What is a Playwright?

The playwright or dramatist is the author of a production, the maker or adapter of the original play, often working alone, but sometimes collaboratively with director, cast and the creative team. The playwright writes the text, or script for the play. He or she creates the essentials of the play: the narrative, the characters, the language, the tone, and the milieu. It may be a work of fiction, however there are also stage productions based entirely on faithful rendition of real events. It is up to the director, cast and creative team to interpret the playwright’s text. Although the play may be an original work, adaptation of a work of fiction is also common. Then the challenge is to find a theatrical equivalent to the novel. This may mean adding or more commonly subtracting characters or narrative elements. The demands of theatre are different from those of a book. The sets and staging, light and sound effects are substitutes for description. A playwright often finds it necessary to depart from the original book in order to make a story work as drama.