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- Do not have more than 6 characters in a half hour play. There is a risk of confusion if you do.
- Remember also that the listener only knows the character exists if that character speaks, or if another character refers to him or her by name.
- Get under the skin of your characters. Get to know them really well. Each will have their own individual speech mannerisms. Don't have them all speaking in your tone of voice.
"Establish your characters clearly because you could say that most drama is about two characters in conflict across a table, even when it's about three or four characters, it's about characters in conflict with each other or with life or - as in Samuel Beckett's plays - in conflict with existence. And if there's no conflict, there's no movement. Also, you can play with the listener's expectations. If they think they're going to encounter the hero here and the villain there, swap them round, so you're slightly wrong-footing the listener - you're not upsetting them so they turn off the radio - but you're raising the listener's curiosity."
Mike Walker
Information for Actors
It is very useful for actors to write into the script adjectives describing the way in which a line should be said, e.g. angrily, regretfully, trying to be brave. |
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