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

Finding Books

Using the library's catalog, you can search for books (including plays) about African American Drama:

Using the link above, click on the "Advanced Search" button
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.

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.

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!
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.
Play Index This link opens in a new window
Use this source to locate plays published individually or in anthologies published from 1949 to the present. Play Index covers a wide range of plays written in or translated into English, including mysteries, pageants, plays in verse, puppet performances, radio and television plays, and classic drama.