More than likely you are the kind of person that likes to get as many people involved in a show as possible. One of the risks you run when doing that is making sure that everyone involved feels as though they are a contributing factor to the performance.
It’s important to make sure that they have enough stage time and are being used enough throughout the performance, but it is also important that they don’t just feel like a body on stage, filler, or a piece of scenery.
That is why it can be a very beneficial activity to spend a little bit of time helping your actors, especially those that do not have a role with defined character traits, build and explore their characters. Plus, finding ways for everyone involved in the musical that you are directing to feel valuable and invested is a great way to elevate your musical and put on a better production.
Watch this video and/or read on!
What’s My Motivation?!
Yes, actors need to understand their character’s wants and needs to make them believable and everyone, even the unnamed members of the ensemble can benefit from some fun character development. But it doesn’t always have to be a laborious task… diving deep into the script to find your motivation scene by scene. In fact, someone in the ensemble is not going to want to do that. So, you have to keep this simple and fun.
I will get into how to simply help them with creating and building characters, but first (just in case you are still on the fence) I am going to sell you on it more… cause the more fun they are having and the more they feel like they are contributing, the better your show will be and the better of a time everyone has.
Better Show
When students are engaged in what is going on they tend to care more and try harder. Moments that might have fallen flat will have more energy. As a director, you might even find new bits and moments that can now be funny and more entertaining from what your cast comes up with as their characters.
I directed Guys and Dolls back in 2004. (Sheesh, it doesn’t seem that long ago.) But, we did some work on building fun characters for this show. We turned the random gamblers ensemble into a Dick-Tracy-like group of gangsters. They had names and traits and tendencies that went way beyond what is given in the script and best of all, it was all things that they came up with on their own (with approval and guidance from me).
Liver Lips Louie ate onions like apples, one kid chose the name of Bubbles and angrily blew bubbles throughout the scenes, but the most funny character was a blind gambler who wore his red carnation at belly button level and had a hard time staying facing the audience during dance numbers. These bits and moments (and more) were all built from the cast members taking responsibility for their actors and their role in the show.
Make sure they understand that it has to be rooted in the reality of the production and it is not meant to act like idiots! Hahaha. You have final say, so even if the character they created would act a certain way - you have the last say in what happens on the stage.
Ultimately More Fun
Being able to turn Choir Member #5 into Stan the Janitor who has a slight limp and a heavy lisp does give your cast members a stronger sense of pride and ownership but it also allows them to have more fun. Building characters is fun for kids who love theater and love to act. It lets them enjoy the process a little more, explore, flex their creativity and have fun with their fellow cast mates.
So, how the hell do you do this?
There are many ways to workshop characters and build characters with your actors. But, the easiest way that I found is to hand out a simple, fun Character Building Worksheet. This is just a fun sheet to hand out right away with their scripts. You can even allot some time to fill them out in one of the first rehearsal days where you are working on many group numbers, either singing or dancing, where they might have some downtime.
On this sheet, you can ask simple questions like name and age, but you should dive into other things too. Ask goofy (almost irrelevant things) like “What’s your character’s Favorite Food”. Ask things that could affect how they carry themselves physically on stage like “What part of your body do you lead with?”
We have come up with a Character Building Worksheet that has a plethora of these questions for them to consider. If you want, you can download our version for free.
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