How to Cite a Play in APA

• Hannah Berry (Ph.D.)
• Published on 02/19/2025
• Updated on04/12/2025

In citing a play in APA format, there are certain details that should be included, such as the name of the playwright, publication date, title of the play, and publisher.

Below are step-by-step instructions on how to format a play citation according to APA (7th edition) standards.

GUIDELINES FOR CITING PLAYS

• Authors of the play: List the last name and initials of up to 20 authors in order to give due credit. If the authors are more than 21, list the first 19 authors, then an ellipsis (…), and finally the last author. Names should be listed in the same order as they are in the source.
• Year published: Place the year published in parentheses immediately after the author’s name. Just use the year, not exact dates or months. If it has been re-published, place the edition year followed by the original publishing year in parentheses.
• Title of play: Title the play in sentence case, italicizing it to indicate that it is an independent work. If the play has a subtitle, place the subtitle after the main title followed by a colon and capitalize the first word of the subtitle.
• Publisher: Provide the full publisher name as it appears in the source. In case of multiple publishers, use a semicolon between them.
• Republished classic plays: If the play is republished with an editor, the editor’s name has to be included in parentheses after the title, followed by “Ed.” The year of original publication has to be included in parentheses at the end of the reference.
• Plays from collections or anthologies: When the play is to be cited in an anthology, the citation is to begin with the playwright and end with the name of the play. Editors of the collection should be placed after the name of the play in the following order: “In First initials. Last name (Ed.),” followed by the name of the collection.

GENERAL FORMAT FOR CITING A PLAY

The standard format to cite a play in APA style is as follows:

CITING A REPUBLISHED CLASSIC PLAY

In republished classic plays with an editor, include the editor’s name and year of original publication.

Citing a Play from an Online Source: If the play is read online, add the URL at the end of the citation. Use a direct, stable link when possible and not a general homepage. Do not add a retrieval date unless the content will 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: In case the play has been released in different editions, indicate the particular edition used in the reference list where it matters in the cited material. This helps in distinguishing between various editorial changes. Citing a Play Performed Live: If citing a play that was seen as a live performance and not a published script, use information like playwright, director, production company, venue, and date of the performance. The citation format is different from that of a published work. Citing a Play with an Alternative Title: If a play is known by more than one title, provide the title that has been used in the version being quoted. For clarity, put the other title in brackets after the main title. For consistency in in-text citations, cite the title as it appears in the list of references.