UNCW - Randall Library

Background Material
A history of American theatre arranged chronologically:

American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama 1869-1914 - REF PN2256 .B6 1994
American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama 1914-1930 - REF PN2256 .B6 1995
American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama 1930-1969 - REF PN2266 .B64 1996
American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama 1969-2000 - REF PN2277.N5 H57 2001
The Cambridge Guide to Theatre - REF PN 2035 .C27 1995
Cambridge Guide to World Theatre - REF PN 2035 .C27 1988
       Specialized one volume encyclopedia for theater, with somewhat longer articles. Last volume includes a glossary and indexes.
The Cambridge History of American Theatre - REF PN 2221 .C37 - vols. 1-3
A Dictionary of Literary Terms And Literary Theory - REF PN 41 .C83
     Provides brief definitions of literary terms, concepts, phrases, styles and genres. Includes many
     non-western terms.
McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama - REF PN 1625 .M3 vols. 1-5
     Contains longer articles on plays and playwrights, including performance histories and background
     articles. Last volume includes a glossary and indexes.
World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre - REF PN 1861 .W67 1994 vols. 1-4

Biographies
Provides biographical information on playwrights, actors and others involved in theater

General
*Check Gale Literary Index to discover which volume(s) your playwright is in for these volumes.
*African American Writers - REF PS 153 .N5 A344 2001
*American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies - REF PS 129 .A55 Multi-vols. set*
*British Writers - REF PR 85 .B688 Multi-vols. set
*Contemporary Authors - REF PN 451 .C62 Multi-vols. set
*Contemporary Authors New Revision Series - REF PN 451 .C62 Multi-vols. set
*Contemporary Dramatist - REF PN1625 .V5 1993
Provides information on 1000+ current dramatists writing in English
Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television - REF PN 2285 .C58
Biographical set for brief information on current playwrights and others involved in theater, film and television.
Cyclopedia of World Authors II - REF PN451 .C93
*Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) - REF PS 21 .D5 Multi-vols. set
*European Writers - REF PN 501 .E9
*Modern American Women Writers - REF PS 151 .M54
Theatrical Directors: A Biographical Dictionary - REF PN 2205 .T54

TO FIND . . .

an individual play - Sometimes plays are published individually; many times they appear in periodicals or anthologies.
         >Randall Library's Catalog
         >Play Index - PN1655 .P52
         >Chicorel Theatre Index - PN1655 .C555
         >The Drama Scholars' Index to Plays and Film Scripts - PN1655 .S25
         >Drury's Guide to Best Plays - PN1655 .D78 1978
         >Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections - PN1655 .O67 1976
         >Index to Plays in Periodicals - PN1721 .K45 1979 and 1990

a monologue - >Actors Guide to Monologues - PN2080.G78 1974
                      >The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook - PN2080 .H66 1994

a one-act play - >An Index to One-Act Plays - PN1655 .L83 1924

a plot summary of a particular play - >Masterplots II: Drama Series - PN6112.5.M37 1990

a review of a particular performance of a play - >A Guide to Critical Reviews - PN2266 .S2

an article that criticizes, or explicates, a play - To search for criticism of a novel within a book, consult Randall Library's catalog; select "subject," and enter the author of the novel's name (last name first). Then, search for the subject heading subdivision, "criticism and interpretation."

Electronic Resources - these can be found by clicking on the Database and Article searching link on the Randall Llibrary homepage http://library.uncwil.edu/.
>MLA International Bibliography
>Humanities International Index
>Academic Search Premier
>Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe (emphasis on performance reviews)

Print Resources
Check Gale Literary Index to discover which volume(s) your playwright is in for these volumes.
>Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism - PN681.5 .C57
>Contemporary Literary Criticism - PN 771 .C59
>Drama Criticism - PN1601 .D59
>Literature Criticism From 1400-1800 - PN86 .L56
>Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism - PN761 .N5
>Shakespearean Criticism - PR2965 .S44
>Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism PN771 .G

Also check:
>Critical Survey of Drama - PN1625 .C75 1994
>Dramatic Criticism Index - PN1707 .B69 (1972)

This is only a sample of literary criticism print resources, to find more, please check the Randall Library online catalog or ask a librarian for help.

Citation Information

You will be using MLA Style for your citations. Randall Library has a guide for this style at http://library.uncw.edu/web/research/citation/mla.html.

Print copies of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th edition are at the Reference Desk.

Last Update: September 19, 2006

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