How to Act in Character

Series Summary

When we think of the theater, one image before all others comes to mind: two iconic masks side by side, one happy and the other sad. These masks represent the facade of acting, the range of human emotion, the masks we all where, and/or a host of other interpretations. Masks are found in most cultures around the globe, usually tied to magic or the arts (the dividing line between the two thinner than we might imagine). In ancient Greece and Rome, masks were traditionally said to help communicate emotion to people in the "cheap seats," but recent scholarly work finds masks much more interesting. A culture gives away its opinion of human subjectivity in the way it constructs its masks. Japanese Kabuki theater depended on masks. Many Hopi and other Uto-Aztecan Amerindian groups use masks in various kinds of rituals. The masks of Carnival are also complicated social constructions that both celebrate and reinforce boundaries at the same time.

In this free acting video series, professional performer and communicator Tracy Goodwin teaches you the questions to ask about your character to prepare for successful acting. Tracy goes over the larger picture of a character, including social status, economic group, religious feelings, political leanings, climate and location, and historical setting. These elements all have questions that help direct an actor or actress toward the essence of a character.

Video Transcript

"Hi there, I'm Tracy Goodwin and I'm the red sweater lady and today we're going to be talking about how to build a character. And, this is primarily for actors, but possibly for directors or anyone involved in humorous interpretation, dramatic interpretation, any UIL events, or maybe you're just having to learn some material for an acting class or a speech class. There are some definite things that you want to do when you develop a character, some very specific questions that you want to answer and some very specific things that you want to know about your character. And I'm going to talk about those today and tell you exactly what you need to do to build a strong lifelike character because that's what we're really trying to do. We do certain things in life. We act a certain way. We have a certain background. We look a certain way. We speak a certain way. We walk a certain way. And that's what we're doing when we're taking on a character, whether it's in a play or even for a grade in a classroom, is we want to recreate, or be, a real character, or just like a real person. So, I want to talk to you today about all the things that you need to consider so that your character can be perceived as real and your character can be fully developed."