repertories

Repertories refers to collections or bodies of works, skills, or resources that an individual or organization maintains for ongoing use or performance. The term is the plural form of repertory, derived from French repertory, from Latin repertorium, meaning a place where things are looked up or stored. In British English, repertory is commonly used to describe a collection of works a group can perform; in American English, repertoire is often used for a musician’s or actor’s set of prepared pieces, while repertory can appear in theatre contexts to describe a rotating company of plays.

In theatre, a repertory company develops a repertoire of multiple plays that it stages in rotation, often with a shared cast and flexible production schedule. This system emphasizes versatility, memory of multiple roles, and efficient use of sets and scenery, but it can demand intensive rehearsal and scheduling.

In music and other performing arts, the term repertory (or repertories when pluralized) refers to the works a performer or ensemble is prepared to perform. Ensembles may curate several distinct repertories, spanning genres or periods, to accommodate diverse programming. The concept supports program variety and audience reach but may require substantial practice and library resources.

In other fields, repertories can denote reference indexes or catalogs. For example, a homeopathic repertory is an index of symptoms used to guide remedy selection, and a library or archive might maintain repertories as subject catalogs or internal indices.