Performance / Theatre Programs

By agilchrest on Sat, 03/23/2019 - 13:06

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I have a number of programs from various types of performances involving various relatives. One is of a performance called Forget Not  A Pageant of the History of Argyle 1764-1964. The program contains the names of the actors and their parts. It also contains various types of information including synopsizes about the various "episodes" that were performed.  The program was given to me as I did not attend this performance.

I think the best choice for citing these programs are as privately held artifacts. My question: How much information should I include about who was or was not present at a particular performance?

Thank you,
Ann 

Submitted byEEon Sat, 03/23/2019 - 15:50

Ann, if you are citing the program, then your assertions are limited to what the program has to say. From that standpoint, there's little to be said about "who was or was not present at a particular performance." You need only say that the program was given to you by attendee XYZ.

On the other hand, if ABC and XYZ told you about things that happened during the performance, then you would be citing them rather than the program, no?

Submitted byagilchreston Sat, 03/23/2019 - 18:53

Thank you I didn't think about someone describing the event to me. Which actually did occur with a couple of the programs I have. 

If I was citing a performance I participated in or watched I would cite the performance separately from the program.

Would citing a live performance follow the same principles as a broadcast for television? Secondly would a performance you participated in be cited differently than one you attended? 

 

Submitted byEEon Sun, 03/24/2019 - 09:37

Interesting questions, Ann.

If you are citing information you have as a result of having watched or participated in the performance, then you'd be citing "personal knowledge." (Or, more precisely, personal perception. As we all know, multiple witnesses or multiple participants in an event can come away with different accounts of specific matters. We might have personal knowledge from a generic standpoint: an accident occurred and Monica broke her leg. But we could have widely varying perceptions of the circumstances under which it occurred.)

Yes, you could cite a live performance by the pattern we'd use for a television broadcast. You would not be able to determine the exact minute : second, but live performances can usually be cited by "act" or "set." As for participating in the performance versus attendance, I'm not perceiving a difference in the citation. Differences would lie in the inside knowledge you would have about a certain event; that aspect would be covered by simply adding a statement that you were a participant.