What is the author's style in the play, Oleanna?

The entire play is composed of dialogue between John and Carol, with very few stage directions or descriptions. At the opening of the play, John's language differs greatly from Carol's. He is an academic who uses an extensive vocabulary to convey his points. Carol, on the other hand, is an undergraduate college student who seems befuddled by John's language and frequently asks for definitions. As the play progresses, Carol's frustration increases as she shouts at John to simply say what he means, without artistic flair or elevated language. Mamet's goal in writing Oleanna this way, is to study the subtext of conversations - what people say versus what they really mean, particularly with common exchanges in light of the movement toward political correctness. On the page, John appears to openly communicate with Carol, but Carol misconstrues or manipulates what is said to further her political and personal agendas. The play focuses on dialogue and conversation alone, and it is written in Mamet's signature stop-start style. His plays are typically sparse on action, with notoriously realistic dialogue—so realistic that he has often been accused of tape recording conversations and transcribing them. Often, the rhythm and diction of Mamet's dialogue is as important to the themes as what is actually being said. In the case of Oleanna, the constant interruptions are indicative of the characters' constant struggle for power.