Similarly, actors and directors look for action implied in dialogue because the theatrical medium encourages action as opposed to thought, description, or other rhetorical functions. While working within these theatrical conventions, a playwright has artistic goals similar to other authors. The playwright seeks to communicate a plot, characters, thematic material, and heightened language to an audience. Finally, a playwright develops his or her own style, both within a play and over the body of his or her work. The playwright will not communicate directly, but through the participation of other artists and media, all of which will deliver the playwright's text in an immediate, sensual manner.
Interpretive artists strive to illuminate a writer's story, genre, and style.
A playwright's tools are similar to other writers, though the playwright must always apply literary tools while keeping in mind the goal of live performance. On the broadest level, language and imagination are the most important of the playwright's tools. The playwright writes primarily in dialogue. With dialogue, she suggests action, intention, and state of mind for characters. She differentiates among characters by giving them different vocabularies, diction, and dialects.