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Drama

Finding Monologues and Short Plays

For short plays, search Omni with: e.g. one-act play*, 10-minute play*, 30-minute play*. Limit to Queen's. Limit to Books/eBooks.
For monologues, search Omni by adding the word "monologues": e.g. women and monologues
 Indexes that list potential monologues include:
  • The Monologuer - Backstage: Search by author, play, genre, category, gender, age, theme, and keyword
  • Actorama: Monologues according to gender, source material, type (dramatic, comic, serio-comic), main action/emotions explored, period, genre or specific keywords (e.g. title or author).
  • Actors Guide to Monologues:  700 Monologues: PN4321 .G86 1974. Arranged by sex and age.
  • Guide to Monologues, Men:  800 Monologues: REF PN2080 .G84 1988
  • Guide to Monologues, Women: 800 Monologues: REF PN2080 .G85 1988
  • 1/2/3/4 for the Show: a Guide to Small-Cast One Act Plays: REF Z5781 .H46 1995t . 
  • The Smith and Kraus Monologue Index: 2600 monologues:  REF PN2080 .S6 1999. 

Locate specific types of plays

If you need to find titles of specific types of plays, such as a one-act play for high school, try these online tools: 

Full-Text Play Databases

Drama Online: playtext content and live performances, film adaptations, and audio plays.Queen’s Library currently subscribes to Globe on Screen 1 & 2; Nick Hern Books; National Theatre Collection; Playwrights Canada Press; Royal Shakespeare Company Live Collection

Digital Theatre Plus

 
Asian American Drama: 252 plays by 42 playwrights, information on productions, theaters, production companies. Some 50% of these plays have never been published before. 
Black Drama - 1850 to Present, Third Edition: Plays from North America, Africa and the Caribbean. Black Drama, full text of 1.700 plays from the mid-1800s to the present.Includes musical comedies, domestic dramas, folk dramas, history plays, anti-slavery plays, one-act plays.
English Drama: Plays from the medieval mystery cycles to the comedies of Oscar Wilde. 
Latino Literature: Poetry, Drama and Fiction: Plays of Latin US writers  
National Theatre Collection: 30 filmed performances.
Nick Hern Books Modern Plays: 600 plays from UK and Ireland
North American Women's Drama: Plays, biographical, production, and theatrical information.
Theatre in Context Collection Canadian and American Theatre. Includes reference works, images, flyers, playbills, postcards and scrapbooks.
Twentieth-Century Drama: North America, Britain and Ireland, India, Africa, Australia and the Caribbean.
Twentieth Century North American Drama: Includes reference materials, images, information on theatres.

Playwrights Canada Press Canadian resource (170+ plays from Canadian playwrights) Indigenous Canadian Playwrights

Playwrights Guild of Canada Canadian resource: Information about Canada's playwrights.

Black Playwrights:  Descriptions and roles.

LGBTQl2S: Canadian playwrights

Canadian Play Outlet: offers curated collections e.g. Black playwrights, audition pieces, historical plays by women  

Asian Playwrights 

Coach House Book: newly published plays including description and reviews.

Studio 58 Database of Diverse Plays and Playwrights includes plays by women, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and diverse cultural backgrounds (self-defined by the writers). One section dedicated to Canadian writers

Theatre Online Master List:  on the Canadian Theatre Educator's site. Includes links to over 900 productions available online as audio dramas, filmed productions, or recordings of online pieces. Includes section highlighting online plays featuring BIPOC artists.