Drama

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Finding Plays in the Library

• Plays published individually can be found listed in the library online catalog under their Author or Title.
• Plays published as part of a collection may be listed in the Contents or Added Title areas of the record. You can locate these plays by their title or author using Keyword search.
• Many of the plays available in the library cannot be found through the online catalog alone. You can locate these plays by using a Play Index.

Play Indexes

A Play Index is a reference book that lists plays by author, title, and/or subject. Look up the play you want in the index. You will be directed to a collection in which the play can be found. Next, check the library online catalog to see if the library has that collection.

Using Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible” as an example, the following illustration from the Chicorel Theater Index to Plays (CSM Library call number: REF Z5781.C4846) indicates how a play index works.

Miller, Arthur, The Crucible. In: Contemporary Drama: Fifteen Plays, American, English and Irish, European

Miller, Arthur, The Crucible. In: America on Stage: Ten Great Plays of American History

Miller, Arthur, The Crucible. In: The Portable Arthur Miller

Since the Chicorel Index uses the play’s author as its main type of entry (some indexes use title), you would check under Miller to locate a copy of The Crucible. The index lists several different collections in which a copy of this play can be found. Your next step is to find out which if any of these collections the library owns. In the library online catalog, look up the title of the collection in which the play is located.

The CSM library has many of these indexes, covering different time periods and types of plays. Here are a few examples:

Monologues and Acting Scenes Collection

CSM Library maintains a collection of monologues and acting scenes for acting practice and audition. The collection is under call number PN2080.

Online Library Databases

Literature Resource Center
Includes the full text of journals on literature and literary criticism. Also includes biographies, bibliographies and critical analysis of authors from every age and literary discipline.

Cliffs Notes
Provides expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background.

Expanded Academic ASAP
Provides access to journal, magazine and newspaper articles on a wide range of subjects from the arts and humanities to social sciences, science and technology. Many of the articles are available in full text. To find theater reviews, do a keyword search for the name of the director or film and the words “theater review”.

SIRS: Renaissance
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Current perspectives on the arts and humanities. Covers architecture and design, culture, literature, multimedia, music, performing arts, philosophy, religion, and visual arts.

Internet Resources