Posts from the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive

Thanks to her dedication, vision, and masterful negotiating skills, Corwin not only became a full-time employee, but she created the world-renowned treasure trove known as the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive, revolutionizing theatre history and research.

Classical music has been blessed with many composers of African descent, but history has not always remembered them. Here are just a few exceptional composers from the NYPL music collection that we invite you to discover and explore.

Her forty years worth of images are a who’s who of some of the greatest actors on stage as well as composers, directors, choreographers, dancers, and producers behind the scenes during rehearsals.

You're invited to look through our Annual Report and celebrate with us some of the things we accomplished this past year.

For nearly 50 years, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has revolutionized theatre research and access by recording and collecting live theatre performances. The brainchild of visionary former theatre professional Betty L. Corwin in the late 1960s, the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive (TOFT) is the single largest, most comprehensive collection of live theatre anywhere in the world and includes over 5,000 plays, musicals, experimental, and avant-garde productions and 3,000 videos of interviews, dialogues, film and television adaptations, and other theatre-related programs.

The Billy Rose Theatre Division is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive this year.

Being an actor doesn't shield you from having a conscience.

—Giancarlo Esposito

Giancarlo Esposito, as Gus Fring, stares down a sniper in the TV series Breaking Bad, 2011.Giancarlo, as Julio, sings in the Broadway musical Seesaw, 1973.A true NYC moment: Giancarlo and brother Vincent take a sidewalk hotdog break during the musical The Me Nobody Knows, 1971. Photo: NewsdayI don't know how the final season of the TV series Breaking Bad will end, but it is pretty clear that Walter White is on a one-way trip to hell. As the well-intentioned chemistry 

If you're interested in doing research on a musical, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has an embarrassment of riches. To find all the information we have, you may have to look in many different places. Of course, your first move should be to consult with the knowledgeable staff at the 2nd Floor Drama Desk, who'll be able to guide your research.

As a way of providing a guide to doing research in general, I'll take a case in point, one of the great musicals, which NYPL has covered from every angle; John Kander and Fred Ebb's 1966 masterpiece, Cabaret. 

We hereby announce the new blog series When They Trod the Boards, designed to highlight notable film or television actors who have a substantial background in stage work as documented in the collections of the Library's Billy Rose Theatre Division. We launch the series with John Lithgow and his new memoir, 

Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, my favorite part of the week was visiting the Florissant Valley Public Library and checking out cast recordings. I remember flipping through the bins of LPs, staring down at the big black album with glowing cat eyes, and wondering what in the world that show might be about. It was always a little disappointing when the liner notes were missing or the plot summaries were 

In the heart of Lincoln Center, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, nestled between the Metropolitan Opera and the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, thrives in its role as a vibrant circuit between historical research and cutting-edge performance. And few researchers illustrate the Library's unique vitality for the performing arts community better than Ben West.

Ben West is a regular at LPA, where theatre professionals who shape the performing arts scene come for inspiration through their research in the LPA’s

First in a series

Each day, professional, aspiring and student film and media-makers come through the doors of the Library for the Performing Arts (LPA) seeking resources that will aid in making their creativity become a reality.

If the 16th century focused on painting, the 19th on photography and the 20th on cinema, the 21st is all about integrated media.

Better stated, it is all about integrated performing arts media, and for the casual to the academic, there is no better place then