Character Roles
the main characters in a play
What are leading roles?
This is another word for the main characters of a play
What is a principal?
A theory that involves self-analysis and personal emotional experience to create a role
What is "The Method"?
choosing a person to base the character on who is similar to your character. This person becomes this vocabulary word.
What is a primary source?
When an actor pivots the torso and turns the face towards the audience
What is cheating out?
The main person who attempts to solve the problems of the play or is defeated during the conflict
What is the protagonist?
These actors usually resemble the appearance and personality of the characters the playwright had in mind
What is a straight part?
The idea that actors should ask themselves what they would do if the events of the play actually occurred
What is the "magic if"?
books that you read to help you understand your character
What is a secondary source?
When an actor crosses downstage and then turns slightly upstage towards the other actor. This shifts the audience’s attention to the upstage actor
What is giving the scene?
the person opposite the protagonist who opposes the goals of the protagonist
What is the antagonist?
These roles tend to have some kind of distinguishing trait, idiosyncrasy, or personality type. Could be physical or psychological. The actors chosen for this role rarely resemble the characters the playwright had in mind.
What is a character part?
A lull, or stop, in dialogue or action in order to sustain emotion while the voice and body are still
What is a pause?
The process of making a role unique, individual, and interesting.
What is stretching a character?
When an actor stands or sits parallel to another actor in a scene
What is sharing a scene?
a young male lead between the ages of sixteen and thirty
What is a juvenile?
Where an actor has become identified with a certain personality- such as business tycoon or the girl next door- and is cast for that same role over and over again.
What is typecasting?
The ability to change style or character with ease
What is Versatility?
Recalling of specific emotions that you have experienced or observed and drawing on those feelings to give life to characters
What is emotional memory?
Actors who are not the main focus in a scene shifting the angle of their bodies upstage and looking directly at the scene’s key characters in order to focus the attention to the key characters
What is turning the scene in?
a young female lead
What is an Ingénue?
These characters support the principals, and can be more challenging and demanding
What is a supporting role?
A brief biography of your character that will help you understand them better
What is a character sketch?
the process by which the true personality of the character is made visible to the audience. This is done through expression, voice quality, gestures, etc to make the character known
What is externalizing?
An actor who turns away from the audience into a three-quarter back or full back position
What is taking yourself out of a scene?