Topics in Performance Studies: 
POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT 
& VIRTUAL CULTURE

Instructor: Toni Sant
 
 

O N L I N E   R E S O U R C E S

this page is updated often - please come back

American Variety Stage
A multimedia anthology selected from various Library of Congress holdings. This collection illustrates the vibrant and diverse forms of popular entertainment, especially vaudeville, that thrived from 1870-1920.

Carny Lingo
From James Taylor's Shocked and Amazed: definitions taken mainly from CircusLingo, the seminal work on the subject by old-time trouper, circus and carnival historian and publisher Joe McKennon.

Vaudeville Memories
Links to performers, museums, theatres, trivia, and a Q&A page.

Vaudeville Times
Issued quarterly to members of the American Vaudeville Museum.  This quarterly publishes in-depth profiles of the great comics, dancers, singers, and other entertainers who starred on vaudeville stages, plus stories about vaudeville's history, from the beer-halls to the Palace to its revival on television, along with other features.
 

Complete History of the Discovery of Cinematography
Chronicles the development of motion pictures by examining 2500 years of arts and invention that led up to cinematography in the 1800s.

Early Cinema
An introduction to the first decade of motion pictures. This site focuses on the early pioneers of this new art form and the prehistory of cinema. In addition, you can also find out about the technology which helped shape film history with many standards and processes which are still in use today.

Edison Companies: Motion Pictures & Sound Recordings
The collections in the Library of Congress's Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division contain an extraordinary range of the surviving products of Edison's entertainment inventions and industries.

Motion Pictures from 1894 - 1915
Work, school, and leisure activities in the United States from 1894 to 1915 are featured in this presentation of 150 motion pictures from the Library of Congress holdings, known as America at Work, America at Leisure.

Origins of American Animation
The development of early American animation is represented by this collection of 21 animated films and 2 fragments, which spans the years 1900 to 1921. The films include clay, puppet, and cut-out animation, as well as pen drawings. They point to a connection between newspaper comic strips and early animated films. As well as showing the development of animation, these films also reveal the social attitudes of early twentieth-century America. 
 

100 Years of Radio
An Italian website commemorating 100 years of Marconi's 1895 invention.

History of Professional Radio Broadcasting
A concise summary by Russ Walkington, Director of the Radio School Australia.

Marconi Calling
Exploration of the man's life, his scientific discoveries, the impact of wireless, and the development of modern communications. 

Old Radio Broadcast Archive
Historical materials on both pioneer and current broadcast radio stations.

Old Time Radio
Radio broadcasts from the dawn of broadcasting to the very early 1960s.

Pavek Museum of Broadcasting
Houses a large collection of antique radio, television, and broadcast equipment.

Quiet, Please!
Website for a unique radio series which originally aired from 1947 to 1949.

Radio Hall of Fame
Provides information on the history of radio and the people who helped to shape its history.

Reel Top 40 Radio Repository
Dedicated to the preservation & presentation of music radio history.

Shadow RealAudio Radio Theater
Listen to one of the most popular radio drama series from the golden age of radio.

United States Early Radio History
A collection of articles on the AM, mediumwave, band. 

US Marconi Museum of Radio Communications
From the US branch of the Guglielmo Marconi Foundation.

World of Wireless
The early history of radio in Europe. Site also contains a database of old radios, which collectors can use to date and identify old European radios.
 

Alexandra Palace Television Society
Founded to preserve the history of the world's first regular high-definition public television service from Alexandra Place, North London, in 1936.

Classic TV
About.com's classic TV section.

The Classic TV Database
This site prides itself as a "complete guide to classic television."

Classic TV Web
A network of classic television websites maintained by Chris Brown.

Encyclopedia of Television
includes more than 1,000 original essays from more than 250 contributors and examines specific programs and people, historic moments and trends, major policy disputes and such topics as violence, tabloid television and the quiz show scandal. It also includes histories of major television networks as well as broadcasting systems around the world and is complemented by resource materials, photos and bibliographical information. 

Museum of Television & Radio 
Watch streaming video interviews with well-known figures in media, entertainment, and journalism as they share personal memories about their work and the creative process involved in it. 

TV Ark
Online museum dedicated to British television logos, idents and presentation.

TV Chronicles
Details from the very earliest days of TV to the latest hit shows in Britain, Australia, Canada, USA, and some from other countries too.

iRadio.com
A newsletter and Internet site for broadcasters and consumers, with audio and information services available on the web.