A playwright, or dramatist, was a person who wrote drama or dramatic literature. Their works could be performed, but could also be written literary works. One of the most famous Earth playwrights was 16th century William Shakespeare.
In 2368, Geordi La Forge attempted to sing "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" (from The Pirates of Penzance) by late 19th century playwrights Gilbert and Sullivan. However, the USS Enterprise-D's collision with a quantum filament interrupted his performance. (TNG: "Disaster")
Julian Bashir felt that since the late 23rd century, plays which came out of Earth were of a lesser quality than those written previously. His belief was that "modern playwrights have become obsessed with writing Human interpretations of alien theatrical works while ignoring completely our own unique cultural heritage". When expounding on these thoughts to Miles O'Brien during lunch in 2371, he was about to give the rationale these playwrights had for doing so when he realized O'Brien wasn't listening. (DS9: "The Die is Cast")
Lt. Commander Data had been preparing for a performance of HMS Pinafore (also by Gilbert and Sullivan) in 2375, before being assigned temporarily to a survey team studying the Ba'ku. (Star Trek: Insurrection)
In 2376, Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres crash landed on an L-Class planet and befriended the playwright and poet Kelis. In order to avert war, Torres aided Kelis to please a local warlord and created a play describing the adventures of USS Voyager. (VOY: "Muse")