Building Characters And Relationships In Drama

This section explores the fundamental aspects of creating realistic characters and their relationships in drama, highlighting the importance of motivations, objectives, and the dynamic interplay between characters.

Week 3: In Character - Exploring Role And Motivation

This section focuses on the importance of creating believable characters in drama by understanding their motivations and roles.

Understanding Character: Layers Of Human Portrayal

This section explores the various layers of character portrayal in drama, discussing archetypes, stereotypes, complex individuals, motivation, objectives, and the importance of voice and body as expressive tools.

Archetypes: The Universal Blueprints

This section explores archetypes as foundational patterns in drama that help create relatable characters and highlight universal human experiences.

Common Examples And Their Qualities

This section discusses archetypes in drama with focus on their characteristics and significance in character creation.

Application In Drama

This section explores the creation and portrayal of characters in drama, focusing on their motivations, objectives, and relationship dynamics.

Stereotypes: The Oversimplified Labels

Stereotypes in drama oversimplify characters and can lead to flat portrayals, while understanding archetypes helps create depth.

Characteristics

This section explores the essential characteristics of characters in drama, focusing on archetypes, stereotypes, and complex individuals.

Application In Drama

This section discusses the importance of character development and relationship dynamics in drama, focusing on motivations, objectives, and the use of voice and body to portray characters effectively.

Complex Individuals: The Heart Of Believable Drama

This section discusses the importance of creating complex characters in drama, going beyond archetypes and stereotypes to portray believable and multi-dimensional individuals.

Key Characteristics

This section highlights the main elements that contribute to the development of believable characters and their relationships in drama.

Application In Drama

This section explores the application of character creation and relationships in drama, focusing on motivation, objectives, and the dynamics between characters.

Motivation And Objectives: The Driving Forces Of Character

This section explores the key concepts of motivation and objectives that drive character actions in drama.

Motivation (The 'why'): The Character's Inner Drive

This section explores the importance of motivation in character development, detailing how a character's inner drives influence their actions and interactions.

Sources Of Motivation

This section explores the various sources of motivation that drive characters in drama, emphasizing their importance in creating believable and complex portrayals.

The Importance Of Nuance

This section highlights the significance of nuanced character portrayals in drama, emphasizing the distinction between archetypes, stereotypes, and complex individuals.

Objectives (The 'what'): The Character's Immediate Goal

This section explores the importance of objectives in character development, detailing how a character's tangible goals influence dramatic action.

Characteristics Of Good Objectives

This section discusses the essential characteristics of effective objectives in performance and character portrayal in drama.

The Role Of Obstacles

Obstacles in drama are essential as they create conflict, adding depth to character objectives and motivations.

Voice And Body As Tools: Bringing Character To Life Externally

This section discusses how actors use their voice and body to express a character's inner life and emotions on stage.

Voice As A Tool For Expression

This section emphasizes the importance of vocal expression in portraying characters, detailing how various vocal elements convey personality and emotion.

Pitch

This section explores the art of character and relationship development in drama, emphasizing the importance of understanding motivations and objectives.

Volume

This section discusses the importance of character layering and the nuances of motivations and objectives in dramatic performances.

Pace/tempo

This section explores the use of pace and tempo in drama, highlighting their roles in character expression and audience engagement.

Tone

This section discusses the importance of tone in drama, exploring how actors use voice and body to convey character motivations and relationships.

Articulation/enunciation

Articulation refers to the clarity of speech that actors must achieve to effectively convey their characters and emotions.

Breath And Pauses

Breath and pauses in acting are essential tools that enhance a character's vocal quality and emotional expression.

Accent/dialect (Use With Care)

This section emphasizes the careful use of accents and dialects in performance, focusing on authenticity over stereotypes.

Body As A Tool For Expression

This section emphasizes the significance of using the body and voice as essential tools for actors to express their characters' inner lives and emotions in drama.

Posture

This section explores the significance of posture in embodying character and conveying emotion in drama.

Gait/walk

Gait, or walk, is a key component of character development and can reveal a character's inner emotions and status in social interactions.

Gestures

This section explores how gestures play a vital role in expressing character and conveying emotion in drama.

Facial Expressions

Facial expressions are critical tools for actors to convey emotions and internal states, significantly enhancing character portrayal and audience engagement.

Eye Contact

Eye contact is a powerful tool in drama, influencing character relationships and conveying emotions effectively.

Personal Space (Proxemics)

This section discusses the concept of personal space, or proxemics, explaining how physical distance affects interpersonal communication and relationships in drama.

Energy Level

This section discusses the importance of energy levels in character portrayal and the ways actors can express these levels through physical and vocal choices.

Activity: 'character Walk' - Embodiment Through Movement

The 'Character Walk' activity helps actors embody character traits and emotions through physicality.

Observation And Inspiration

This section emphasizes the importance of observing human behavior and using inspiration to create believable characters in drama.

Character Selection

This section focuses on the importance of character selection in drama, detailing the processes of identifying archetypes, avoiding stereotypes, and developing complex characters.

Physical Transformation

This section explores the intricate process of embodying a character through physical transformation in drama, emphasizing the importance of vocal and bodily expression.

Movement In Space

This section explores how actors use both voice and body to express the inner life of their characters.

Share And Observe

This section emphasizes the importance of observation and sharing among actors to develop believable characters and relationships in drama.

Reflection

This section explores the importance of character reflection in drama, focusing on understanding motivations and relationships.

Assessment: Character Analysis Of A Short Provided Scene

This section focuses on character analysis, where students evaluate a character's motivations, objectives, and portrayals within a specific dramatic scene.

Week 4: The Dance Of Interaction - Developing Relationships

This section explores the dynamics of relationships in drama, emphasizing interaction, power, love, conflict, and support between characters.

Dynamics Of Relationships: The Interplay Of Human Connection

This section explores the dynamic interactions between characters in drama, emphasizing the importance of understanding various relationship dynamics such as power, love, conflict, and support.

Power

This section explores the dynamics of power in drama, focusing on its expression through status and relationships among characters.

Status

This section delves into the status dynamics in drama, emphasizing how power and authority shifts influence character interactions and relationships.

Expression Of Power/status

This section explores how power and status dynamics influence character interactions in drama, focusing on their psychological manifestations.

Importance

The section emphasizes the central role of character development and relationships in drama, detailing motivations, objectives, and the dynamics of character interactions.

Love/affection

This section delves into the significance of love and affection in character relationships within drama, highlighting how emotional connections shape interactions on stage.

Conflict

This section explores the complexities of character conflicts in drama, detailing how motivations and objectives drive interactions between characters.

Sources Of Conflict

This section explores the sources of conflict in drama, highlighting the dynamics of character motivation and the implications for narrative development.

Types Of Conflict

This section explores the different types of conflict in drama, examining their impact on character dynamics and story development.

Support/dependence

This section explores the dynamics of support and dependence between characters in drama, depicting how these interactions shape relationships.

Expression

This section explores the core elements of character development in drama, focusing on archetypes, stereotypes, and the layers of complex individuals in storytelling.

Interplay

This section explores the dynamics of character interplay in drama and how relationships influence storytelling.

Status And Its Impact On Interaction

Status in drama dictates the dynamics of character interactions, influencing power dynamics and emotional exchanges.

Improvisation: Developing Scenes Through Spontaneous Interaction

This section emphasizes the significance of improvisation in drama, highlighting its role in enhancing spontaneous interaction, active listening, and collaboration among actors.

Activity: Paired Improvisation Exercises Focusing On Relationship Development

This section introduces paired improvisation exercises designed to explore relationship dynamics among characters, enhancing actors' spontaneity and authenticity.

Scenario A (The Shifting Power)

This section delves into the nuanced dynamics of character interaction in drama, focusing on how shifts in power and status affect relationships.

Scenario B (The Unspoken Conflict)

This section explores the dynamics of unspoken conflict in dramatic scenarios, focusing on the subtleties of character interaction and the tension that arises from unresolved issues.

Scenario C (The Moment Of Crisis & Support)

This section focuses on the dynamics of crisis and support among characters in drama, specifically how vulnerability and relationship dynamics play a crucial role in storytelling.

Assessment: Video Submission Of A Short Improvised Scene Demonstrating Clear Relationship Dynamics

This assessment focuses on video submissions of improvised scenes that demonstrate nuanced relationship dynamics between characters.