THEATRE RESEARCH GUIDE: Finding Plays

Can't find what you're looking for in the UR Library catalog? Use the box below to search in WorldCat. You can request it from another library by clicking the "Request Item" button.

To find a specific play, go to OneSearch and enter the author's last name plus one or more title keywords (ex: Williams and Streetcar).  If the library doesn't own it, you can request it through Interlibrary Loan.

Identifying plays with specific attributes (you will then need to look for the script in Onesearch)

• Play Index lets you search thousands of plays, from Antiquity to the present, by author, title, genre, casting attributes, and more
• Playdatabase lets you search over 12,000 plays by number of characters, runtime, genre, and more
• Concord Theatricals licenses plays that you can search by cast attributes, period settings, costume requirements, etc.
• Stageplays.com sells scripts, but you can also use their powerful search feature to identify plays in a variety of categories
• Doollee is a searchable online guide to plays which have been written, adapted or translated, into English between 1956-2021.

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  Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections (covers 1901-2010)

• Play Index, a multi-volume index to plays published in collections or periodicals (1949-2002).  Call number PN1625.A1 P53x
• Cumulated Dramatic index, 1909-1949.  Call number PN1625.A1 C85x 1965
• Latin American Play Index (1962-80) Call number PQ7082.D7 A15 1983
• The Drama Scholars' Index to Plays and Filmscripts (1974-80). Call number PN1625.A1 S3x 1974