How to Find Plays and Monologues
Locating Plays and Monologues
Locating Plays
Search the library catalog http://web.saumag.edu/library/ (link on right of the page) by author or by the title of the play. Some plays are published separately and will be found as an individual title, e.g., Twelfth Night or Antigone. Others are published in collections or anthologies(anthology – a book or other collection of selected writings by various authors, usually in the same literary form, of the same period, or on the same subject).
Search by AUTHOR
A catalog search by AUTHOR will locate works by that author. Watch particularly for “Works,” “Complete Works,” “Complete Plays,” “Collected Works,” “Collected Plays,” “Selected Works,” and “Selected Plays” as titles.
Type the author’s name in the blank next to AUTHOR.
Example:
Williams, Tennessee (or you can type Tennessee Williams)
Then, click on SEARCH.
Search by TITLE
A catalog search by TITLE should tell you whether the library has a copy of a play that was published separately.
Type the title of the play next to TITLE.
Example:
The Tempest
Then, click on SEARCH.
You will need to use an index(See below) to find plays in collections/anthologies, if your author or title search above was not productive. Some plays are published in periodicals (magazines or journals) and must also be located with an index. Having found in an index an anthology or a periodical in which your play appears, you must return to the library page http://web.saumag.edu/library/ to see if the library has that anthology or periodical.
Play Indexes
The following indexes are located in the Reference Collection(2nd floor) in Magale Library. Call numbers are provided.
Play Index. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1949-
Z5781 .P53
This indexes plays published in collections/anthologies from 1949 to 2007 with updates every four years. Plays are indexed by author, title, and subject.
Connor, Billie M. and Helene G. Mochedlover. Ottemiller’s Index to Plays in Collections. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1988.
Z5781 .O8 1988
This indexes, by author and title, plays appearing in collections published between 1900 and 1985.
Keller, Dean H. Index to Plays in Periodicals. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press.
Z5781 .K43 1979 Has 7,400 entries indexed from 267 periodicals through 1976.
Z5781 .K43 1990 This covers 4,605 plays indexed from 104 periodicals from 1977 through 1987.
Samples, Gordon. The Drama Scholars’ Index to Plays and Filmscripts. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1974. 3 volumes.
Z5781 .S17
Plays are indexed from selected anthologies, series, and periodicals. Also included are unusual plays and out-of-the ordinary versions in their original languages or in translations.
Inter-Play: an On-Line Index to Plays in Collections, Anthologies, and Periodicals
http://www.lib.pdx.edu/systems/interplay A web site providing access to the locations of printed plays in collections, anthologies, and periodicals published since the late 19th century. Most listed here are not indexed in the standard play indexes above. You may search Inter-Play by author or title or source. Be aware that Inter-Play is based upon the collection at Portland State University. Magale Library may or may not have the sources given, and the call numbers may or may not be the same. You must check the Magale Library catalog http://web.saumag.edu/library/ or list of full-text journals(by going to library web page, Online Resources, E-journal by Title, A to Z List, and then entering the journal name) to see if we have the collection, anthology or periodical you found in Inter-Play and to check for the call number, if relevant.
Locating Monologues
To browse the shelf on the third floor(Main Collection)of Magale Library, look under PN 2080 because most books of monologues and scenes are shelved under this number; a secondary location is PN 4305 .M6.
To locate anthologies of monologues, search by SUBJECT in the Magale Library Catalog. Type monologues next to Subject and click Search or type acting auditions next to Subject and click Search.
