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Theatre

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Playscripts

 
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Plays and Monologues can be published in different ways:

1. As a separate book or playscript. Search SouthernSearch by Title (of Play) or try Keyword (for example: "playscript," "monologues," or "acting and auditions") or by Author

2. In a collection or anthology (as in a collection of one authors work, as a collection of plays written by various authors, as a collection of American or British plays, plays by women, etc.

3. In a database, journal or magazine, on the Internet. Buley library subscribes to some databases that contain the full-text of plays. See below for a list of databases for plays.

4. Some (older) plays can be found on the Internet, or you can use an index or website to find the source containing the play and then locate that source through your local library or through interlibrary loan. Internet resources such as the Gutenberg Project, the Internet Archive, and the Hathi Trust Digital Library will also have plays in full text.

Library Databases for Plays:

Digital Theatre Plus

National Theatre Collection

English Drama

North American Women’s Drama 2nd Edition

Twentieth Century Drama

Twentieth Century North American Drama 2nd Edition

American Drama

Asian American Drama This link opens in a new window
Asian American Drama contains 252 plays by 42 playwrights, together with detailed, fielded information on related productions, theaters, production companies, and more. Some 50% of these plays have never been published before. The collection begins with the works of Sadakichi Hartmann in the late 19th century and progresses to the writings of contemporary playwrights, such as Philip Kan Gotanda, Elizabeth Wong, and Jeannie Barroga
Black Drama  This link opens in a new windowBlack Drama, now in its expanded third edition, contains the full text of more than 1,700 plays written from the mid-1800s to the present by more than 200 playwrights from North America, English-speaking Africa, the Caribbean, and other African diaspora countries.
Latin American Drama This link opens in a new window
New

Latin American Drama is a one-of-a-kind database with plays written by Latin American playwrights in the 19th-21st centuries. Besides serving as a rich resource for literature scholars, the collection also supports the study of American history, ethnic diversity, immigrations issues, and political history.

International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance (limited playscripts)Oxford Dictionary of Plays  information on 1,000  plays in world theatre. Each entry includes details of the title, author, date of writing, date of first performance, genre, setting, and composition of cast; there is also a summary of the play's plot, and a brief commentary.

LION Literature Online

 

Related Terms

Plays

Monologues

One-acts

Acting-auditions

Selected Collections of Plays:

American Political Plays after 911

Banned Plays

Seven Black Plays: the Theodore Ward Prize for African American Playwriting, Chuck Smith

Kilroy's List Volume One: 97 Monologues and Scenes by Female and Trans Playwrights

The best 10-minute plays, 2012 (Hilton C. Buley Library   Main Circulating Stacks / Call Number:   PN6110.7 .B476 2012 )

 

Tags: Theatre