How to Cite a Play in APA

• Hannah Berry (Ph.D.)
• Published on 02/19/2025

Citing a play in APA format requires including specific details such as the playwright’s name, publication year, play title, and publisher.

Below are detailed guidelines on how to format a play citation correctly according to APA (7th edition) standards.

GUIDELINES FOR CITING PLAYS

• Author(s) of the play: Include the last name and initials of up to 20 authors to ensure proper attribution. If there are more than 21 authors, list the first 19 authors, followed by an ellipsis (…), and then include the last author’s name. Names should be listed in the same order as they appear in the source.
• Year of publication: Place the year of publication in parentheses immediately after the author’s name. Use only the year, omitting specific dates or months. If the play has been republished, include the year of the edition being referenced, along with the original publication year in parentheses.
• Title of the play: Italicize the title to indicate that it is a standalone work. Use sentence case, meaning only the first word of the title and any proper nouns are capitalized. If the play has a subtitle, separate it from the main title with a colon and capitalize the first word of the subtitle.
• Publisher: Provide the publisher’s full name as it appears in the source. If multiple publishers are listed, separate them with a semicolon.
• Republished classic plays: If the play has been republished with an editor, the editor’s name should be included in parentheses after the title, preceded by “Ed.” The original publication year should be included in parentheses at the end of the reference.
• Plays from anthologies or collections: If citing a play within an anthology, the citation should begin with the playwright’s name and be followed by the play’s title. The editor(s) of the anthology should be included after the title, using the format “In First initials. Last name (Ed.),” followed by the title of the collection.

GENERAL FORMAT FOR CITING A PLAY

The general format for citing a play in APA style is as follows:

CITING A REPUBLISHED CLASSIC PLAY

For classic plays that have been republished with an editor, include the editor’s name and the original publication year.

Citing a Play from an Online Source: If the play is accessed online, include the URL at the end of the citation. Use a direct, stable link rather than a general homepage whenever possible. Do not include a retrieval date unless the content is expected to change over time. Citing a Play with No Publication Date: If a publication year is unavailable, use “(n.d.)” in place of the year to indicate “no date.” Ensure that all other citation elements are correctly formatted. Handling Multiple Editions of the Same Play: When citing a play that has been published in multiple editions, indicate the specific edition used in the reference list if it is relevant to the content cited. This helps distinguish between different editorial changes. Citing a Play Performed Live: If referencing a play that was attended as a live performance rather than citing a published script, include details such as the playwright, director, production company, venue, and date of the performance. The format differs from a published work citation. Citing a Play with an Alternative Title: If a play is known by multiple titles, provide the title used in the version being cited. If necessary for clarity, include the alternative title in brackets after the main title. Ensure consistency in in-text citations by using the title as it appears in the reference list.