Skip to Main Content

Theatre Research Guide

Play Resources

Use indexes and databases to search for specific plays by scene, playwright, or role.

Sometimes the full text of a play will be accessible in the database you search, but more often the database will only provide a citation for the play. Actually one of two kinds of citations will be available: (1) a citation for the play as an individual publication, or (2) a citation to an anthology of several plays. Either citation tells you the book title. The next step is to determine if the library has the book by following the steps to find books.

The library catalog (Voyager) is also a good source for searching plays and playwrights in general. A couple examples of broad subject terms that can be used in keyword searches for finding plays in the library catalog are listed below:

 
 

Drama Online introduces new writers alongside the most iconic names in playwriting history, providing contextual and critical background through scholarly works and practical guides. The constantly growing collection meets the full range of teaching needs for theatre studies, literature courses and drama schools. From the epic to the monologue; ensemble to one-person plays; comedy to tragedy; the historical to the contemporary; and from the highly political to the profoundly personal.