Unlimited Playwriting Part Seventeen: Facing the Blank Page
If you panic at facing the blank page, here's some quick advice.
17 Sept 2026
Unlimited Playwriting Part Sixteen: Must You Shrink Your Play?
There are two criticisms often heard in workshops: "You have too many locations" and "You should cut that character." Both of these comments result in asking you to shrink your play. In this episode I discuss ways of looking at both those criticisms, and how some real plays handled these issues.
28 Jun 2026
Unlimited Playwriting Part Fifteen: stage directions
What's the deal with stage directions?
9 Jun 2026
Unlimited Playwriting Part Fourteen: Action in the Weir
Amy Crider analyzes Conor McPherson's play The Weir to talk about what is meant by action.
26 May 2026
Unlimited Playwriting Episode Thirteen: Can Playwriting Be Taught? Plus My David Mamet Story
Award-winning playwright Amy Crider discusses whether playwriting can be taught, and tells an anecdote about meeting David Mamet when she was in college.
5 May 2026
Unlimited Playwriting Part Twelve: The Actor
When you write a play, you're writing for actors. In this episode, Amy interviews Chicago actor Jeff Broitman about what he looks for in a role and a play.
24 Apr 2026
Unlimited Playwriting Part Eleven: What is Action?
To answer the question What is Action? Amy Crider analyzes the play Red, by John Logan.
14 Apr 2026
Unlimited Playwriting Part Ten: Developing an Object
If you're struggling to develop your play, here's an example of how I developed a specific object in the story.
20 Mar 2026
Unlimited Playwriting Part Nine: Are Critics Biased Against Women Playwrights?
Amy Crider shares her opinion about why there might be bias against women playwrights.
6 Mar 2026
Unlimited Playwriting Part Eight: Characters' Needs and Knowledge
What do the characters need and what do they know?
27 Feb 2026
Unlimited Playwriting Part Seven: Inciting Incident
Why having an inciting incident matters.
20 Feb 2026
Unlimited Playwriting Part Six: Sympathetic Characters
Sympathetic Characters: what makes them sympathetic, and does it matter?
13 Feb 2026
Unlimited Playwriting Part Five: a Second City Exercise
A fun exercise from Second City featuring micro plays, with guest actor Pete Blatchford.
6 Feb 2026
Unlimited Playwriting Part Four: History Plays
Historical figures often grab your imagination. Here's a way of thinking about how to put them on stage. Three examples discussed are: Master Class by Terrence McNally, Freud's Last Session by Mark St. Germain, and Copenhagen by Michael Freyn.
26 Jan 2026
Unlimited Playwriting Part Three: Great Expectations
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