Encyclopedias and Other General Reference Resources
Masterplots II (4 vols.)
Rev. ed. Magill, Frank Northen
Drama Series. Also available Online in MagillOnLiterature available online in E-Resources. Includes plays from around the world. Articles include a plot summary, character list, critical materials.
A Handbook to Literature
11th ed. Harmon, William
Notable Playwrights
Ed. Carl E. Rollyson
Biographical sketches and critical studies of 106 of the most important playwrights from Classical times to the present.
Critical Survey of Drama
Ed. Carl E. Rollyson
Comprehensive resource for dramatic biographical reference and analysis.
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama: an International Reference Work in 5 volumes
Hochman, Stanley
The Oxford Dictionary of Plays
Patterson, Michael
Plays are arranged in A-Z order and also organized by country of origin and period; an index of playwrights and of characters.
How Plays Work
Edgar, David
Guide book to elements and varieties of dramatic form (action, character, genre, time and place, scenes, devices, etc.)
Historical Dictionary of Postmodernist Literature and Theater
Mason, Fran
Western Drama through the Ages: A Student Reference Guide
King, Kimball, Ed
The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama
Eds. Gabrielle H. Cody and Evert Sprinchorn
Playwrights and plays within their social, cultural, and historical contexts. Covers development of modern theatre in Europe, Russia, China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, North America, Latin America, Africa & in the Yiddish language.
Modern Drama: Defining the Field
Ric Knowles, Joanne Tompkins, and W.B
The Continuum Companion to twentieth Century Theatre
Colin Chambers, Ed.
The Ivan R. Dee Guide to Plays and Playwrights
Griffiths, Trevor R.
Plays and playwrights from ancient times to the present: cross-references to other plays/authors covering comparable subjects.
The New Penguin Dictionary of the Theatre
Chapman, Deborah
Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts, and Analysis
Pavis, Patrice
Living Theatre: History of the Theatre
Wilson, Edwin and Alvin Goldfarb, Eds
The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Theatre
Richard Dutton
History of the Theatre
Oscar G. Brockett and Franklin J. Hildy, Eds.
The Bedford Introduction to Drama
Jacobus, Lee A
A dictionary of stage directions in English drama 1580-1642
Alan C. Dessen and Leslie Thomson
Bibliographies and Print Indexes to World Drama
Dramatic Criticism Index: A Bibliography of Commentaries on Playwrights from Ibsen to the Avant-garde
Eds. Paul F. Breed, Florence M. Sniderman
Play Index
West, Dorothy Herbert
Modern Drama Scholarship and Criticism 1981-1990: An International Bibliography
Carpenter, Charles A
International criticism on modern and contemporary playwrights. Books and articles arranged by geographic area. Includes criticism and interviews.
Modern Drama Scholarship and Criticism 1966-1980: An International Bibliography
Carpenter, Charles A
Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections: An Author and Title Index to Plays Appearing in Collections Published between 1900 and 1985
Ottemiller, John H
British and Irish Drama
Cambridge Companion to British Theatre
1730-1830
Theatre in the Victorian Age
Booth, Michael R
The Cambridge Introduction to Modern British Theatre
Shepherd, Simon
The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature
David Scott Kastan, editor in chief
British and Irish Dramatists since World War II
Bull, John (John Stanley)
British Playwrights, 1956-1995: A Research and Production Sourcebook
Demastes, William W
Selected British playwrights active from 1956 to 1995, with biographical, theatrical, critical, and bibliographical information.
Irish Playwrights, 1880-1995: A Research and Production Sourcebook
Schrank, Bernice
details for 32 Irish playwrights active from 1880 to 1995.
American Drama
Cambridge Guide to American Theatre
Don B. Wilmeth, Ed.
The most up-to-date guide to American theatre. Broad coverage on a national scale.
Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism James Fisher and Felicia Hardison Londré, Eds.
Focus is on the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Discussion of plays, termonology and individuals associated wirh the theatre.
The Oxford Handbook of American Drama
Jeffrey H. Richards and Heather S. Nathans, Eds.
Interpretive essays on American Drama, organized historically and by genre.
Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights
Martin Middeke, Peter Paul Schnierer, et al
Twentieth-century American Dramatists
Ed. John MacNicholas
Twentieth-century American Dramatists. Second Series
Wheatley, Christopher J
Modern American Drama, 1945-2000
Bigsby, C. W. E
Studies major playwrights: Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, David Mamet, and Sam Shepard, and more.
African-American Performance and Theater History: a Critical Reader.
Elam, Harry Justin and David Krasner.
Visions of tragedy in modern American drama : from O'Neill to the twenty-first century
David Palmer
Canadian Drama
Oxford Companion to Canadian Theatre.
Information on plays, playwrights and theatre practitioners.
400 Ans de Théâtre au Québec
Desjardins, Nancy
Directory of Canadian Plays & Playwrights.
Playwrights Guild of Canada
Canada on Stage: Scenes and Monologues --a Survey of Canadian Theatre
Turnbull, Keith
Modern Canadian Plays
Wasserman, Jerry
Indigenous North American drama : a multivocal history / Birgit Däwes, Ed.
Canadian Plays Catalogue, 1997-1998
Spine Title: Catalogue of Canadian plays, 1997-1998, and, Who's who in the Playwrights Union of Canada, 1997-1999.
Bibliography of Theatre History in Canada : The Beginnings through 1984 = Bibliographie d'histoire du théâtre au Canada: des débuts - fin 1984
Ball, John L
Theatre History in Canada
Online journal 1980 to the present
French Drama
Le Théâtre Français de l'âge Classique
Mazouer, Charles
Dictionnaire des Pièces de Théâtre Françaises du XXe Siècle.
Historical Dictionary of French Theatre
Forman, Edward
Asian Drama
Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre (2 volumes)
Samuel L. Leiter, Ed.
Italian Drama
A History of Italian Theatre
Joseph Farrell and Paolo Puppa, Eds.
Online Resources (UofT)
Drama Criticism
Major plays and playwrights Criticism taken from book, magazines, literary reviews, newspapers and scholarly journals. 90-95% of critical essays are full text.
MLA International Bibliography
academic journals, magazines, newspapers, dissertations, books
Poole’s Plus (part of 19th century Masterfile)
Full-text archive of scholarly periodical literature 1872+
JSTOR
Index to the published books, periodicals, newspapers and government documents of the 19th century
Dramatic Discourse: Dialogue as Interaction
Herman Vimala
Records of Early English Drama (REED)
International Index to the Performing Arts (IIPA)
210+ popular and scholarly journals and other resources in the fields of dance, drama, film, theater, opera, puppetry, circus, etc.
Abell (Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature, 1920-)
Twentieth Century North American Drama
1,122 plays by 170 playwrights, with information on related productions, theatres, production companies, etc
North American Theatre Online
Covers all aspects of Canadian and American theatre.
Asian American Drama
250+ plays, along with related biographical, production, and theatrical information .
Printed in October 23, 2018
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