Unlimited Playwriting

Unlimited Playwriting Part Seventeen: Facing the Blank Page 16.10.2026 6:09 ↓

If you panic at facing the blank page, here's some quick advice.

Unlimited Playwriting Part Sixteen: Must You Shrink Your Play? 17.09.2026 16:16 ↓

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.

Unlimited Playwriting Part Fifteen: stage directions 28.06.2026 8:56 ↓

What's the deal with stage directions?

Unlimited Playwriting Part Fourteen: Action in the Weir 09.06.2026 9:56 ↓

Amy Crider analyzes Conor McPherson's play The Weir to talk about what is meant by action.

Unlimited Playwriting Episode Thirteen: Can Playwriting Be Taught? Plus My David Mamet Story 26.05.2026 14:11 ↓

Award-winning playwright Amy Crider discusses whether playwriting can be taught, and tells an anecdote about meeting David Mamet when she was in college.

Unlimited Playwriting Part Twelve: The Actor 05.05.2026 14:07 ↓

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.

Unlimited Playwriting Part Eleven: What is Action? 24.04.2026 9:10 ↓

To answer the question What is Action? Amy Crider analyzes the play Red, by John Logan.

Unlimited Playwriting Part Ten: Developing an Object 14.04.2026 7:36 ↓

If you're struggling to develop your play, here's an example of how I developed a specific object in the story.

Unlimited Playwriting Part Nine: Are Critics Biased Against Women Playwrights? 20.03.2026 4:57 ↓

Amy Crider shares her opinion about why there might be bias against women playwrights.

Unlimited Playwriting Part Eight: Characters' Needs and Knowledge 06.03.2026 9:52 ↓

What do the characters need and what do they know?

Unlimited Playwriting Part Seven: Inciting Incident 27.02.2026 13:45 ↓

Why having an inciting incident matters.

Unlimited Playwriting Part Six: Sympathetic Characters 20.02.2026 7:25 ↓

Sympathetic Characters: what makes them sympathetic, and does it matter?

Unlimited Playwriting Part Five: a Second City Exercise 13.02.2026 4:42 ↓

A fun exercise from Second City featuring micro plays, with guest actor Pete Blatchford.

Unlimited Playwriting Part Four: History Plays 06.02.2026 7:54 ↓

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.

Unlimited Playwriting Part Three: Great Expectations 26.01.2026 11:09 ↓

Playwriting advice from award-winning writer Amy Crider. Today's topic: Audience Expectations.

Unlimited Playwriting Part Two: Conflict 18.12.2025 10:08 ↓

Today's topic: Conflict. A new way of thinking about it, not as argument or opposition, but as the "conflicting image."

Unlimited Playwriting Part One: The First Questions 28.11.2025 8:13 ↓

The first questions to ask yourself about your play.