The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre
includes essays from some 160 countries world-wide. Each extended national essay includes sections on the country’s theatre history, the infrastructure and funding of the country’s theatre community, an artistic profile including discussions of major writers, theatre artists and styles, music and dance theatre, theatre for young audiences, puppet theatre, design, theatre space, training and scholarship.
WECT, Vol. I. Europe
Published in 1994. Double volume (1052 pp).
Includes essays on 45 European nations plus historical overviews of the former USSR and Czechoslovakia. Also available in paper.
WECT, Vol. II
The Americas.Published in 1996 (627 pp). Includes essays on 27 nations in the Americas including Canada, the US, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Also available in paper.
WECT, Vol. III
Africa. Published in 1997 (426 pp). Published in 1997. Includes essays on 32 sub-Saharan nations including Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Also available in paper.
WECT, Vol. IV
The Arab World.Published in 1999 (311 pp). The first reference work published in English to deal with colonial, post-Colonial and indigenous theatrical forms across the Arab world. Includes essays on 22 Arab nations including Egypt, Iraq and Palestine. Also available in paper.
WECT, Vol. V
Asia/Pacific. Published in 1998 (524 pp). Includes essays on 31 Asian nations including China, India and Iran. Also available in paper.
WECT, Vol. VI
World Theatre Bibliography and Cumulative Index. Published in 2000 (531 pp). Includes a new taxonomy of published theatre books worldwide and an index to the five previous volumes.
Canadian Theatre History: Selected Readings
First edition published in Toronto by Copp Clark in 1996. 436 pages. Selected Bibliography. Includes 1974 version of Rubin’s seminal essay “Creeping Toward A Culture: The Theatre in English Canada Since 1945,” an essay that was reprinted many times in different versions.
Canadian Theatre History: Selected Readings
Second edition published in Toronto by Playwrights Canada Press in 2004 and reprinted in 2007.
Canada’s Playwrights: A Biographical Guide.
The country’s first attempt at providing accurate biographical information on some 75 Canadian writers, mostly anglophone but the major francophone writers are also there. “Material was edited by each playwright for accuracy though some of the playwrights were not as concerned about being accurate as others.” Published by CTR Publications at York University in 1980 (191pp).
Canada on Stage
An archival series — “perhaps the most important volumes CTR ever published” — this series sought to document professional productions across the country using information from playbills and each theatre’s own PR office. “The vast amount of material could not always be verified and if material came in with inaccuracies or if new companies appeared which did not submit material, inaccuracies and omissions occurred. Nevertheless, no other record of the hundreds of professional productions done each year exists.” Published from 1974 to 1978 in five calendar year volumes, the format changed in 1978 to seasonal volumes (1978-79 for example) and three more volumes appeared in this format under Don Rubin’s editorship. The series ceased for financial reasons in 1982. The Professional Association of Canadian Theatres tried to revive it publishing (in association with the University of Guelph) catch-up volumes (one for 1982 to 1986 and a second for 1986 to 1988.). But the series ceased at that point.
Canadian Theatre Review
The country’s first national theatre journal focused on the profession. It included news and commentary, essays and criticism, regional and international reports. Edited for its first 32 issues (1974-1982) by Don Rubin, subsequent editors included Robert Wallace, Alan Filewod, and Ric Knowles. The journal, which includes a new play in each issue, is still publishing.
Journal of Scientific Exploration
“The Shakespeare Authorship Question: Alternative Mappings” is a special issue of the Journal of Scientific Exploration published by the Society for Scientific Exploration as Vol. 37, Issue 2 (Summer 2023). Edited by Don Rubin, it contains essays on the SAQ by leading authorship scholars including Alexander Waugh, Hank Whittemore, Bonner Miller Cutting, Earl Showerman, Ramon Jimenez, Kevin Gilvary, Katherine Chiljan, Sky Gilbert and Bob Meyers.
