Finding Playscripts
Playscripts by Indigenous authors can be found in several different places in MPAL's collection.
- Online: The Library subscribes to several playscript collection databases that include works by Native American and First Nations playwrights.
- Play Anthologies: Much of our Indigenous plays collection is published in anthologies. For some recommendations, check out the anthologies section below. You can search for these in the Library Catalog!
- Plays Collection: The Plays Collection is opposite the computer area on the first floor of the library. Plays are arranged alphabetically by playwright's last name and then the title of the play.
Online
- New Play Exchange This link opens in a new windowThe New Play Exchange (NPX) is one of the largest digital libraries of scripts by living playwrights. NPX includes works by Indigenous authors as well as an advanced search option to filter plays by playwright demographics where you can limit to works by Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American authors. Please note: NPX holdings will not show up in a search of our Library Catalog - you have to search on the NPX website directly.
- Drama Online: Playwrights Canada Press This link opens in a new windowThe Playwrights Canada Press collection features works by First Nations playwrights.
Play Anthologies
Footpaths and Bridges by Call Number: PS628.I53 F668 2008 [MPAL]This collection is a representative sampling of works from the Native American Women Playwright's Archive at Miami University. Includes plays by: Monique Mojica, Jules Arita Koostachin (with Jennifer Fell Hayes), Marcie Rendon, Marie Clements, Martha Kreipe de Montaño (with Jennifer Fell Hayes), Denise Mosley, Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl, Vera Manuel, JudyLee Oliva, and Spiderwoman Theater
Two-Spirit Acts by Call Number: PR9196.7.I53 T96 2013 [Main Stacks] and OnlineIn this collection of short but powerful two-spirit plays, characters dispel conventional notions of gender and sexuality while celebrating Indigenous understandings. This collection creates a space to explore what it means to be queer and Indigenous. Includes plays by: Muriel Miguel, Kent Monkman, and Waawaate Fobister
Seventh Generation by Call Number: 812.08 Se82 [MPAL] and OnlineThis first major collection of contemporary Native American writing for the theatre ranges from the groundbreaking work of Body Indian to the experimental performance style of Spiderwoman Theater. Includes plays by: LeAnne Howe and Roxy Gordon (Choctaw), Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl (Hawaiian), Hanay Geiogamah (Kiowa), Diane Glancy (Cherokee), Spiderwoman Theater (Kuna/Rappahannock), Drew Hayden Tayler (Ojibway), and Willam S. Yellow Robe, Jr. (Assiniboine/Nakota).
Stories of Our Way by Call Number: 812.08 St74 [Main Stacks]This collection spans over thirty years of American Indian theater and includes plays by: Lynn Riggs, Hanay Geiogamah, Native American Theater Ensemble, Ray Baldwin Louis, Wallace Hampton Tucker, Spiderwoman Theater, Diane Glancy, Bruce King, and Annette Arkeketa.
Performing Worlds into Being by Call Number: PS628.I53 P474 2009 [MPAL]This collection brings together some of the most prominent voices in Native North American theater through plays, interviews, surveys, critical analyses, poetic responses and essays.
Staging Coyote's Dream by Call Number: PR9196.7.I53 S73 2003 [MPAL]Publication Date: 2002-09-01Staging Coyote's Dream is a two-volume set that brings together ten major plays by First Nations playwrights living in Canada and the United States.
Contemporary Indigenous Plays by Call Number: Online ResourceFive plays from around Australia which illustrate that the rich tradition of indigenous storytelling is flourishing in contemporary Australian theatre.
Plays Collection
The Plays Collection (opposite the computer area on the main floor of MPAL) is browsable by author last name. Please be aware that most of our print holdings of Indigenous playwrights are collected in anthologies or discoverable online through the playscript collection databases listed above. If you can't find an author you're looking for in the Plays Collection, make sure to check the Library Catalog and New Play Exchange as well. If you still can't find what you're looking for, ask a librarian at the service desk and we'll be happy to help!