The present work gathers the qualitative and quantitative results of the comparative analysis between direct speech procedures in oral and dramatic discourse, empirically grounded in a corpus of real language. Although dramatic texts originate in the written mode of language, their purpose as a work destined for representation is reflected in the mimesis that authors make of oral language, both in character interactions and speeches as well as in their reproduction. This is evidenced by the high degree of similarity revealed by the study between direct quotation in oral and theatrical discourse in three fundamental aspects: the notable predominance of constructions with preposing of the introductory expression to the quotation, the marked tendency towards subject omission, and the presence of introductory verbs with the same semantic values (mainly, verbal process, and secondarily, thinking and contextual processes). However, despite the high degree of coincidence, direct speech constructions in theatrical discourse also occasionally present nuances and exceptions that recall the written nature of the genre.