Playscripts in the Library
Playscripts can be found in their own dedicated section in the computer area on the first floor of the Library and are arranged alphabetically by playwright's last name and then title of play. Additional playscripts can be found in anthologies (shelved in other sections of MPAL) and in other libraries on campus, including the Literatures & Languages Library and the Main Stacks. Be sure to search the Library catalog to ensure you are checking the appropriate location for the playwright you are looking for!
To browse digital playscript collections and read plays online, check out our next page on Online Playscript Collections!
Identifying Plays
We've compiled a list of print and online play indexes that will help you identify plays based on specific criteria and locate playscripts. Use the tabs below to explore our recommended tools and resources.
If you are looking for plays by or about a specific group, try a search in the library catalog for the identity and "plays", "play anthologies", or "drama" (i.e., Black play anthologies or Asian American plays). Browse the tab below on "print anthologies by identity or group" to get a sense of the materials available!
Print Resources and Online Tools
- dollee.comA free online guide to modern playwrights and theatre plays which have been written, adapted or translated, into English since the production of Look Back in Anger in 1956. doollee.com contains information on 55,018 Playwrights and 185,532 of their Plays.
- Database of Nineteenth-Century English PlaysThe Rare Book and Manuscript Library at UIUC has 1,505 English plays and promptbooks published, for the most part, during the nineteenth century (actual publication dates range from 1780-1905). Genres represented in the collection include farce, burlesque, comedy, melodrama, and tragedy. Most of these plays are not in the UIUC online catalog, so you can use this database to find their call numbers.
- Play Index This link opens in a new windowIndex to more than 30,000 plays written from Antiquity to the present and published from 1949 to the present; includes mysteries, pageants, plays in verse, puppet performances, radio and television plays, and classic drama. All Play master records contain a link to the results of an Internet metasearch of specially selected Web sites to link to full text, criticism, and other useful information. Use Play Index in the NEW EBSCO user interface.
Plays of Our Own: an anthology of scripts by deaf and hard-of-hearing writers by Call Number: MPAL PS591.D4 P53 2023Plays of Our Own is the first anthology of its kind containing an eclectic range of plays by Deaf and hard-of-hearing writers. These writers have made major, positive contributions to world drama or Deaf theatre arts. Their topics range from those completely unrelated to deafness to those with strong deaf-related themes.
Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners: an Anthology of Afriquia Theatre by Call Number: MPAL PR1246.B53 B53 2023A bold play collection representing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ+) experiences, from Black British perspectives, this anthology contains seven radical plays by Black writers that change the face of theatre in Britain.
Staging Coyote's Dream : an anthology of First Nations drama in English by Call Number: MPAL PR9196.7.I53 S73 2003 (2 vols)Staging Coyote's Dream brings together ten major plays by First Nations playwrights living in Canada and the United States.
The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays by Call Number: MPAL PS628.M56 M48 2021The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays for the Stage is the first play anthology to offer eight new plays by trans playwrights featuring trans characters. This edited collection establishes a canon of contemporary American trans theatre which represents a variety of performance modes and genres.
Unbroken Thread: an anthology of plays by Asian American women by Call Number: MPAL PS628.A85 U53 1993Publication Date: 1993-09-01Presents six outstanding works by Asian-American women playwrights, written in the past 20 years. Each play addresses the experiences of Asian-Americans in the United States, repudiating cultural and sexual stereotypes.
Necessary Theatre: six plays about the Chicano experience by Call Number: MPAL PS628.M4 N4 1989A collection of plays by Chicano authors includes biographies of the playwrights, production histories of the plays, and critical commentary.
Play Index (print version)
Call Number: Z5781 P539Location: Music & Performing Arts Reference
Multi-volume work which indexes plays by author, title, and subject. It also includes a cast analysis index, which allows the user to locate plays by type of cast and number of players. Each volume covers a particular date range. See also Index to Plays in Periodicals.
Index to Plays in Periodicals by Call Number: Z5781 K45Location: Music & Performing Arts Reference (see record for additional locations)
Provides citations to plays published in periodicals from the early 20th century through 1987. Also see Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections below.
Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections: an Author and Title Index to Plays Appearing in Collections Published Between 1900 and 1985 by Call Number: 016.8082 OT8I1988Location: Literature & Languages Reference (see record for additional locations)
Provides citations to plays published in collections from the early 20th century through 1985. Provides separate author and title indexes.