A 10th-century German nun who is credited as being the first female playwright. She wrote six plays in Latin about female characters who are converted to Christianity.

• Plautus

• Wendy Wasserstein

• Hrosvitha

• Lillian Hellman

An American composer of musical theatre and popular music. Biggest achievement was writing the music for Showboat.

• David Henry Hwang

• Terrance

• Sophocles

• Jerome Kern

An American playwright that is best known for writing The Children's Hour and The Little Foxes.

• Wendy Wasserstein

• David Henry Hwang

• Jerome Kern

• Lillian Hellman

An Italian playwright dramatist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Tragic farces are often seen as forerunners of the Theatre of the Absurd. Known for writing Six Characters in Search of an Author.

• Moliere

• Terence

• Luigi Pirandello

• Plautus

An American playwright, librettist, screenwriter that is best-known for writing the play was M Butterfly. Also wrote the books for Aida, Flower Drum Song, and Tarzan.

• David Henry Hwang

• Wendy Wasserstein

• Jerome Kern

• Lillian Hellman

A French playwright know for writing comedies such as Tartuffe, The Miser, and the Imaginary Invalid.

• Moliere

• Luigi Pirandello

• Terence

• Jerome Kern

A Roman playwright who wrote comedies including The Menaechmi, Pseudolus, & Miles Glorious.

• Moliere

• Plautus

• Sophocles

• Terence

A Greek playwright who wrote tragedies include Oedipus and Antigone.

• Plautus

• Terence

• Moliere

• Sophocles

A Roman playwright who wrote comedies including Eunuchus, Adelphoe (The Brothers), and Hecyra (the mother-in-law).

• Terence

• Plautus

• Sophocles

• Moliere

An American playwright that won the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1989 for her play The Heidi Chronicles.

• Luigi Pirandello

• David Henry Hwang

• Wendy Wasserstein

• Jerome Kern