CHARACTERIZATION Drama I

BELL WORK: Who is this chick? Who is she? What do you know about her?  Make a list of everything you know about this character (vocal qualities, body posture, behaviors, etc).  Pick your top 3 to share with the class.

What is Characterization?  Characterization: developing and portraying a personality through thought, action, dialogue, costuming, and makeup

Stock Characters  Stock Character: an easily recognizable character; a flat, one-dimensional character with predictable actions  Example: Cinderella  She will always do the right thing  She will always be nice  She will always be beautiful  She will have a sweet voice

Who is this? This is the Wicked Witch of the West from “The Wizard of Oz.” Before we saw “Wicked,” who did we think she was? What type of character was she?

Stock Character Alert!  She was a stock character! Why?  She was always evil  She was never nice  She was ugly  She had a mean voice  Every time she showed up, you knew she was going to do something bad.

Is she really wicked? How does “Wicked’s” Elphaba compare to her character in “The Wizard of Oz?”

So What Happened?  What happened to our perception of the “Wicked Witch of the West” after hearing another side of the story?  She went from being a stock character to an original character.  What character is more interesting? Which one do you care more about?

Stock or Original?

Stereotypical Characters  Stereotypical Character: a familiar character identified by an oversimplified pattern of behavior that typically labels the character as being part of a group of people  What is a stereotype?  “a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment” (webster.com)

Stereotypical Characters  “The Jock”  “The Nerd”  “The Cheerleader”  “The Class Clown”  “The Rich Kid”  “The Womanizer”  “The Shy Guy”  “The Goth Chick”  “The Book Worm”

Everything Has Its Place…  There is a place for stock characters and stereotypical characters…  Stock characters are big in children’s stories  Stereotypical characters are mainly used in comedies. Think about your “spoof” movies: “Not Another Teen Movie” “Scary Movie” series

What About LIFE?  Do you view anyone around school as stock and/or stereotypical “real life characters?”  How can we apply what we know about characterization to all the different types of REAL characters we encounter in life?

Why Original Characters?  Original characters are much more interesting! WHY?  They are “real.”  We can relate to them.  No one in life is perfect.  No one is all good or all bad.  Everyone has a story.  By using characterization to create an original character, you are basically creating a “real” person.

Your Assignment  Step 1: Brainstorm! In your teams, brainstorm all the stock characters you can think of (think of children’s stories and fairy tales).  Step 2: Each person will choose one stock character and create an original character from that character.  Use all the facts you have about the stock character, and build the rest of the character’s information around that.  Answer the questions on the handout as completely as possible. Details, details, details!  JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS!!