I’ve broken it down into ten different things you need to look for when creating a character. Of course, as books and books have been written on this subject, this is certainly not a complete list.

1. Character Traits. Sometimes you get a character breakdown, but not always. So, look in the text. How does your character speak? What do the other characters say about yours? Try and find as many adjectives as possible.

2. Setting. Where is this scene taking place? Who is there with you? Are you in public or are you alone with someone else somewhere having a private conversation? What time of day is it and what day of the week? Summer, winter, fall? Also what city does this take place in? When I’m working on a scene in class and there is nothing about the text or breakdown that makes the location clear, then I make the time recent and put it in the city where I live. That way, it’s more familiar to me.

3. Relationships. This is the crux of the whole breakdown. The rest of the breakdown hinges on your relationships with the other characters, situations, things relating to the scene. Be very specific here, but keep it relevant. If the scene is talking about a breakup between you and your boyfriend, don’t go on and on about how you like knitting or something like that. It’s not relevant to the scene. It is relevant to talk about your past love life and how this relationship fits into that. Also make sure to use “I” when referring to your character. That way, you personalize the situation. A big thing to note is to make sure you don’t just do it analytically, but also emotionally. So, going back to a breakup scene, talk about how that person makes you feel, what was different about them, what hopes you may have had with them, and how you feel about them leaving your life.  Also, explore what it is about this character that you can relate to. Even if they are a murderer or a thief, what is it about them that drove them to do this type of action that you, the actor, can relate to? Trust me, this is VERY important.

4. Scene happenings. What’s happening in the scene? Pretty simple right? You would be surprised at how many actors get up in a class and when asked what the scene is about, they can’t put together a coherent thought as to what is happening.

5. Stakes. Think about what you may be gaining or losing and what it means to your character. This is where you take the relationship breakdown and condense it into a few words. So, if your character is losing their job, the stakes are no income, possible loss of home and stability, possible troubles to marriage/significant other/kids, loss of self-respect, loss of identity, ect. There are a lot of stakes that are attached to the scene. The more you think of, the more layered your listening will becomes. It’s also very important to make the stakes as high as you can as the writer wrote that scene for a reason. You need to find out what that is.

6. Objectives/Wants/Needs. What do you as your character want? I’ve seen a lot of actors get stuck the most right here. I do too at times. If your stakes are high, then your needs/wants/objectives will need to be strong-the stronger the better. If your objective is weak, it makes the scene drag. In order to give a performance that will get you noticed, you’re choice has to be as powerful as you can make it. And here’s the clincher, make your choice one-worded. It has to be an active verb that will help to carry you through the scene. Use your objective from the top of the scene. Don’t hold it for a line that pops out at you (I’ve recently discovered that I do this).

7. Obstacles/blocks. What keeps you from reaching your objective? For instance, if the scene is about you telling someone you love them, well, that’s not as easy as you think. What if they don’t say it back? What if you aren’t even sure how they feel but you have to say it? There’s a risk right? Also, the other actor has their own objectives. I’ve noticed that the best scenes are when two actors have directly opposite objectives. Talk about conflict!

8. Physicality. What does your character look like, dress like, stand, walk, move, ect. Also, in a scene where the stakes are high, how would they respond to what’s happening? Would they want to fight or flight, or sit there in confusion? Physicality is a wonderful way to take all this homework and take it out of your head and into your body. You don’t act with your head, but with your heart, gut and, yes, sexual drive.

9. Character thoughts. There are many different techniques out there. Some break down scenes into mini-beats with their own sub-objectives and others teach you to be more organic. I won’t get into what is the best option because from my experience, I’ve seen actors struggle and succeed in each. You just have to know how you learn and how your mind works in order to know what style you want to use. I’d recommend taking classes that uses different techniques and see what works for you.

What I do instead of breaking down into beats, is to go through each line and see how each word or phrase would affect me as the character. I’d then write that down. I’d also notice if I’m using different tactics to get what I want. For example, if I’m in a scene and I’m trying to get the other person to admit they did something (like a trial attorney), then I’d try different ways to do that. Try not to take this part too literally though. This is just to get you as familiar with the text as you possibly can. These different beats will come naturally as you listen and react to the other character in the scene. The danger in character thoughts for me is that I can get stuck in my head if I’m not careful.

10. Options. Make sure you have more than one intention that may work for the scene. So, if you are in a class, on set or at an audition, and you are told to play it a different way, well you can and not get stuck.

After doing all this work, throw it away! Your focus needs to be on the other character and not your homework.

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