In reference to Greek and Elizabethan theater, discuss "in writing a play, a dramatist is always aware of the physical conditions of the theater."

The Greeks, of course, generally performed in
amphitheatres in which the audience could always hear quite well but would not always be
able to see anything but the major elements on a stage.  To accommodate those
conditions, the Greek playwrights concentrated on words over actions.  Costuming was
generally limited to robes, elevated shoes, and exaggerated masks expressing one general
emotion which could be changed as each scene warranted.  Much of the action took place
offstage and was then discussed for the benefit of the audience, and the playwrights
were careful not to expect too much action from actors encumbered by the aforementioned
costuming.  The Greeks really were more concerned about the words--and therefore the
meaning and themes--than the presentation.  Their drama was in the
substance.

Some of the same is true of the Elizabethan
theatres, to some degree.  Though the audience was in much closer proximity, the
playwrights of this era had to contend with the fact that plays were always performed in
the daytime under natural light.  Any time the storyline called for conditions other
than daylight, the characters would have to tell us so through dialogue.  The stages
were small, so any grand actions had to be brought onto the stage via messenger or some
other pretense.  Any battles or sword fightswere necessarily limited to the size of the
stage.  Because all the actors were male (which was also true of the Greek stage, but
they could have been either, really, given their costuming), and some were playing the
roles of females, costuming became a more significant part of Elizabethan drama.  Jokes,
flirting, teasing, and innuendo between the male and female characters is a significant
part of the script--as are role reversals and male/female mix-ups, especially in
Shakespeare.  Lots of special entrances and exits could be made through trap doors and
hidden portals, so the playwrights certainly wrote those elements into their works. 
These elements are deliberate to the time and stage in which Elizabethan
playwrights worked and wrote.

It's pretty clear that, until
the modern era when everything became producible and creatable, when imagination met
technology, playwrights wrote with the physical considerations of their theatres and
stages in mind.