Theater and Dance Research Guide 

What's Here

Need a reminder of a play's plot? This is the place!

Searching for Plot Outlines in ORBIS:

Plots (Drama, novel, etc.)

Operas--Stories, plots, etc.

Drama--Stories, plots, etc.

American drama--Stories, plots, etc.

Selected Sources of Plot Synopses

A Digest of 500 Plays; Plot Outlines and Production Notes. Theodore J. Shank. New York: Crowell-Collier, 1963.

SML Reference, PN6112.5 S52 1963

Arts Reference, Ba 65 P4527

Digests of Great American Plays: Complete Summaries of More than 100 Plays from the Beginnings to the Present. John Lovell. New York: Crowell, 1961.

SML Reference, PS338 P5 L68

Drury's Guide to Best Plays. Francis K.W. Drury. Washington: 1987.

SML Stacks & Reference, Z5781 D78 1987

Masterplots; Combined Edition: Fifteen Hundred and Ten Plot-Stories and Essay-Reviews from the World's Fine Literature. Frank N. Magill, ed. New York: 1960.

SML Reference, PN44 M352 1950

Continued by: Masterplots Annual. 1954-. SML Z1035 A1 M37

Masterplots II. Drama series. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Pasadena, Calif. : Salem Press, 1990.

SML Reference, PN6112.5 M37 1990

The New Theater Handbook and Digest of Plays. Bernard Sobel. 8th ed. New York: Crown, 1959.

SML & Bass Reference, PN1625 S62 1959

Outlines of British Drama, 1497-1642. Karl J. Holzknecht. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1947.

LSF, PR651 H66

The Plots of Some of the Most Famous Old English Plays. Henry Grey.London: 1900.

LSF, PR635 P7 G74 1900

The Reader's Encyclopedia of World Drama. Ed. John Gassner and Edward Quinn. New York: Crowell, 1969.

Bass Reference, PN1625 G37

Gives biographical data and critical material on playwrights; synopses of major plays; historical surveys of national dramas. Most entries include brief bibliography.