Genre: Information/Explanation

RESEARCH REPORT 1992 Theatre Museum National Museum of the Performing Arts James Fowler Deputy Head Dr Fowler specialises in all aspects of the performing arts before 1830 , with particular interest in Shakespeare , stage technology and architectural drawings . In 1992 he contributed an entry on ' British Theatre Architecture 1650-1800 ' to the Dictionary of Art ( forthcoming ) . 1992 Publications : [ Editor ] . Catalogue of paintings at the Theatre Museum , London , by Geoffrey Ashton . London : Victoria and Albert Museum in association with The Society for Theatre Research , 211 pp. , ill . Claire Hudson Head of Library & Information Services , Theatre Museum Mrs Hudson is actively involved in exploring systems which will best document and exploit the Theatre Museum's extensive library and archive collections . In particular , this focuses on the potential for using automated systems for indexing a very wide range of media . As chair of the Theatre Information Group ( the UK branch of SIBMAS - La Société Internationale des Bibliothèques et Musées des Arts du Spectacle ) she is frequently called upon to provide information on performing arts library and archive collections in Britain . She is regularly asked to review new theatre reference works , and to report on publishing proposals . Her special interest is that of the social history of the actor - training , employment and working conditions . Catherine Haill Subject Specialist Ms Haill specialises in the history of popular entertainment including circus , pantomime , puppets , magic , music hall , variety , pleasure ground and fairground entertainment , and musical theatre . She has worked on the development of theatrical ephemera and is producing a major catalogue of the D ' Oyly Carte Opera collection , another area in which she specialises . In accordance with Museum policy , she aims to promote links with the theatre profession by collecting pro-actively around current productions , producing taped interviews and gathering related documentation and designs . Leela Meinertas Registrar Leela Meinertas is responsible for the Theatre Museum Collections of Set and Costume Designs ( including Set models and backcloths ) , and the Rock and Pop Collection . Work in progress includes research for an article on theatre designs by members of the Omega Workshop and a lecture on actresses who married into the aristocracy ( 17th-19th centuries ) . She is currently engaged on research into costuming for the nude showgirl / dancer . Sarah Woodcock Subject Specialist Sarah Woodcock specialises in dance and opera , with particular interest in the Diaghilev Ballets Russes and the development of dance in England . She has been working on a catalogue of the Diaghilev Ballets Russes costumes in the Museum , on the dance photograph collections , especially the Anthony Crickmay archives and on the archive of the dance publisher and historian , Cyril Beaumont . She is interested in extending the Museum's links with contemporary dance and opera companies and building up the costume collection to include a greater range of opera and ' period ' theatrical costumes . Janet Birkett Curatorial Assistant Dr Birkett is interested in the stage history of Shakespeare's plays , particularly the production of the plays in the twentieth century . She is also interested in the work of Shakespeare's contemporary dramatists , and in the twentieth-century British and American theatre . Melanie Trifona Christoudia Curatorial Assistant Melanie Trifona Christoudia pursued a BA ( Hons ) in the Performing Arts and MA Dance Studios at the University of Surrey , developing research interests in dance in musicals and the choreography of Twyla Tharp . A member of the events committee of the Society for Dance Research , she has written a number of essays for a dance dictionary to be published by St James's Press in 1993 . Andrew Kirk Curatorial Assistant Mr Kirk's main interests are music-hall and variety . He is also interested in the work of post-war British playwrights , especially David Hare , David Edgar and John Osborne . Barry Norman Curatorial Assistant Mr Norman is interested in the history of both the British and American musical and revue , and has an extensive collection of recordings and literature on the subject . Helen Smith Library Cataloguer Helen Smith's current main interest is dramatic publication in the 18th and 19th centuries .