Exam Tip - Some Strategies To Help Your Students Develop Their Characters

There are some techniques that can be done in the classroom as part of the rehearsal process or as homework that will help students develop their character and their belief in them in their performance. These can include:-

−         Writing in Role: Writing as if it is my character writing the words, not myself.

−         Role on the Wall: Attaching a piece of paper to the wall or board and filling in character details in the form of words or pictures.

−         Character Timeline: Writing a history for my character from birth to present day to help develop my understanding of them.

−         Hot Seating: In role and without preparation, I answer questions about my character and his or her circumstances.

−         Mantle of the Expert: When hot seating someone, even the people asking the questions are in role as other characters.

−         Context: If using a script/ text then the following analysis can be done. Set up a grid with columns entitled- What the Playwright says about my Character (find this info in the stage directions)/ What my Character says about the other Characters/ What other Characters say about my Character/ Social, Political, Historical & Cultural (this will have to be researched separately)- each week a different column can be set as homework. By the end of it the students will know a lot more about the play and the characters, including their own.

Other strategies that can be used by the teacher in the classroom to develop characters are:

−         Teacher in Role: When the teacher takes a central part in the role-play.

−         Tableau: The whole class forms a large frozen picture in which different incidents are portrayed within the same large event.

−         Improvisation: Devising and acting out a story line with little preparation.

−         Spotlight: Bringing to life a small moment within a tableau or showing some work in progress.