Playwrights Series: Character

The video tutorial explores the process of creating characters for plays, emphasizing the importance of drawing inspiration from real-life people and conducting thorough research. It discusses the challenges of writing characters different from oneself and the need for authenticity. The tutorial highlights the role of character obsessions in driving the narrative and offers writing exercises and improvisation techniques to develop characters. It concludes by stressing the importance of allowing characters to lead the writing process, ensuring their actions remain true to their nature.

What is a key strategy for writing characters who are different from the writer?

• Drawing inspiration from real-life observations

• Relying solely on imagination

• Focusing only on the plot

• Ignoring the character's background

When creating fictional characters, what should a playwright avoid doing?

• Treating playwriting as journalism

• Allowing characters to emerge naturally

• Researching the character's background

• Drawing inspiration from real people

What is an effective method for developing a character's backstory?

• Avoiding any improvisation

• Focusing only on dialogue

• Creating a detailed biography

• Ignoring the character's past

How can a playwright ensure that a character's actions remain authentic?

• Forcing the character to fit the plot

• Allowing the character to lead the writing

• Ignoring the character's motivations

• Changing the character's traits frequently

What is a sign of successful character development in playwriting?

• Characters surprise the writer with their actions

• Characters always follow the writer's plan

• Characters have no clear motivations

• Characters are based solely on stereotypes