Subject Guide » English Language and Literature
How to Locate Plays
12 resources available.
 - Restricted to WMU users  - Open Access
If you know the playwright's name, check under author in WestCat.
If you know the title of the play, check under title. If you're not sure about the title try a keyword search with words you think are in the title. Keyword searches also find plays listed in the table of contents of some books, which contain collections of plays. If these searches fail, consult the following indexes. Ask at the Reference Desk if you need assistance.
Play Index Index to over 30,000 plays published individually or in collections from 1949 to date. Search by title, author, subject, style, genre, cast type, specific number of male/female roles, appropriate for specific ages, and more. Over 500 monologues are available for auditions or course assignments. Links to full text when available, or to the library catalog, if in a book or collection. You may need to use Interlibrary Loan to get a copy of the anthology if we do not own it.
Print - Z 5781 .P53 (Ref)
Asian American Drama This edition contains 252 plays by 42 playwrights, together with information on related productions, theaters, production companies, and more. When complete, the collection will include more than 250 plays, of which some 50% have never been published before. The database also includes selected playbills, production photographs and other ephemera related to the plays.
Best Plays
PN 6112 .B45 (Ref)
Contains synopses and excerpts from the season's prize-winning plays as well as production data from all the Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions, as well as some data about plays produced elsewhere in the US. 1952-present. 1899-1947 in General Stacks.
Black Drama, 2nd edition This full-text resource consists of 1,300 plays from the mid-1800s to the present written by 200 African or African-American playwrights. Each play is indexed by keyword and by numerous subjects. Enhanced by reference materials, ancillary information and images. Updated quarterly.
Chicorel Theater Index
Z 5781 .C485 (Ref)
Indexes plays by both title and author. Once you have located a book that contains the play you want you need to look in WestCat, the Libraries' catalog, to see if we own that book.
Complete Catalogue of Plays
Z 5785 .Z9 D73 (Ref Desk Collection)
Lists plays one can purchase from Dramatists Play Service, a major publisher of scripts. Some of these will also be available through Interlibrary Loan.
Dramatists' Play Service Complete Catalogue of Plays
Z 5785 .Z9 .D73 (Ref Desk Collection)
This catalog lists copies of plays that are used by actors as scripts. We own a few of these books in our collection; others can be obtained through Interlibrary Loan.
Index to Plays in Periodicals
Z 5781 .K43 1979 (Ref)
If you find a play in this index you need to search WestCat, the Libraries' catalog, to see if we own the periodical in which the play is printed or use Interlibrary Loan to get a photocopy of the play from a library that owns that periodical.
LitFinder Includes full texts of selected poems, short stories, essays, plays and speeches. The PoemFinder features 125,000 full-text poems, 850,000 additional cited and excerpted poems, keyword and author searching, as well as biographies of poets and some critical interpretations. In LitFinder you can search by author or title but also by genre (e.g. children's literature, humor); by subject (e.g. nature, religion); and within author you can limit by time period, genre, and religious affiliation.
North American Women's Drama This edition contains 1,174 plays by 275 playwrights, together with detailed information on related productions, theaters, production companies, and more. When complete, the collection will include more than 1,500 plays, of which some 20% have never been published before. The database also includes selected playbills, production photographs and other ephemera related to the plays.
Samuel French Basic Catalogue of Plays and Musicals
Z 5785 .Z9 F8 (Ref Desk Collection)
This catalog lists copies of plays that are used by actors as scripts. We own a few of these books in our collection; others can be obtained through Interlibrary Loan.
Theatre in Video This streaming video database will contain over 250 definitive performances of major plays and more than 100 video documentaries. The current release contains 180 titles including the BBC Shakespeare series.
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Last updated: March 2008
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