Research Guides: African American Drama: How to Find Books and Scripts

Finding Books and Videos

Use the "Advance Search" in the "Books & More" section of the online library catalog (BobCat).
On the first line: select "any field contains" and then type in "African American Drama"
On the second line: select "AND any field contains," then type in "African American Authors." These results will be play titles and collections.
You can use the "Publication Date" field to to find plays in your date range.

Notes on Searching:

We cannot limit the results to the words "Plays."
Your list will also contain anthologies, bibliographies and research texts.

Search the NYU Libraries Catalog for Books and Articles

Search here for books, articles, journals and other print materials, videos, sound recordings, e-books, e-journals, databases, and indexes in our local libraries and special collections.

Online Scripts

Drama Online This link opens in a new window
Includes the full text of plays from across the history of the theatre, ranging from Aeschylus to the present day. Includes non-English-language works in translation, scholarly and critical editions, first night program texts, and critical analysis and contextual information. Scan the genre link ex. of plays Black Drama, Verbatim theatre, Surrealist Drama, Poor Theatre and more!

Black Drama
Contains approximately 1200 plays by 201 playwrights, together with detailed, fielded information on related productions, theaters, production companies, and more. The database also includes selected playbills, production photographs and other ephemera related to the plays. Some 440 of the plays are published here for the first time, including a number by major authors.

New Play Exchange This link opens in a new window
The New Play Exchange is a digital library of scripts by living writers which can be filtered by title, length, age level, genre, subject matter, production history, script availability, cast size and characteristics, playwright, and playwright demographics. The database includes a directory of organizations and one of people, which are faceted by role (dramaturgs and types of writers), gender identity, race/ethnic identity, sexual identity, and location. While the focus is currently North American, the intended scope is international.

WorldCat (OCLC)

WorldCat - FirstSearch (OCLC) This link opens in a new window
Search for books and more in libraries in the U.S. and around the world. Indicates when NYU Libraries holds a copy of a book and shows you nearby libraries with holdings.

Use the Play Index to Find Plays

Play Index This link opens in a new window
Search 30,000+ plays published from 1949 to the present. Includes historical and contemporary works published individually, and in anthologies. Play Index covers a wide range of plays written in or translated into English. Content includes: mysteries, pageants, plays in verse, puppet performances, radio and television plays, and classic drama.

To restrict search results to African American plays and casts:
Select the "Subject (SU)" field and search for African American. The search will result in 600+ plays with African American characters. To narrow the results use the Source Type tool: select "plays" for individual titles, or "books" for collections and anthologies.

Bibliographies

These titles can be found in the Reference section of the Bobst Library and several of these texts are available online.

Early Black American playwrights and dramatic writers : a biographical directory and catalog of plays, films, and broadcasting scripts by Bernard L. Peterson
Call Number: NYU Bobst 1st Floor Reference (PS153.N5 P44 1990 Non-circulating )
ISBN: 0313266212
Contemporary Black American playwrights and their plays : a biographical directory and dramatic index by Bernard L. Peterson
Call Number: NYU Bobst 1st Floor Reference (PS153.N5 P43 1988 Non-circulating )
ISBN: 0313251908
Black playwrights, 1823-1977 : an annotated bibliography of plays by James Vernon Hatch 1928-
Call Number: NYU Bobst 1st Floor Reference (Z1231.D7 H37 Non-circulating). Fales Library also holds a non-circulating copy.
Temporary online access through HathiTrust Digital Library. NYU NetID required.
Black image on the American stage; a bibliography of plays and musicals, 1770-1970, by James Vernon Hatch 1928-
Call Number: 1st Floor Reference (Z5784.N4 H35 Non-circulating )
Publication Date: c1970
Temporary online access through HathiTrust Digital Library. NYU NetID required.
Plays of Negro life; a source-book of native America drama. by Alain LeRoy Locke 1886-1954
Call Number: YU Bobst Main Collection (PS627.N4 L6 1927 )
Temporary online access through HathiTrust Digital Library. NYU NetID required.
Black voices : plays of the black theatre : a catalog of dramatic works by contemporary African-American playwrights by Gary Anderson ; Black Theatre Network.
Call Number: Bobst 1st Floor Reference (PN2270.A35 B53 1993 Non-circulating)
Publication Date: 1993
Temporary online access through HathiTrust Digital Library. NYU NetID required.

Online Resources

Oxford Bibliographies This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Oxford Bibliographies presents constantly updated articles that contain citations (with annotations) and commentaries for sources across the disciplines. Users can search topics and gather relevant journal article and book citations, online resources, data sources, and more.