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Drama: Referencing

Guide to resources for Drama

Drama Referencing & Assignment Guidelines

American Psychological Association Referencing Style

Drama students at Rhodes University use the APA Referencing Style, with additional footnotes

List references in alphabetical order in the Bibliography at the end of the essay

All Examples of reference types as detailed in the Drama Department Handbook

Books

The basic formula: Author, A. A. (date). Title of work. Place of publication: Publisher.

  • Surname first, then the initials.
  • Note the full stop after the date.
  • Title of the book is italicised. The subtitle is preceded by a colon.
  • Only the first letter of the title and the first letter of the subtitle are capitalised. (However, proper nouns retain their capital letters.)
  • If there are more than one city listed in the book as the place of publication, only the first city is cited.

 Birringer, J. (1998). Media &                                                     performance: Along the border. Baltimore:                  Johns Hopkins.

A chapter from a book

  • The chapter title is not italicised. The book title is italicised.
  • A chapter cited in this fashion usually means that the book is a collection of many chapters by different authors, collated by an editor (or editors). The chapter author is listed first. The editor’s name follows after “In”.
  • The editor’s name should be followed by (Ed.) – short for “Editor”. If there are more than one, use (Eds) – short for “Editors”.
  • Page numbers of the whole chapter are indicated.

Fleishman, M. (1996). Physical images in                        the South African theatre. In G. Davis & A. Fuchs         (Eds), Theatre and Change in South Africa (pp.          173-82). Amsterdam: Harwood.

NOTE: If an item in the list is longer than one line, as per the example above, additional lines of that item are indented. In some word processors this is called a “hanging indent”.

Introduction, Preface, Commentary OR Abstract of a BOOK

Sorell, W. (1981). On the point of departure                      [Preface]. Dance in its time (pp. viii-ix),                            New York: Columbia University.

  • The information inside the square brackets at the end of the title indicate whether it is an introduction, or preface, commentary, etc.
  • If there is no title, simply use the word “Commentary”, or “Preface”, etc.

Plastow, J. (1975). Commentary. In                                     W. Soyinka, Death and the king’s horseman                 (pp. xxvii-xliii). London: Eyre Methuen.

Multiple works by the same Author

  • The author’s name is typed out each time a work is referenced.
  • The works are arranged chronologically.
  • Where more than one work from the same year are cited, small letters follow the date to distinguish between these works.

Mda, Z. (1993a). And the girls in their Sunday                      dresses: Four works. Johannesburg:                            Witwatersrand University Press.

Mda, Z. (1993b). We shall sing for the                                    fatherland. Johannesburg: Ravan.

Mda, Z. (2002). Fools, bells, and the habit                           of eating: Three satires. Johannesburg:                       Witwatersrand University Press.

Newspaper Articles

  • A newspaper article reference should include the month and date.

Willoughby, G. (2003, May 30). Let’s get                                      physical. Mail&Guardian Friday, p. 2.

Conference paper

  • In the below, “Comp.” refers to the compiler of the conference proceedings. This is similar to using (Ed.) to indicate the editor of a book.

Gordon, G. (1999). Articulating the                                            unspeakable: Private sights, theatre sites and                citing a physical theatre. In A. Berry (Comp.),                    Confluences 2: “Articulating the unspoken”,                      Proceedings of the Second South African Dance              Conference (pp. 77-86). Cape Town: The UCT                  School of Dance.

Performance, Film, Video, CD, Brochure

  • The producing company is referenced in place of the publisher.
  • The content of the square brackets indicates the medium you are referencing.

Atlas, C. (Director) & Blum, S. (Producer). (2000).                     Merce Cunningham: A lifetime of dance                              [DVD]. New York: Thirteen/WNET.

A single episode from a televised series

  • Similar to the way you reference a journal article, the episode title is not italicised, while the series title is italicised.

Graham, M. (Choreographer). (1992) El                                    Penitente [Choreographic work in televised                       series]. In Dancemakers. London: BBC.

Unpublished Interview

The month and date when the interview was conducted should be included.

Mufamadi, S. (2006, April 18). [Interview                                    with John Kani, at the Market Theatre,                                  Johannesburg]. Unpublished interview.

Footnotes/Endnotes

A footnote or endnote may serve one of three purposes:

  • Provide contrasting points of view on a debate, to give space for scholars who may disagree with the main argument that you are making.
  • Provide annotation or commentary on a source you are citing. For instance, Michael Chekhov’s To the Actor (1953) is a well known actor’s manual in the West, but it is only an abridged version of the full manuscript, which was published much later as On the Technique of Acting (1991). A footnote serves to clarify which version of Chekhov’s ideas you may be using in your essay.
  • Reference a source text for a substantial, lengthy indirect quotation, for example, where an entire paragraph is based on an idea expounded by an author you have read. (See example below.) This cannot be used for direct quotations.

In all cases, footnotes and endnotes are used only when:

  • The information in the note is not central to the argument you are making. If it is, the information should be included in the body of your essay.
  • The concision and flow of your argument is aided by using the note. The note itself should also be concise; it is not an invitation to develop an entire strand of argument.

In some departments you are required to use footnotes or endnotes for all referencing. For assignments with the Drama Department, which requires the APA style to be used, you should not use notes for the purpose of general referencing.

Formatting Footnote / Endnote

A footnote occurs at the bottom of the relevant page. Endnotes are listed after the conclusion of your essay, before the list of works cited. You can use either footnotes or endnotes, but NOT BOTH.

Notes are numbered sequentially in the body of the essay, by adding a number in superscript after the relevant word, phrase or sentence. The number should be placed after all other punctuations. Example:

Modernism in theatre developed in two contrasting paths: one rooted in a politicised realism, and the other rejecting realistic representation.1 Practitioners like Brecht required that the stage action be recognisably real situations, even as he sought to disrupt the way in which audiences unquestioningly accept staged events as real. On the other hand, a playwright like Gertrude Stein eschewed realistic language …

At the bottom of the page (for footnote) or after the essay’s conclusion (for endnote):

1.       I am indebted to Drain (1995: 3-8) for the discussion in this paragraph.