Drama: Dramaturgical Research

For information on historical context, see the History Subject Guide.

For information on production history, find individual plays by consulting the Plays - Indexes and Reviews section of the Reference page of the subject guide.

Exploring the many aspects of a play requires a broad range of research skills. Play research, or more properly, dramaturgical research, generally explores the:

• biography of the playwright or author
• the historical, social, economic, political and cultural context in which the play was conceived, written, and performed
• the play's production history
• analysis of the criticism and interpretation associated with the play.

Biographical Encyclopaedia & Who's Who of the American Theater, 1966. (Ref PN2285 .R5)

Biography and Genealogy Master Index [Online]

Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television. 11 vols. (Ref PN2285 .C58)

Current Biography [Monthly with annual cumulation] (Ref CT100 .C8)

DAB – Dictionary of American Biography (Ref E176 .D562)

DNB – Dictionary of National Biography (Ref DA28 .D4 v.1-10, supplements)

DLB – Dictionary of Literary Biography (Ref PN451 .D5 Y3)

Notable Names in the American Theatre (Ref PN2285 .N6 1976)

Twenty Modern British Playwrights (Ref Z2014 .D7 K47)

Variety Obits: An Index to Obituaries in Variety, 1905-1986 (Ref PN1583 .P4 1980)

Who was Who in the Theatre, 1912-1976. 4 vols. (Ref PN2597 .W62)

For information on playwrights and dramatists, see the Reference page of this subject guide.

For information on criticism & analysis, see the Drama Criticism section of the Reference page of this subject guide.