The Importance of Character in Acting

  

I have found that acting itself has helped my writing, and writing has helped my acting and characters in general. While this post isn't about characters in writing (it is about characters in acting and theatre), I do want to show that there is a connection between the two. I have found that I got to know my characters better in acting and writing using these techniques. 

There are many different ways to act, and not all of them fit everyone. I have found that these techniques have helped me greatly with getting into character in acting, but not everyone finds every technique helpful, so think about which ones would work for you.

I even ended up teaching a workshop about this. So, I thought it was time to get some of the things I taught in that class into a blog post. While in that workshop we weren't developing characters from monologues, (we were developing original characters we had created on the spot (and wrote monologues for later)), I still believe these techniques can apply to characters from monologues.  I learned most of the character building questions and tips involved in this post from different acting (or writing) classes I took over the years; so I would like to thank my teachers for teaching these to me. 

Character sheets 

Like with writing, in acting I end up creating sheets for my characters. I find they help me understand the character better. In filling out a character sheet, I feel I have to start with the information I'm given from the source material. This can be done by scanning and annotating the script or monologue.

Once I'm done with everything that is apparent from the monologue or the script itself, I start adding on my own details, making the character mine within the realm of the script. This is where making the character in acting is very different from writing your own character because you aren't fully in control, and you aren't the creator; instead, you're the one interpreting the character. And while in some cases you may be confined within what the director wants the character to be, you can still be free to interpret stuff, like "what happened in the moment before?", "what is my character's family-life like?",  or "what is my character's favorite color?" (assuming none of these appear in the monologue or script).

(Side note: if the character is from a play/movie/TV show where there is a performance done by another actor, I try not to take the choices they made, because otherwise I am copying their character and not creating my own version of that character). 

(Image from wiki, https://dragonshavern.fandom.com/wiki/Benjy_Woodbush?file=Benjyw.jpg)

Just like with writing characters, I have found it helpful to search for a painting or picture that reminds me of what I think my character looks like. I find it easier to get into their mindset if I know what they look like. Above is a picture I used to get into the mindset of Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream when I played him in a monologue. 

 I also sometimes find a single song or create a playlist that reminds me of the character, and I listen to the song before filming/performing because then I feel more energized. These are both things you can include on your character sheets.  For example, here are some playlists I created for characters I have been working on: 

 

 You can also, if you wish, include things like what your character's archetype is, or what their Hogwarts House or Camp Half Blood cabin is, if you think those things will help you understand the character even more. 

Character interview 

If you have anyone in your family or friends that can particape in a character interview with you then that may help. This one activity both writers and actors can do. Basically you sit down and ask questions to your character and respond in character to them. It is not only a good way to get to know your character, but it also helps you figure out stuff you may not have noticed before. 

One of the resources I used for the workshop I taught was this video/list of questions by Ginny Di, in which she lists of a number of questions to ask your (D&D) character to help expand on their personality and backstory:  

You can also watch it here

While it was originally intended for D&D characters, I do believe it works for any characters regardless of the genre. All you need to do is change "tavern" to "bar" or anything else if your character isn't from the Fantasy genre. There's also a text version of it if you need it. 

In my workshop, I had participants respond to the questions given in the video/doc. I suggested they choose some at random (taking turns being the character and interviewer). The person playing the character would improvise on the spot to answer the questions. 

I didn't use the following POV RP videos in the workshop (though I mentioned them to the participants). I have found that if you don't have anyone around you (or you don't feel comfortable doing interviews with family members and/or friends) that these are really helpful: 

   

If you don't have someone around you can still basically play the game with a person (Ginny Di), and think about how your character would respond not only to the questions but the various situations they are put in. (You can also make your own response video, if you feel excited about it).

Also, you should keep in mind that there may be some questions your character may not answer (or answer fully), because of discomfort around the question or a desire to be secretive about themselves. Your character could end up answering a question with another question, if they wanted to.  

 If anyone wants questions beyond those that Ginny Di created, I have included my own list of questions to ask your character at the end of this post. 

Status 

Statuses aren't just about class in society, though they can play into that. They are about knowing your character's status in a scene:  How much control do they have in the scene? And how does their status change? 

The status of your character is often affected by those around them. If a (bad) rumor is spread about your character, they could go down in status. If they are popular, they will have a high status. There is also middle ground between the two, which would be middle status. They can also be a high status person pretending to have low status, or a low status person fighting to get high status or pretending to have it. It all depends on the situation.

 Also, their status can be affected by their religious beliefs, general beliefs, gender, race, etc, and they can have a low or high status in any given situation based on any of those. Some people may treat them differently (and make it low) because of their identity, but if they are around people like them it may become high again. If their status stays the same all the time then there is a lack of a sense of realism, because no one's status is ever low or high the entire time.  

One way to experiment with status, is to randomize it, and try the scene with that status. Use a random number generator with 1 being low status, 5 being middle status, and 10 being high status.  Then see how that status affects your character's actions and how they walk or even talk. While the status you are playing around with may not be the one you ultimately use in the scene or monologue, it is still a way to see how your character's status affects your character. 

Stakes and Goals

There is a reason why your character is saying these things in the scene, and it isn't just to say it. There is a goal behind it. Maybe your character wants to get a reaction out of whoever they're talking to. And also they're probably fighting for something related to their long term goal in the rest of the play and/or movie. 

The stakes might depend on interpersonal conflicts, the plot, the characters, etc. This makes you want to say whatever you're saying more, because there are consequences if you do say it and consequences if you don't. And in doing this monologue and/or scene are you ready to face these consequences? Good or bad? 

Object work 

The premise of this activity is that you take five minutes or so to find an object that reminds you of your character. Once you do, wear the object, hold the object, or figure out why the object is important to your character. (It can be as important as something they need or something they cherish.) Some questions to consider are, how often they carry the object around with them, is it something they keep in their pocket or something they wear, or do they hide it in a bag? Can it be hidden or it something everyone would be able to see? Do they like it or is it just a necessity? Continue asking questions like this and you will figure out your character even more. 

One random object I grabbed in this exercise was a sheep tea cozy. This ended up creating a character that was a possessed librarian, interestingly. 

This same exercise can also be used to create a character as well as develop one. If you have a piece of clothing, an accessory, or an object that you pick at random, you can try and figure out what type of character would have that object, and what the character's liking or disliking of that object says about the character. 

Finding a personal experience (from your life) to associate with the monologue/scene  

If you find a common experience between you and the character (it doesn't have to be the exact same thing as the character has experienced), you can use it to relate to your character even more. Let's say you are performing Hamlet and are playing the lead role of Hamlet. 

One major life event Hamlet experiences is finding out that his uncle murdered his father in order to marry his mother. Now, you don't need to have experienced the exact same thing in order to understand or relate to him as a character. You could have experienced loss (of anyone: a pet, a friend, or a family member) and relate to Hamlet that way or have experienced betrayal and relate to Hamlet's discovery of what his uncle did that way. 

Walking like your character

In this exercise you walk around the room as your character, and you try to figure out how they walk. Do they walk with a slow pace or a fast pace? Do they walk with their head held high, or do they look towards the ground? Do they have a straight back, or do they walk with a slouch? As you walk around the room do that, and try different ways to walk. Keep trying: you're not likely to get the walk the way your character walks the first time. 

Dressing up as your character

I would say this is the last thing to do, given that you go through several performances before you get around to filming or performing the monologue (assuming you're performing it on stage). Knowing what your character wears can be useful in understanding their personality too, but unless you're filming it yourself, you may not be fully in control of what you wear in character. You can still figure out the importance of the clothing to your character, though. There was one show I acted in where I wore a green scarf, and as I was performing in the show I began associating it with one of the characters I was playing, Hortensio (from The Taming of the Shrew). Often I used the scarf as a way to get into character before the scene I acted in. I would fiddle with the scarf before acting in the scene, because I saw that as something Hortensio would do with it. And for my other characters, I tried associating different costumes pieces with what they'd wear. For Maria (from Twelfth Night), I remember associating the leather bracelet I was wearing with her, because it seemed like something she would like. So, even if you don't have full control over the costumes, you can still make character choices. 

This is a costume I wear for a monologue I am working on filming. 
The character pictured is Sherlock Holmes, and this is my take on him.
I decided he would choose to wear this normally (through character development). 

But if you are in full control (because you're filming it or for another reason), you can have a lot of fun in designing your character's outfit and finding wigs to match their hair color, supposing their hair is a different color or style than yours. You can also figure specifics involving these clothes, other than just that they wear them. Does your character set up clothes they wear each night? Do they match? Or do they wake up and just put on whatever they can find? If so, is it mismatched? 

Two more costumes from my two other video projects. While Phoenix (left), Gletta (right), are original characters of mine (and not from any monologue), the characters are from Fantasy novels, so there is world-building behind what they wear. 

Also depending on the genre they're from you may also have creativity with the clothes. If it is historical, you can find clothes that match with the time period. But if they are from Fantasy or Science fiction world, there is a reason world-building wise behind what they're wearing, and it may be made of materials that we wouldn't be able to access in our world, like dragon scales or phoenix feathers. 

Here is a character sheet to use when keeping track of your character: 

You can add on as much as you want or take stuff away, but this is just a starting point for you. 

Name: 

Gender: 

Age: 

Status: 

Religion/beliefs: 

Personality: 

Likes: 

Dislikes: 

Prized possession(s): 

Goal(s) in scene/play/monologue: 

The stakes: 

Who are they talking to?: 

What happened before this monologue/scene?: 

Favorite color: 

Least favorite color: 

Clothing style: 

How they walk: 

Other: 

Image that reminds you of them/what they look like: 

Questions to ask your character during an interview: 

Here is a list of questions I created for a character interview, so you can ask them to your character during the interview: 

1. What is your name? 
2. Do you like your name? Would you change it if you could? 
3. What is your family life like? Do you have a good or bad relationship with your parents or siblings, if you have any?  
4. What’s your dream job? Is there anything you’ve wanted to be for a long time? 
5. What’s your current job? Do you like it? 
6. Do you have many friends? 
7. Do you believe in magic or the supernatural?
8. If not, why don’t you? What experiences shaped your not believing in it? 
9. If so, why do you? What experiences have shaped your belief in it? 
10. Are you religious? 
11. Do you have any hobbies? 
12. Do you listen to music? 
13. Can you play any music? 
14. Is there anything in the world you want to change? 
15. What was your childhood like? 
16. Do you have any fond memories from your childhood? 
17. If you could have any magical power, what would you have? 
18. If you were stranded on a desert island what item would you take with you? 
19. Do you read? If so, what is your favorite book? 
20. If you could visit any fictional world, where would you visit? 
21. What is one thing about yourself, you don’t want anyone to know? 
22. What is one thing about yourself, you want anyone to know? 
23. Do you want to be famous or would you prefer to remain unknown? 
24. If you had a blog or YouTube channel, what would you post/blog about? 
25. What would your Hogwarts house be? 
26. If you went to Camp Half blood, who would your godly parent be? 
27. Who is one person whom you confide in, if you’re upset or angry? 
28. What’s one thing that really upsets you? 
29. What’s one thing that really makes you happy? 
30. What is a book or movie that you turn to when you’re upset? 
31. What is one song you play when you’re sad? 
32. What is one song you play when you’re happy? 
33. If you came across a ghost, how would you react? 
34. If you came across a dragon, how would you react? 
35. Do you have any pets? If not, do you want any? 
36. If you were a mythical creature what type of creature would you be and why? 
37. How old are you? Do you care about your age or does it not bother you? 
38. Do you like birthdays? Or do you just try to ignore them? 
39. What is your worst nightmare? And why? 
40. What is something you really want to happen to you? 
41. Do you dream at night? Or do you sleep without dreams? 
42. What is one goal you want to achieve? And why? 
43. What would you do if you achieved that goal? 
44. What would you do if you failed to reach that goal? 
45. Is anyone or anything trying to stop you from reaching said goal? 
46. Do you have any enemies? And if so, why are you enemies with them? 
47. If you were a D&D character, what class(es) would you be? 
48. What subjects in school are you (or were you) interested in? 
49. What styles of clothing do you like to wear? And why? 
50. What types of clothes would you never wear? And why? 
51. Do you like make-up? And if not, why? 
52. Is your hair long or short? And do you like styling it? 
53. Do you like going to the theatre to see a show or a play? Why or why not? 
54. What song(s) would you say best describe your personality? 
55. Is there anything you would change about your appearance?
56. How well do you sleep? Are you a light or heavy sleeper? 
57. How do other people feel about you? Do they like you, dislike you, or are their feelings toward you somewhere in the middle? 
58. What is the worst thing anyone has ever said to you? 
59. What is the best thing anyone has ever said to you? 
60. Are you good at trusting people? Why or why not? 
    
61. How would you describe yourself in three words? 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you do acting what is your favorite part of it? And how do you get into character? 

-Quinley 

Mind Trick (Contemporary Monologue)

Hi everyone,
This is a contemporary monologue I worked on for a little bit.  I have two other monologues that are from TV shows that I like that I'm working on but am not quite ready to film yet, I have them memorized but I have not gotten them to the point where they would be filmable.
Mind Trick is from a one act play, but I liked the monologue from it, and decided to use it.

You can also watch it here

The character in the monologue is nameless which means you can make up things about them because the writer gives you little to no information about the character other than the fact that they have weird thoughts. Also I found the monologue here.  And the thing I decided to mostly explore with this character was how to portray the emotion I was feeling through my eyes and also be physical with my body in certain ways.
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Do you relate to this monologue? Have you ever had weird thoughts? 

-Quinley

P.S. I have a drawing video special coming up and I need your input for it because it relies on your (the reader's) answers, since I am creating a character using audience answers, if you want to take the survey you may take it here.