Write a Character Analysis
Standards:
3. Create and develop appropriate characters in a variety of performance situations
Task:
When preparing for a role, actors definitely do their homework. Whether the role is
historical or fictional, actors must delve into the script and discover the heart, mind, and
soul of a character.
They do this in primarily 3 ways:
1. Textually – extracting all possible information from the text. What does the
playwright directly say about the character? What do other characters say
about a character? What does the character say about themselves?
2. Inferentially – using all textual clues to infer information about a character.
What does the playwright imply about a character? What do a character’s
actions imply about that character? How do other characters react to a
character? What does that imply?
3. Interpretively – adding necessary information that is not textually based, but
remains consistent with collected character knowledge. What else does an
actor need to know in order to “flesh out” the character? What was the
family of the character like? What happened in the past to make him/her act
this way? What baggage does the character bring to the scene? What
educational background? These questions could go on forever; however, it is
important to discern which questions are appropriate and important to ask in
any given situation.
Write a character analysis of your character. It should cover all 3 aspects of analysis
and conform to the course writing standards. Length should be approximately 2-3
pages.
