page images at HathiTrust)
• Select catalogue of plays for use in amateur theatricals. (Cincinnati : Pettibone Bros. Mfg. Co., 1914-15), by Pettibone Bros. Mfg. Co (page images at HathiTrust)
• The director in the theatre. (New York, Macmillan, [1963]), by Marian Gallaway (page images at HathiTrust)
• The sociable, or, One thousand and one home amusements : containing acting proverbs, dramatic charades, acting charades, or drawing-room pantomimes, musical burlesques, tableaux vivants, parlor games, games of action, forfeits, science in sport, and parlor magic, and a choice collection ofcurious mental and mechanical puzzles, &c., &c. : illustrated with nearly three hundred engravings and diagrams, the whole being a fund of never-endingentertainment / (New York : Dick & Fitzgerald Publishers, 1858), by George Arnold and Frank Cahill (page images at HathiTrust)
• A dream of the centuries, and other entertainments for parlor and hall, (Boston, W.H. Baker, 1889), by George Bradford Bartlett (page images at HathiTrust)
• Forever this land! : souvenir program, 1831-1952 : one hundred twenty-first anniversary celebration of the historic beginning of Abraham Lincoln's larger life with his advent at New Salem Village. (Petersburg, Ill. : New Salem Lincoln League, [1952]), by Ill.) New Salem Lincoln League (Petersburg (page images at HathiTrust)
• Howard's book of drawing-room theatricals ... (New York, Dick & Fitzgerald, [1870]), by Clarence J. Howard (page images at HathiTrust)
• Footlight frolics; entertainments for home and school, comprising school opera, charades, plays, Christmas capers, etc., (Boston, Lee and Shepard; New York, C.T. Dillingham, 1883), by Charles F. Fernald (page images at HathiTrust)
• Amateur theatricals : the amateur's hand-book and guide to home or drawing room theatricals and how to get them up and how to act in them, to which is added How to "get up" theatricals in a country house and a supplement containing a list of suitable plays... / by Thomas Hailes Lacy. (London : T.H. Lacy, 1871), by Thomas Hailes Lacy and W. J. Sorrell (page images at HathiTrust)
• Original entertainments and burlesques for stage or school / (Boston : Walter H. Baker & Co., 1898, c1866), by George Melville Baker (page images at HathiTrust)
• De Witt's how to manage amateur theatricals. Showing the easiest way for arranging drawing room performances; and giving plain directions for making scenery, getting up dresses, giving out parts ... (New York, De Witt, c1880) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Actor in the making; a handbook on improvization [!] and other techniques of development, (Boston, Mass., Expression company, [c1936]), by William H. Bridge (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• Scenes in the Union Depot : a humorous entertainment in one scene. (Boston : W.H. Baker & Co., c1905), by Laura Matilda Stephenson Parsons (page images at HathiTrust)
• Practical stage directing for amateurs; a handbook for amateur managers and actors, (New York, E. P. Dutton and company, [1923]), by Emerson Gifford Taylor (page images at HathiTrust)
• Plays for private acting, (New York, H. Holt, 1878), by Bellevue Dramatic Club of Newport (page images at HathiTrust)
• Les théâtres libertins au XVIII e siècle. (Paris, Daragon, 1905), by Henri d' Alméras and Paul d' Estrée (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• The sociable : or, One thousand and one home amusements : containing acting proverbs, dramatic charades ... : illustrated with nearly three hundred engravings and diagrams, the whole being a fund of never-ending entertainment / (New York : Dick & Fitzgerald, 1858), by George Arnold (page images at HathiTrust)
• The theatre of education. (London, Printed for J. Walter, 1787), by Stéphanie Félicité Genlis (page images at HathiTrust)
• Costumes and scenery for amateurs; a practical working handbook, (New York, H. Holt and Co., [1922]), by Constance D'Arcy Mackay (page images at HathiTrust)
• A scrap of paper. Eliot Hall, Jamaica Plain, May 4-5, 1906. ([Cambridge, Mass, The Riverside Press, 1906]), by Jamaica Plain Footlight Club (page images at HathiTrust)
• Montclair Dramatic Club. Organized April 17, 1889. ([Montclair?, N.J.], 1914), by Montclair Dramatic Club (N.J.) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Theatre for children. (Anchorage, Ky., Children's Theatre Press, [c1950]), by Winifred Louise Ward (page images at HathiTrust)
• McBride's comic dialogues for school exhibitions and literary entertainments; a collection of original humorous dialogues designed for the development of amateur dramatic talent. (New York, Dick & Fitzgerald, [c1873]), by H. Elliott McBride (page images at HathiTrust)
• Théâtre d'éducation. (Paris, Maradan, 1813), by Stéphanie Félicité Genlis (page images at HathiTrust)
• The art of directing plays, (Franklin, O., and Denver, Colo., Eldridge entertainment house, inc., [c1931]), by De Witt Clinton Ashton (page images at HathiTrust)
• The art and technique of play directing / (New York : Rinehart, [1953]), by Ruth Klein (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• The Billboard's little theater handbook. (New York, [1924]), by Billboard Publishing Co (page images at HathiTrust)
• Les théâtres de société de Rouen / (Rouen : E. Schneider, 1877), by J. E. Bouteiller (page images at HathiTrust)
• Eighteen dialogues and plays for young people, being a new collection of dialogues, parlor and public dramas, colloquies and amateur plays, designed for the use of young people in school exhibition, social meetings and literary entertainments. (New York, J.S. Ogilvie Pub. Co., [c1902]), by Edith Brown-Evarts (page images at HathiTrust)
• Pour jouer la comédie de salon : guide pratique du comédien mondain / (Paris : Hachette, 1908), by André de Lorde (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• School and parlor comedies; containing Between the acts, Forget-me-nots, A cloudy day, Wanted a valet, A slight miscalculation, Pro tem. (Philadelphia, Penn Pub. Co., 1910), by B. L. C. Griffith (page images at HathiTrust)
• Practical stage directing for amateurs; a handbook for amateur managers and actors, (New York : E. P. Dutton and company, [c1916]), by Emerson Gifford Taylor (page images at HathiTrust)
• Burton's amateur actor, a complete guide to private theatricals ... (New York, Dick & Fitzgerald, [1876]), by C. E. Burton (page images at HathiTrust)
• Classic dialogues and dramas, containing a number of the strongest scenes from Shakespeare, Schiller ... (Philadelphia, Penn Pub. Co., 1912), by Rachel Hinkle Shoemaker (page images at HathiTrust)
• Exhibition dialogues; consisting of dramatic dialogues and easy plays, excellently adapted for amateurs in parlor and exhibition performances, with hints and instructions for their successful performance. (New York, Dick and Fitzgerald, [c1882]), by Silas Sexton Steele (page images at HathiTrust)
• How to produce amateur plays; a practical manual, (Boston, Little, Brown, and company, 1925), by Barrett H. Clark (page images at HathiTrust)
• Producing amateur entertainments; varied stunts and other numbers with program plans and directions, (New York, E.P. Dutton & Company, 1925, c1921), by Helen Josephine Ferris (page images at HathiTrust)
• Acting and play production; a manual for classes, dramatic clubs, and little theatres, (New York [etc.] Longmans, Green and Co., 1925), by Harry Lee Andrews and Bruce Weirick (page images at HathiTrust)
• The amateur actor's manual, (Chicago, The Dramatic Publishing Company, [c1916]), by Josephine Turner Allin (page images at HathiTrust)
• La comédie de salon; comment on la monte et comment on la joue. (Paris, E. Kolb, [1893?]), by R. Manuel (page images at HathiTrust)
• Behind the footlights, or, The stage as I knew it / (London ; New York : F. Warne, 1885), by W. C. Day (page images at HathiTrust)
• Il teatro drammatico nazionale e le accademie filodrammatiche : (relazione intorno all'Accademia filodrammatica Paolo Ferrari negli anni 1890-91, 92-93 detta dal Conte Luigi Vinci ... nella sala del Teatro comunale di Fermo, la sera del 9 aprile 1893). (Fermo : Tip. Paccasassi, 1893), by Luigi Vinci (page images at HathiTrust)
• Hudson's private theatricals for home performance. a collection of humerous [sic] plays suitable for an amateur entertainment, with directions how to carry out a performance successfully. (New York, Dick & Fitzgerald, [©1870]), by Francis Hudson (page images at HathiTrust)
• Acting and play production; a manual for classes, dramatic clubs, and little theatres, (New York [etc.] Longmans, Green and co., 1930), by Harry Lee Andrews and Bruce Weirick (page images at HathiTrust)
• La comédie à la cour : les théâtres de société royale pendant le siècle dernier / (Paris : Firmin-Didot, [188-?]), by Adolphe Jullien (page images at HathiTrust)
• The equipment of the school theater, (New York city, Teachers college, Columbia university, 1930), by Milton Myers Smith (page images at HathiTrust)
• Community playing; a little guide book of production, (London, National adult school union, [1921?]), by Horace Shipp and John Drinkwater (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• Amateur theatre in China 1949-1966. (Canberra, Australian National University Press, 1973), by Colin Mackerras (page images at HathiTrust)
• Preparation and presentation of the operetta, (Boston, New York, Oliver Ditson company; Chicago, Lyon & Healy, inc.; etc., etc., [c1930]), by Frank A. Beach (page images at HathiTrust)
• Private theatricals etc., by Charles Millward, Martin. Grand Christmas pantomime entitled Dutnall, and dramatic works. Samuel French & Son. International descriptive catalogue of plays, and and dramatic works especially adapted for amateurs. Samuel French & Son. Catalogue of plays (page images at HathiTrust)
• Social growth through play production. (New York, Association Press, [1957]), by Jack Simos (page images at HathiTrust)
• Fundamentals of play production. (Minneapolis, Northwestern Press, [1949]), by Emanuel D. Schonberger (page images at HathiTrust)
• The parish theatre; a brief account of its rise, its present condition, and its prospects, to which is added a descriptive list of one hundred choice plays suitable for the parish theatre, (New York, Longmans, Green, 1917), by John Talbot Smith (page images at HathiTrust)
• Fun with skits, stunts, and stories / (New York : Association Press, c1955), by Helen Eisenberg and Larry Eisenberg (page images at HathiTrust)
• Costuming a play; inter-theatre arts handbook, (New York, London, The Century Co., [c1925]), by Elizabeth Berkeley Grimball and Rhea Wells (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• Theatre for children / (Anchorage, Ky. : Children's Theatre Press ;, [1958]), by Winifred Ward (page images at HathiTrust)
• Dramatic tournaments in the secondary schools, (New York city, Teachers college, Columbia university, 1936), by Magdalene E. Kramer (page images at HathiTrust)
• How to produce amateur plays; a practical manual, (Boston, Little, Brown, and company, 1923), by Barrett H. Clark (page images at HathiTrust)
• Variety shows and how to produce them, (Chicago, Beckley-Cardy company, [c1941]), by Neil Trimble (page images at HathiTrust)
• The school theatre : a handbook of theory and practice / with illustrations by Jocelyn Taylor. (Toronto : National Council of Education, c1925), by Roy Mitchell (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• Light opera production, for school and community, (Philadelphia, Pa., Theodore Presser co., [c1929]), by Gwynne Burrows (page images at HathiTrust)
• Dramatics, (New York, A. S. Barnes and Co., 1931), by Pearle Le Compte (page images at HathiTrust)
• Improvisation for the theater : a handbook of teaching and directing techniques / (Evanston, Ill. : Northwestern University Press, 1963), by Viola Spolin (page images at HathiTrust)
• Scenes from the great novelists adapted and arranged for amateur performance (London, Swan Sonnenschein & co., lim., 1906), by Elsie Fogerty (page images at HathiTrust)
• Short plays from Dickens for the use of amateur and school dramatic societies; (London, Chapman and Hall, ltd., 1908), by Horace Baker Browne and Charles Dickens (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• Instruktøren : haandbog for dilittant-skuespillere. (Kjøbenhavn : Gyldendal, 1896) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Producing amateur entertainments; varied stunts and other numbers with program plans and directions, (New York, E. P. Dutton & company, [c1921]), by Helen Josephine Ferris (page images at HathiTrust)
• The "A.D.C." being personal reminiscences of the University Amateur Dramatic Club, Cambridge / (London : Chapman and Hall, 1880), by F. C. Burnand (page images at HathiTrust)
• The book of play production for little theaters, schools and colleges, (New York [etc.] D. Appleton and company, 1927), by Milton Myers Smith (page images at HathiTrust)
• Children's theatre comes of age; (New York, French, c1956), by Charles Robert Kase (page images at HathiTrust)
• Theatre & school. (Berkeley, Calif. [etc.] Drama Teachers' Association [etc.]), by Drama Teachers' Association of California (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• "Take it or leave it" : a humorous quiz book. (Washington, D.C. : Infantry Journal, Inc., 1943), by Inc. Writers and Material Committee Camp Shows (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• One hundred and thirty comic dialogues and recitations : being Barton's comic recitations and humourous dialogues, and Spencer's comic speeches and dialogues, combined in one volume. (New York : Dick & Fitzgerald, [1871]), ed. by Jerome Barton (page images at HathiTrust)
• Stunt night tonight!., by Catherine Atkinson Miller (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• Shakespeare for community players / (London ; Toronto : J.M. Dent ; New York : E.P. Dutton & co., 1919), by Roy Mitchell (page images at HathiTrust)
• The process of play production; a book for the non-professional theatre worker, (New York, F.S. Crofts & co., 1926), by Allen Crafton and Jessica Royer (page images at HathiTrust)
• The book of play production for little theaters, schools and colleges, (New York [etc.] D. Appleton and company, 1926), by Milton Myers Smith (page images at HathiTrust)
• Amateur theatricals : a practical guide / (London : C.A. Pearson, 1904), by C. Lang Neil (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• Costumes and scenery for amateurs; a practical working handbook, (New York : H. Holt and Company, 1915), by Constance D'Arcy Mackay (page images at HathiTrust)
• Amateur and educational dramatics, (New York, The Macmillan company, 1917), by Evelyne Hilliard, Kate Oglebay, and Theodora McCormick (page images at HathiTrust)
• Československé divadlo. (V Praze, 1923-), by Ústřední matice divadeliního ochotnictva českého (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• The dramatic festival: a consideration of the lyrical method as a factor in preparatory education, (New York and London, G.P. Putnam's sons, 1912), by Anne Abbot Craig (page images at HathiTrust)

More items available under narrower terms.