We have so many scripts here at LPA. When you're searching for any title, first understand the differences between Circulating scripts on the second floor and scripts in Research on the third floor.
All of the scripts in the Research Division are in unpublished form. Many scripts in Research have not ever been published. It may be a promptbook or an acting copy or a draft or review copy. Some of the scripts are shooting copies used by TOFT when they recorded the show so it's marked with camera directions for their taping.
The Billy Rose Theatre Division (the official name of Theatre Research) DOES NOT have any published scripts and their material CAN NOT be borrowed.
Scripts held in the Circulating Collection are published copies and CAN be borrowed, with the exception of items in the Reference section.
You can find monologue and play collections in print, in the catalog, using these subject headings. When you get a massive results list, use the facets on the left side to narrow your search:
Drama collections
Monologues
One-act plays
Other print resources
Index to Plays in Periodicals - (Ref/016.8088 K) A print resource covering plays published in the Seventies and Eighties.
Play Index -(Ref/016.8088 P) - Compiles information on plays such as plot summaries, cast analyses, and a publisher directory, and includes indexes by author, title, and subject. Check the catalog for library holdings.
There are additional Print indexes available in the Theatre Research Division. See a librarian.
Containing more than 1,100 dramatic works from the early 18th Century up to the beginning of the twentieth, American Drama 1714.**Patrons should read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of this resource before searching.**
This database is only accessible at the following NYPL locations: Stephen A. Schwarzman Building; New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center; Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; Thomas Yoseloff Business Center; All Branch Libraries
Full length British theatre productions, interviews with cast and crew, and documentaries about the production. Includes productions from Shakespeare to contemporary plays, with teaching guides. This database also include, opera, musical theatre, dance/ballet, symphonic and chamber music, as well as theatre from Russia and 20+ from South Asia, and film shorts. **Patrons should read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of this resource before searching.**
This database is only accessible at the following NYPL locations: Stephen A. Schwarzman Building; New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center; Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; Thomas Yoseloff Business Center; All Branch Libraries
Contains all of the content available in International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance as well as full text for 100 titles, including Canadian Theatre Review, Dance Chronicle, Dance Teacher, Modern Drama, PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art, Research in Dance Education, Research in Drama Education, Studies in Theatre and Performance, TDR: The Drama Review, Theater, and more. **Patrons should read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of this resource before searching.**
This database is only accessible at the following NYPL locations: Stephen A. Schwarzman Building; New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center; Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; Thomas Yoseloff Business Center; All Branch Libraries
Other resources
Dramatist's Play Service - Complete Catalog of Plays. Offers acting editions of plays and assists with licensing of performances.
Open Source Shakespeare - Open Source Shakespeare attempts to be the best free Web site containing Shakespeare's complete works. It is intended for scholars, thespians, and Shakespeare lovers of every kind. OSS includes the 1864 Globe Edition of the complete works, which was the definitive single-volume Shakespeare edition for over a half-century.
Do you know about the (not really) secret play index hiding in plain sight on the Second floor?
It's at the top of the main staircase. It's a card catalog that indexes plays found in collections dating prior to the titles being included in the Catalog. It's worth a last-ditch effort and it's next to the Reference Desk. Ask the librarian.
CIRCULATING LIBRETTOSfor Musicals and Operas, call#LIB / 782 / Composer's last name. Librettos are in the very last row in the Steinberg room, next to the glass window.
A selection of most used or obscure Librettos is held at the Reference Desk. You are welcome to use them in the library.
There are also many librettos in the Billy Rose Theatre Division. Check the catalog and also speak to a librarian on the Third Floor.
Screenplays can be found at call # 792.98, in the stacks to be borrowed. There are also screenplays in the Reference section, with the same number, to be used in the library.
Screenplays can also be found in the collections of the Billy Rose Theatre Division. See the catalog or a librarian for assistance.
One Acts and Solo performances can be discovered with the following Subject Headings
Monologues and Scenes are compiled and published in collections and acting books. They may be original material created to be suitable for auditions and training. Or they may be pulled from actual plays. They may be described and grouped in the collections according to age or type, or the number of characters, or the timing of the piece.
Often the best way to find a scene or a monologue is to go into the stacks and pull books to check the tables of contents for the category or descriptions that suit your needs.