Like many classical Japanese arts, Bunraku, Japanese puppet theater, is refined, complex, and collaborative. While interest has ebbed and flowed over the centuries, UNESCO has officially recognized Bunraku as a "masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity," and the last several decades have seen a resurgence of popularity. This collection, largely donated and curated by Barbara...

The basic mandate of the Canada Council for the Arts is "to foster and promote the study and enjoyment and the production of works in the arts." First-time visitors should click on one of the thematic sections on the site, which include Dance, Writing & Publishing, and Aboriginal Arts Office. Within each of these areas, visitors can read Artist Stories, check out the dedicated blog for each topic,...

Casting Shakespeare provides users with "a visual deep dive into data from 1,000+ productions of 10 Shakespearean plays between 1900 and 2018." Designed and coded by Eric William Lin, this award-winning website (featured in the 12-14-18 issue of the Scout Report) uses engaging analytics to tell the story of "how age, gender, and race affect casting." With its interactive display and creative data...

Born amidst the tremendously productive cultural backdrop of the Italian Renaissance, Commedia dell'Arte is an art form that continues to inspire theatrical groups around the world. In the city of Chicago, it's spirit is still an integral part of the city's thriving improvisational comedy scene. It makes sense that Northwestern University would have a wonderful collection of masks created by...

Four books make up the rather elegant digital Costume History Collection at the Western Michigan University Library, and to pore through their pages is to experience the world of 18th and 19th century fashion. The books include designs from a Parisian women's magazine, color drawings of clothing of people of Persia, and a series of pattern diagrams. The Persian items are taken from the rather...

The Cuban Theater Digital Archive (CTDA) is a resource for research, teaching and learning in Cuban theater and performance as well as in related fields. The archive was created with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and is managed as a digital humanities partnership between the University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences and Cuba's National Council for the Performing Arts. The...

Daphne Dare worked behind the scenes, but her work was always on stage. Dare was a British costume designer for plays, movies, and TV and was involved in more than 60 productions. She even designed costumes and monsters for the first two years of Dr. Who. The Ohio Digital Resource Commons hosts the digitized collection of over 1100 images of Dare's costumes and set designs. Visitors should read...

The term Didaskalia is taken from the inscriptions used to record the outcomes of drama and music festivals in ancient Athens, and as such, serves as the name of this rather intriguing website. On the site, visitors will find the group's academic journal, a number of study resources, and an interactive discussion area known (appropriately) as the Agora. The archives of the journal stretch all the...

The Digital Theater is a truly unique concept, working with Britain's leading theatre companies "to capture live performance authentically onscreen." From their homepage, visitors can Browse Productions, find out How to Watch, and read about Theatre Partners. A nice way to get started is by clicking on one (or more) of the Digital Theatre Originals, which include Much Ado About Nothing and Into...

As this website proclaims, visitors of the page will find "Timeless Texts” and “Cutting-Edge Code,” culled from the words of the Bard. This code refers to the source code that users can download from the site, allowing interested parties to develop new noncommercial Shakespeare projects and apps. To get started, visitors can access the Read a Play feature. There's a brief introduction to the...