THE 455 Acting for Musical Theatre II

Character Analysis for your scene and song

Due: February 21, 2013
Value: 5% Overall

The Assignment
Answer the following list of questions about your character. They are divided into
three sections; Facts, Attitudes and Ambitions. You can find the answer to these
questions in the things your character says about him/herself, the way other
characters speak about you, the way the author describes you and by your actions in
the musical.
FACTS (If not explicit in the script you will have to fill the details in yourself)
1. Name (full given name, nicknames)
2. Age (be as specific as you can)
3. Height (taller or shorter than you? Does it affect you understanding of the
character?)
4. Weight (same as above)
5. Posture/Physical Stature (be very specific)
6. General and specific health (any illness, weakness, physical handicaps?)
7. Place of Birth
8. Place of residence (for how long?)
9. Occupation (what do they do daily)
10. Income (best guess if not explicit)
11. Group identity (ethnic, racial, cultural, national)
12. Dialect/diction/accent (any distinct speech pattern?)
13. Social class and status (ie: lower-class flower seller)
14. Social groups (any group the character belongs to that shares a set of rules,
standards or values, ie: cowboys, bachelors, married women, etc)
15. Education (formal, informal, specialized training)
16. Intelligence (level of intuition, capacity for complex thought, aptitude for
skill)
17. Physical characteristics (exceptional abilities, physical attributes, handicaps)
ATTITUDES
What a character feels or believes about him/herself motivates his/her actions.
1. Belief systems (religion, spirituality, belief in higher power)
2. Politics
3. Cultural attitudes (prejudice, openness, etc)
4. Sexuality (sexual orientation, male/female role expectations, attitudes
toward the opposite sex)

5. Social mores and rules (what a character can and cant do according to
society)
6. Temperament (a general disposition, ie: impatient, cheerful, distrusting, etc)
7. Fears, phobias, obsessions
8. Catastrophic or defining events in the characters life (before or during the
musical)
AMBITIONS
1. Superobjective (large, but specific, what does the character want in the
musical)
2. Ideal outcome (can change throughout the play)
3. Greatest fear (the future the character runs away from)
4. Perception goals (how do you want others to perceive you)
5. Relationship goals (for each relationship you have in the musical)
6. Hierarchy of goals (you might want many things, rank them in importance)
Why are we doing this?
This exercise takes your character from the skeleton that they playwright has
provided for you to a fully fleshed-out human being (or really, as close as you can
come to that). The characters ambitions are what will drive their actions and
relationships throughout the play.
How will you be graded?
You will be graded on the completeness, the thoroughness and thoughtfulness of
your answers.
Resources
The play script and score that your scene/song comes from.
Professor

Jennifer Toohey
jtoohey@rollins.edu
407-646-2562
ART 202