This article explores the use of metadata to analyse German-language one-act plays from 1740 to 1850, addressing the need to expand beyond canonical texts in literary studies. Utilising the Database of German-Language One-Act Plays, we examine aspects such as the number of scenes and characters as well as the role of different original languages on which the translated plays in the corpus are based. We find that one-act plays exhibit strong genre signals that set them apart from multi-act plays of the time. Our metadata-driven approach provides a comprehensive and statistically grounded understanding of the genre, demonstrating the potential of digital methods to enhance genre studies and overcome traditional limitations in literary scholarship.