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MLA 9th

Live performances

In-text citation

Title focused

Format

(Title)

Example

(Farewell)


OR


Elton John's Farewell...

Creator focused

Format

(Creator surname)

Example

(Jelinek)


OR


Jelinek's Princess Dramas...

Group focused

Format

(Group name)

Example

(Midnight Oil)


OR


Midnight Oil's Sound Relief concert...

Tips

  • Go to Getting started > In-text citation to view detailed information on in-text citation using MLA.
  • If an entry in the Works Cited list begins with a title, italicise it in-text.
  • Use the shortest piece of information that directs your reader to the entry in the Works Cited list. For example, Sound Relief, not Sound Relief: Bushfire Benefit and Elton John's Farewell and not Farewell Yellow Brick Road.

Live performance

Works cited

Format

Creator Last name, First Name. Title. Directed by First Name Last Name, Theatre Company if applicable, Date of Performance, Theatre/venue, Location.

Example

Jelinek, Elfriede. Princess Dramas. Translated by Gitta Honegger, directed by André Bastian, performed by Red Stitch, 8 June 2011, Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, Melbourne.

Electra. By Sophocles, translated by Anne Carson, directed by Adena Jacobs, performances by Zahra Newman, Jane Griffiths, Luisa Hastings Edge, Gary Abrahams, Karen Sibbing and Josh Price, 5 Dec. 2010, The Dog Theatre, Footscray.

Purcell, Leah. The Drover's Wife. Directed by Leticia Caceres, Oombarra Productions, 17 September 2016, Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney.

Tips

  • When a number of contributors are important for identifying the version of a performance of a work in your discussion, for example, translator and actors, you may place the title of the work first, followed by the roles of the contributors. See p. 148 of the MLA Handbook.

Live performance (focus on performance)

Works cited

Format

Title of Performance. Directed by First Name Last Name, performance by First Name Last Name, Date of Performance, Theatre/venue, Location.

Example

Embrace: Guilt Frame. Directed by Tess de Quincy and Peter Snow, performance by Tess de Quincy and Peter Snow, 2 Dec. 2009, Carlton Courthouse, Melbourne.

Paul Grabowsky’s New Grooves. Performance by Paul Grabowsky, Tamara Murphy and Miles Henry, 29 Aug. 2019, Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts, Clayton.

Farewell Yellow Brick Road. Performance by Elton John, 11 Dec. 2019, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne..

Tips

  • A reference for a collaborative performance where you are writing about the performance rather than any one contributor, will usually begin with the title. In these examples, the author, the director, and the lead performers appear in the “Other contributors” position.
  • If present, provide the name of the company presenting the work where you usually write the publisher's name, then the date of the performance, and the location.

A performance citing contribution of a particular individual

Works cited

Format

Last Name, First Name, performer. Title of Play/Performance, directed by First Name Last Name, Date of performance, Theatre/Venue, Location.

Example

Porter, Susie, performer. The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, directed by Ray Lawler and Neil Armfield, 24 Sept. 2011, Belvoir Street Theatre Company, Sydney.

Griffiths, Jane, performer. Electra. By Sophocles, translated by Anne Carson, directed by Adena Jacobs, 5 Dec. 2010, The Dog Theatre, Footscray.

Midnight Oil, performers. Sound Relief: Bushfire Benefit. 14 March, 2009, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne.

Tips

  • If your discussion of the work focuses on the contribution of a particular person, or group, begin the entry with that person or group’s name and a description of their contribution, if necessary. Other contributors are displayed after the title of the performance.
  • If present, provide the name of the company presenting the work where you usually write the publisher's name, then the date of the performance, and the location.

Theatre or concert program

Works cited

Format

Program for Title at Theatre, Location, Year.

Example

Program for First Time in Boston. Performance by New York Philharmonic, conducted by Gustav Mahler, at Symphony Hall, Boston, 1910.

Program for The Boy from Oz at the Arts Centre, Melbourne, 1998.

Tips

  • Begin with a description of the program as the title and include any important identifying information in the description, such as the name of the theatre where the performance took place and its location. Then provide the name of the program’s publisher and the publication date. The person or group who uploaded the video is credited as the author, even if they did not create the work.
  • In the example above, the name of the conductor was included because it is significant to the discussion. If instead the author and publisher of the program are listed, include their names.

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