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A play is a common literary form, usually consisting chiefly of dialog between characters, and usually intended for performance rather than reading. However, many scholars study plays in this more academic manner, particularly classical plays such as those of Shakespeare. (rare authors (notably George Bernard Shaw) have had little preference whether their plays were performed or read.) The term play refers both to the written works of dramatists and to the complete theatrical performances of such.
Plays are generally performed in a director, who often puts their own unqiue interpretation on the production.
The interpretive nature of drama is what makes it so appealing to so many performers and audience-members alike -- because a Molière, for example, often acted in his own plays), a play is by definition undergoing constant rebirth and renewal as new experiences and interpretations are brought by new contributors.
