Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB)
Need to find a playwright? In Literature Resource Center, perform an Advanced Search for drama in Subject. Click Biographies at the top of the results list. In the right-hand column, FILTER RESULTS by Publication Title. Now select the Dictionary of Literary Biography and Apply the filter.
If desired, filter your results once more by Publication Title. Note DLB volumes including:
- British and Irish Dramatists...
- Latin American Dramatists
- Modern British Dramatists
- Twentieth-Century American Dramatists
Click here to see a list of printed DLB drama volumes held in the Reference Stacks, 1st floor (Gitenstein Library).
Recommended Website
- Early Modern Plays on Stage and Page"This is a list of databases, catalogues, projects, images, video, reference works, etc., for the study of early modern plays at the intersection of performance and print." Authored by Claire M. Bourne, Associate Professor of English, Penn State University.
Humanities Librarian
David C. Murray
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5787-2609Introduction
Use this guide to find scholarly books, journal articles, and reference works about American and English drama. Questions? Use my contact information in the left-hand column (scroll down) to schedule your research consultation.
Selected Titles
These reference works offer biographical essays about dramatists, the publishing history of plays, and/or bibliographies—sometimes annotated—of primary (e.g., author interviews) and secondary sources.
Featured:
Critical Survey of Drama (3rd ed. in 8 vols.) by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781682176221Publication Date: 2017-11-30This updated 3rd. edition (c2017) should prove useful as a starting point for your drama research. Find here biographies of 550 dramatists and nearly 100 overview essays on the dramatic tradition in countries and regions around the world. Intriguing chapter titles such as Renaissance Drama, Postcolonial Theater, Islamic Drama, West Indian Drama, and Gay and Lesbian Theater, among others, reveal important dramatists and their plays. Bibliographies accompany most essays, whether biographical or overview. The preceding (2nd) edition is available in print, Reference Collection, call # PN1625 .C68 2003.
Fifty Modern and Contemporary Dramatists by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780415630368Publication Date: 2014-12-08This scholarly reference volume profiles 50 influential playwrights who worked from the 1950s to the present. Essays are relatively brief yet provide information sufficient to further students' research. Biographical entries conclude with brief bibliographies for further reading.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 019861411XPublication Date: 2004-09-23The ODNB is the standard reference work for British biography. Extensive bibliographic essays accompany many entries. Profiles 560 English playwrights: Advanced Search > Occupations > Writing and publishing > drama.
American only:
American Playwrights, 1880-1945: A Research and Production Sourcebook by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0313286388Publication Date: 1994-11-07also available in print, Reference Stacks (1st floor), call # PS351 .A6 1995
American Playwrights Since 1945: A Guide to Scholarship, Criticism, and Performance by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0313255431Publication Date: 1989-01-23also available in print, Reference Stacks (1st floor), call # PS350 .A5 1989
American voices:
African American Dramatists: An A-to-Z Guide by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0313322333Publication Date: 2004-10-30also available in print, Reference Collection, Call # PS338.N4 A69 2004
African American Women Playwrights: A Research Guide by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0815323840Publication Date: 1999-06-01also available in print, Reference Collection, Call # PS153.N5 G29 1999
Asian American Playwrights: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0313314551Publication Date: 2002-05-30also available in print, Reference Collection (1st floor), call # PS338.A74 A9 2002
Contemporary Gay American Poets and Playwrights: An A-to-Z Guide by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0313322325Publication Date: 2003-06-30also available in print, Reference Stacks (1st floor), call # PS325 .C656 2003
Fifty Key Figures in LatinX and Latin American Theatre by Call Number: PQ7082.D7 F54 2022 (print only)ISBN: 9781003144700Publication Date: 2022-02-24
English, Irish, and Scots only:
British Playwrights, 1880-1956: A Research and Production Sourcebook by Call Number: PR736 .B7 1996ISBN: 0313287589Publication Date: 1996-12-09print only
English Drama and Theatre, 1800-1900: A Guide to Information Sources by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0810312255Publication Date: 1978-03-01This dated bibliography is useful for identifying criticism written in the mid-twentieth century about English drama of the nineteenth century. Also available in print, Reference Stacks (1st floor), call # PR721.C6 1978.
English voices:
Women Playwrights in England, Ireland, and Scotland, 1660-1823 by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0253330874Publication Date: 1996-10-01also available in print, Reference Stacks (1st floor), call # PR635.W6 M36 1996
A companion is a "a handbook intended to be used in connection with the study of a particular subject or field" (ODLIS). Companions provide introductory essays and topic overviews. I especially recommend titles in the Cambridge Companions to Literature series, several of which I have listed below.
A handbook is a "single-volume reference book of compact size that provides concise factual information on a specific subject, organized systematically for quick and easy access" (ODLIS).
Featured:
Continuum Companion to Twentieth-Century Theatre by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0826476155Publication Date: 2004-11-01also available in print, Reference Stacks (1st floor), call # PN2035 .C65 2002
The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780199574193Publication Date: 2010-09-17
The Palgrave Handbook of Theatre and Race by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9783030439569Publication Date: 2021-04-21
The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Women on Stage by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9783030238278Publication Date: 2020-04-30
American drama:
The Cambridge Companion to American Theatre Since 1945 by Call Number: PN2266.5 .C36 2021ISBN: 9781108727211Publication Date: 2021-09-09
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0195169867Publication Date: 2004-05-06also available in print, Reference Stacks (1st floor), call # PN2220 .B6 2004
The Oxford Handbook of American Drama by Call Number: PS332 .O94 2014ISBN: 9780199731497Publication Date: 2014-01-08print only
American voices:
The Cambridge Companion to African American Theatre by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781107017122Publication Date: 2012-10-25also available in print, General Stacks (3rd floor), call # PN2270.A35 C36 2013
Critical Companion to Native American and First Nations Theatre and Performance by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781350035065Publication Date: 2019-10-03
The Cambridge Companion to American Women Playwrights by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780521576802Publication Date: 1999-06-28also available in print, General Collection, Call # PS338.W6 C36 1999
Asian drama:
The Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0195644468Publication Date: 2004-11-11
Routledge Handbook of Asian Theatre by Call Number: PN2860 .R68 2017ISBN: 9780415821551Publication Date: 2016-02-03
English and Irish drama:
The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0511999364Publication Date: 2006-05-28also available in print, General Stacks (3rd floor), call # PR691 .C35 2000
The Cambridge Companion to Twentieth-Century Irish Drama by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0521804000Publication Date: 2004-01-29also available in print, General Stacks (3rd floor), call # PR8789 .C28 2004
A New Companion to Renaissance Drama by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781118824009Publication Date: 2017-04-20
The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Theatre by Call Number: PN2589 .O94 2009ISBN: 9780199287246Publication Date: 2009-08-01print only
The Oxford Handbook of Tudor Drama by Call Number: PR647 .O96 2015ISBN: 9780199566471Publication Date: 2012-09-08print only
English voices:
The Cambridge Companion to Modern British Women Playwrights by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0521594227Publication Date: 2000-05-25
A dictionary is a "single-volume or multivolume reference work containing brief explanatory entries for terms and topics related to a specific subject or field of inquiry, usually arranged alphabetically. The entries in a dictionary are usually shorter than those contained in an encyclopedia on the same subject..." (ODLIS).
An encyclopedia is " book or numbered set of books containing authoritative summary information about a variety of topics in the form of short essays, usually arranged alphabetically by headword or classified in some manner. An entry may be signed or unsigned, with or without illustrations or a list of references for further reading" (ODLIS).
Most up-to-date (all published after 2014):
Historical Dictionary of Postmodernist Literature and Theater by Call Number: PN771 .M36 2017ISBN: 9781442276192Publication Date: 2016-12-12print only
The Oxford Dictionary of Plays by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780191760082Publication Date: 2015 (2nd ed.)
The Routledge Dictionary of Performance and Contemporary Theatre by Call Number: PN1579 .P3813 2016ISBN: 9781138854352Publication Date: 2016-05-10print only
American theater:
Historical Dictionary of African American Theater by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781538117286Publication Date: 2018-11-09earlier (2009) edition available in print, General Stacks (3rd floor), call # PN2270.A35 H53 2009
Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Beginnings by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780810878334Publication Date: 2015-01-01
Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism by Call Number: PN2266.3 .F57 2018ISBN: 9781538107850Publication Date: 2017-11-22earlier (2008) ed. available online for free from Internet Archive (archvie.org)
Published between 2003 and 2009:
The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama by Call Number: PN1861 .C65 2007 v. 1-2ISBN: 0231140320Publication Date: 2007-07-03print only
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0198601743Publication Date: 2003-05-01also available in print, Reference Stacks (1st floor), call # PN2035 .O92 2003
American theater:
Broadway: An Encyclopedia of Theater and American Culture by Call Number: PN2277.N5 B62 2010ISBN: 9780313342646Publication Date: 2009-12-23print only
Asian theater:
Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre (in 2 vols.) by Call Number: PN2860 .E53 2007ISBN: 9780313335297Publication Date: 2006-12-30print only
Published before 2000:
Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts, and Analysis by Call Number: PN2035 .P2913 1998ISBN: 0802081630Publication Date: 1999-02-05print only
NTC's Dictionary of Theatre and Drama Terms by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0844253456Publication Date: 1992-01-11also available in print, Reference Stacks (1st floor), call # PN2035 .M63 1992
The Theatregoer's Almanac: A Collection of Lists, People, History, and Commentary on the American Theatre by Call Number: PN2266 .H53 1997ISBN: 0313302464Publication Date: 1997-04-22print only
Indexes:
An Index of Characters in Early Modern English Drama: Printed Plays, 1500-1660 by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0521621496Publication Date: 1999-01-28also available in print, Reference Stacks (1st floor), call # PR1265.3 .B4 1998
Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections: An Author and Title Index to Plays Appearing in Collections Published Since 1900 by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 9780810877207Publication Date: 2011-08-11This is an author and title index to over 10,000 plays published during the twentieth century. Also available in print, Reference Stacks (1st floor), call # Z5781 .O8 2011.
Plots:
American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1869-1914 by Call Number: PN2256 .B6 1994ISBN: 0195037642Publication Date: 1994-01-06This book "chronicles, in order by opening, every Broadway comedy and drama, show by show, season by season, offering a plot synopsis, principal players, and important statistics." Print only.
Masterplots (4th ed. in 12 vols.) by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781587655685Publication Date: 2011-01-30"Masterplots... retains the original purpose of the Masterplots concept: providing fundamental reference data, plot synopses where applicable, and critical evaluations of a comprehensive selection of English-language and world literature that has been translated into English. The [synopsis and analytical] essays are in alphabetical order by title, and each includes an annotated bibliography to aid readers in further study" (Salem Press). This set covers drama, long fiction, short fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.
Masterplots, 2010-2018 Supplement (4th ed. in 2 vols.) by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781642650327Publication Date: 2019-05-30"The Supplement critically evaluates 187 major examples of serious fiction, published in English from 2010 to 2018, from writers in the United States and around the world" (Salem Press).
Masterplots II, Drama Series (in 4 vols.) by Call Number: PN6112.5 .M37 1990ISBN: 0893564915Publication Date: 1990-01-01This now dated but still useful reference work provides plot summaries and much more for over 327 plays published in the twentieth century. Essays incorporate authors' biographies; type, time, and locale of plots; date of first performances; a list of principal characters; dramatists' themes and motives; dramatic devices and staging techniques; critical contexts; and further readings (i.e., bibliographies). Series 1, 2, 3, and 4 are available for free from Internet Archive (archive.org). Access Masterplots (4th ed.) online, link above, instead of this earlier title as the information provided is more up-to-date.
