Page 1
CHARACTER ANALYSIS WORKSHEET CHARACTER NAME: _____________________________________________________ ACTOR NAME: __________________________________________________________ 1. 2. CHARACTER AGE: PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS Voice:
Posture:
Walk:
Distinguishing Marks:
Physical Description:
3.
OCCUPATION:
4.
INTERESTS:
5.
BELIEFS: (Religious and otherwise)
6. AMBITIONS: (Based on your Super Objective)
7. Where are you from?
Page 2
8. Who are your parents? What did they do? Do you have any siblings or other close relatives? Who are they?
9. What is your favorite: (explain) A. Color?: B. Food?: C. Song or Type of Music?: D. Play, Movie, Book, Television Show and/or Radio Show?: (Depending on the period of the play, you might not be able to answer all of these.)
10. 11.
What is your body lead? What type of animal are you most like? Explain.
12.
What are some important items or images associated with your character?
Page 3
13. How is this character different from you? [One full paragraph]
14.
How is this character similar to you?
15. What is the characters relationship to the other characters in the play? OTHER CHARACTER RELATIONSHIP FEELINGS TOWARD HIM OR HER
16.
SUPER OBJECTIVE:
OBJECTIVE(S):
SUPER OBSTACLE: OBSTACLE(S):
TACTICS:
17.
On another sheet of paper, write a detailed character history. It must be typed or written neatly in pen. (1 full page minimum)
Page 4
Character Analysis Term Review Sheet
Objective * The Objective asks the question: what does the character want in the specific scene? * The Super-Objective is the characters objective for the entire play. * For a monologue, the objective is placed at the very bottom. For a scene, the objective is placed at the end of the scene. * The Objective should be no longer than a sentence. The specificity keeps the objective from becoming muddled. * The Objective should be phrased I want . . . (objective.) Obstacle For every objective, you must have an obstacle. This creates conflict. This makes the character interesting. This makes the character real. For a monologue, the obstacle is placed at the very bottom, underneath the objective. For a scene, the obstacle is placed at the end of the scene, underneath the objective. The Obstacle should be no longer than a sentence. The specificity keeps the obstacle from becoming muddled. The Obstacle should be worded: My Obstacle is . . . Tactics Tactics are the different strategies used to overcome the obstacles and to obtain the objective A Tactic is an active and playable verb following the word To. Playable Tactics deal with conscious, externalized, emotional, actions. Tactics are noted underneath your objective and your obstacle with the phrase To. . . . You must divide your script into different beats. Each beat represents a different tactic. Each time the tactic changes there is another beat. Tactics are notated in your script with a vertical slash (\) with the number of the tactic above it (3\) - these represent the beat changes. The Tactic should be worded: To . . .
Examples of active and playable tactics are: To manipulate To amuse To seduce To beg To attack To bargain To entertain To impress To demand To chastise To ridicule To threaten To dictate To vilify To confuse To berate To relax To charm To persist To coax To provoke To stall Examples of passive and non-playable tactics To be. [The worst]* To be . . . [The worst II]* To try [The 2nd worst]* To be pretty To be happy To sit To run To love To tell off To hate To exist To laugh To shut up To smile To stink {To be happy is bad! To celebrate is good!} *= The ultimate non-tactics.
