InfoGuides: Theater: Find Scripts

Find DIGITIZED Scripts

You can find thousands of digital scripts through the Mason Search bar on the main page, if you search for the title of the script or the playwright and then filter by "Available Online" and by "Resource Type: Book."

TIPS

Put quotations marks around the title to ensure that it searches for the complete title (ex. "We're Gonna Die").
If you are getting irrelevant results, (ex. articles about housing when you search "Rent"), filter by Subject.

We also have many databases that contain digitized scripts, including those focused on BIPOC and female playwrights.

Asian American Drama
Brings together more than 250 plays, along with related biographical, production, and theatrical information. Begins with the works of Sadakichi Hartmann in the late nineteenth century and progresses to the writings of contemporary playwrights, such as Philip Kan Gotanda, Elizabeth Wong, and Jeannie Barroga.
Black Drama: Third Edition
Contains the full text of more than 1,700 plays written from the mid-1800s to the present by more than 200 playwrights from North America, English-speaking Africa, the Caribbean, and other African diaspora countries. More than 40 percent of the collection consists of previously unpublished plays. View a tutorial on this database here.
North American Indian Drama: Second Edition
Contains over 200 plays representing the stories of American Indian and First Nation playwrights of the twentieth century. More than half of the works are previously unpublished, and hard to find, representing groups such as Cherokee, Métis, Creek, Choctaw, Pembina Chippewa, Ojibway, Lenape, Comanche, Cree, Navajo, Rappahannock, Hawaiian/Samoan, and others. View a tutorial on this database here.
North American Women's Drama: Second Edition
Collection contains over 1,500 full-text plays by women from colonial times to the present. Many of the works are rare, hard to find, or out of print. Almost a quarter of the collection consists of previously unpublished plays. The collection also includes selected playbills, production photographs and other ephemera related to the plays. View a tutorial on this database here.
Drama Online
Collection provides full text access to dramatic works from the early Greek period to the present day, as well as some works of criticism and information on theatre craft. Contains scholarly notes, annotated texts, contextual information, synopsis, biographical entries, and material on acting, directing, and lighting. Features drama titles from the Methuen Drama, Arden Shakespeare lists, and the RSC Live Collection. Includes epics, monologues, and one-person plays in all time periods, as well as translations of major foreign works. Features play tools with character grids, words and speech graphs, and images.
View a tutorial on this database here.
Twentieth Century North American Drama
Contains 2,059 plays by 434 playwrights, together with detailed, fielded information on related productions, theaters, production companies, and more. Also includes selected playbills, production photographs and other ephemera related to the plays.

Find ACTING EDITIONS

George Mason has a collection of Acting Editions of scripts. To find these editions, go to the Advanced Search and enter "Acting Editions" into the Subject search. This will give you a comprehensive list of all the acting editions in our collection.

Find PRINTED Scripts

Within the Library of Congress Classification System, plays are mixed in with all of literature. Literature is divided first into countries, where you will find play collections, and then by individual authors by era of time. If you know the author's country and era, their plays will be easier to find on the shelves. The plays are located in the compact shelving on the 4th Floor.

To find specific scripts, search Mason Library's collection by title, author, keyword, or subject heading.

Literature (General). Drama: PN1600-3307
- The Monologue: PN1530
- The Dialogue: PN1551
- Dramatic representation. The Theater: PN2000-3307
  - By time period: PN2131-2193
- Collections of General Literature. Drama: PN6110.5-6120
Greek Literature: PA3050-4505
- Authors: PA3818-4505
French Literature: PQ500-2726
- Drama Collections: PQ1211-1241
- Authors: PQ1411-2726
Italian Literature: PQ4133-4926
- Drama Collections: PQ4227-4245
- Authors: PQ4265-4926
Spanish Literature: PQ6098.7-6726
- Drama Collections: PQ6217-6241
- Authors: PQ6271-6726
English Literature: PR621-6126
- Drama Collections: PR1241-1273
- Authors: PR1490-6126
American Literature: PS330-3626
- Drama Collections: PS623-635
- Authors: PS700-3626
German Literature: PT605-2728
- Drama Collections: PT1251-1299
- Authors: PT1501-2728