Character Development Lesson Plans

Lesson 2 of 7 in Scene Work: Part 1, Tools of Scene Work Unit

Session 2: Show and Tell Characterization

by Lindsay Price

Students will use “Show and Tell” to create a detailed background for their contentless scene character and improvise a personal interview with that character.

Session 2 Slide Deck

# Character Development # scene work

Lesson 3 of 12 in Scene Work: Part 2, Student Self Staging Unit

Session 3: Script Analysis - Scoring

by Lindsay Price

The last script analysis step is scoring. To score a scene means to divide the dialogue into beats and then add action words for each beat. Scoring gives students a roadmap for staging.

Session 3 Slide Deck

# Character Development # scene work

Lesson 3 of 7 in Scene Work: Part 1, Tools of Scene Work Unit

Session 3: Thou Shalts of Virtual Staging and Performance

by Lindsay Price

Students will participate in a demonstration to explore the rules of virtual staging and performance and why they are important. They will perform a Bad Idea/Good Idea skit for the class to demonstrate their understanding of the concept.

Session 3 Slide Deck

# Character Development # scene work

Lesson 4 of 7 in Scene Work: Part 1, Tools of Scene Work Unit

Session 4: Environmental and Personal Conflict

by Lindsay Price

Students will play a drama game and participate in an exercise to explore how conflict affects their active tactics. Students apply conflict to a scene for performance.

Session 4 Slide Deck

# Character Development # scene work

Lesson 4 of 12 in Scene Work: Part 2, Student Self Staging Unit

Session 4: Staging the Scene - Beats and Action Words

by Lindsay Price

Students will take their script analysis work with beats and action words and apply it to their scene. Students will also start to think about how they will have to adapt staging to a virtual environment.

Session 4 Slide Deck

# Character Development # scene work

Lesson 5 of 7 in Scene Work: Part 1, Tools of Scene Work Unit

Session 5: Stage Business

by Lindsay Price

Students will participate in an observation activity and play “What Are You Doing?” to explore how stage business affects performance. In this session, you will coach students through a scene with stage business, then they will apply stage business to their own performances.

Session 5 Slide Deck

# Character Development # scene work

Lesson 5 of 12 in Scene Work: Part 2, Student Self Staging Unit

Session 5: Staging the Scene - Character Physicalization

by Lindsay Price

Students will continue working on staging techniques by exploring character physicality.

Session 5 Slide Deck

# Character Development # scene work

Lesson 6 of 7 in Scene Work: Part 1, Tools of Scene Work Unit

Session 6: Contentless Scene - Preview Day

by Lindsay Price

Students review what they have studied in this unit as well as how to give and use constructive feedback. Students will pair up with another scene group, then perform for each other. Students will use the Preview Worksheet to help guide and assess their previews and critiques.

Session 6 Slide Deck

# Character Development # scene work

Lesson 6 of 12 in Scene Work: Part 2, Student Self Staging Unit

Session 6: Staging the Scene - Adapting Blocking Notation

by Lindsay Price

Students will solidify blocking notation that can be used in a virtual environment.

Session 6 Slide Deck

# Character Development # scene work

Lesson 7 of 7 in Scene Work: Part 1, Tools of Scene Work Unit

Session 7: Final Performance

by Lindsay Price

Students will perform and be evaluated on the contentless scene that they have prepared during the unit.

Session 7 Slide Deck

# Character Development # scene work

Lesson 7 of 12 in Scene Work: Part 2, Student Self Staging Unit

Session 7: Memorization Techniques

by Lindsay Price

The sooner students memorize their lines, the more fun they are going to be able to have with the scene. It’s hard to become a character, fully realize blocking, and make the scene one’s own with a script in hand. Acting begins when lines are memorized. This session will focus on practicing a variety of memorization techniques. They will be applied to Section 1 of the scene.

Session 7 Slide Deck

# Character Development # scene work

Lesson 8 of 12 in Scene Work: Part 2, Student Self Staging Unit

Session 8: Staging the Scene - Character Physicality (2)

by Lindsay Price

Students will revisit character physicality choices and solidify that they are a part of their staging. Additionally, there are some exercises to further explore character physicality. Encourage students to continue to visualize and practice bringing characters to life as they work on their scene.

Session 8 Slide Deck

# Character Development # scene work

Lesson 9 of 12 in Scene Work: Part 2, Student Self Staging Unit

Session 9: Purposeful Action

by Lindsay Price

Students have been through their scene multiple times with specific blocking choices. They have been working on memorization and character physicality. In their rehearsal today, students will review their blocking choices with a specific objective of making every action in the scene purposeful and theatrical.

Session 9 Slide Deck

# Character Development # scene work

Lesson 1 of 4 in Character Development with an Indigenous Perspective Unit

Seven Grandfather Teachings

by Allison Green

This day introduces the Seven Grandfather Teachings. Students engage with the story, create a storyboard, and discuss as a class.

# Character Development # bipoc

Show and Tell Switch

by Anna Porter

Students apply the questions used in a Character Analysis Worksheet to create a character background for themselves.
Students use this to help them understand the importance of details and commitment to character choices by creating a believable Show and Tell presentation with an unknown object.

# Character Development # character development # analysis

Status Monkeys

by Anna Porter

Students will understand how status affects characterization and character actions by participating in the “Status Monkeys” game as well as other status-based interactions.

The lesson begins with a status demonstration using students. It then moves onto an "unknown status" activity where students react to the status of others without knowing their own status. How do you treat a low status character compared to a high status character?

The final activity is an animal imagery exercise where the students are all monkeys in a jungle with an assigned status. They must explore survival tactics available to someone of their particular status.

# Character Development # character development # games

Lesson 4 of 5 in Character Analysis - Part 1 Unit

Status Monkeys

by Anna Porter

To learn how status influences characterization and character actions by participating in “Status Monkeys” and other interactions based on status

Slide Deck Lesson 4

# Character Development # analysis

Subtext with Secrets

by Anna Porter

Students will understand how background and subtext can help create a scene with honest emotion and depth by exploring secrets.

Students create a secret to explore their character and apply it to a scene.

# Character Development # character development

Subtext: Pass the Salt

by Lindsay Price

Subtext is the underlying meaning in a text. What is a character thinking? Learning to apply subtext to a scene is an excellent character development tool. It encourages students to think about “the why” behind a line. “Why does a character say this line? Why do they use a particular inflection? What are they really trying to say?

In this lesson plan, students explore the meaning of subtext, practice applying subtext in dialogue and to create their own scene.

# Playwriting # Character Development # playwriting # character development

Lesson 2 of 6 in Character Creation: Superhero Series: Multi platform Unit

Superhero Character Creation

by Lindsay Price

Students apply what they learned about physical and vocal qualities in a character. They complete a character profile for an original superhero, then experiment with creating physical and vocal attributes before writing a monologue.

# Character Development # character development