GOTE: The four basic elements

What? GOTE is an easy to remember acronym that stands for and brings together the four basic elements to consider while preparing a character for the theatre.

GOTE Creator : Robert Cohen Robert Cohen, Professor of Drama at University of California at Irvine, created the GOTE method. His Acting One textbook has been said to be one of the most common beginning acting textbooks used on college campuses. He teaches master acting classes in New York and as a guest teacher at various conservatories.

Why? Actors use a GOTE by actually trying to do what their character is doing, at least on the level of actions. Once an actor figures out the GOTE for the character ("getting the character's GOTE"), they find a greater understanding of the character and hopefully will begin to make discoveries about tone and style and giving them a language to talk to the director.

Why? Actors use a GOTE by actually trying to do what their character is doing, at least on the level of actions. Once an actor figures out the GOTE for the character ("getting the character's GOTE"), they find a greater understanding of the character and hopefully will begin to make discoveries about tone and style and giving them a language to talk to the director.

G = Goal Often times this is also called OBJECTIVE. This is what the character WANTS in a scene or play. Usually a character has the same objective throughout the entire play. I want _______(to-verb)_____________

O = Obstacle The obstacle refers to anything that is stopping the character from achieving their goal. Drama needs (both in terms of practice and the need for interest) conflicts, which arise not only from the goals but from fighting against obstacles to achieve those goals. The obstacle, however, should not be "played." In other words the actors should pursue their goals, rather than looking whiny about their obstacle.

T = Tactics Tactics are what we use to get what we want. Tactics can range from totally threatening to wholly inducing, and usually actors should use a wide variety to create believable interactions. If an actor has, for instance, the goal "to threaten" then various tactics might be used to threaten. One might threaten the character, the character's family, livelihood, etc.

Tactics: Strong, actable verbs That go through the other person We use to get out the objective/goal When one doesn’t work, we switch and use another

E = Expectation Expectation refers to one's expectation of succeeding in achieving goals. If one did not expect to achieve one's goals then one would not pursue them. Ultimately the script may have the character fail but the actor should always act as if they believe they can succeed. Expectation can also involve the character's journey.

In theatre, we call getting a character’s GOTE the way we prepare for the characters we are playing. Some actors actually take pen to paper and fill in a GOTE worksheet to help them organize their character. Characters from a script are sometimes easier because you can find their GOTE in the playwright’s words.

REVIEW G = Goal O = Obstacle T = Tactics E = Expectation