A dramatist is someone who writes plays — the kind you watch in a theatre, with people speaking on a stage. We use it especially for writers of serious plays, the ones that make you think hard, not just laugh. Though actually, that “serious” part is a habit, not a wall: a person who writes stage comedies can still be called a dramatist. Playwright is the everyday twin, and you will hear it more. Dramatist sounds a little more formal, more like a school book or a review. Shakespeare is the dramatist almost every English class meets first. The word names the writer, not the person acting.