Developing Characters in Plays

Key Features of Plays

Playwriter – the person who writes the play

Characters – these include the protagonist and

antagonist which are played by actors

Script – tells the actors what they are supposed to

say as well as any stage directions they may have

Dialogue – talking back and forth between characters

In order to tell the story

Staging – how the actors and props are arranged on

the stage

Props – anything on the stage that the characters

interact with or that add to the story
Developing Characters Through Dialogue
https://www.texasgateway.org/resource/characters-and-staging-drama

Dialogue is the #1 way play writers develop the

characteristics of their characters. (Particularly the
protagonist and antagonist)

Dialogue Develops Characters By…

• Including information about the character, their

situation, and their past that may help us understand
their personality

• The tone they use to speak helps us know their mood.

They may seem angry, sad, scared, etc.

• The sentences themselves add to the emotion. Shorter

sentences may make a character seem scared or shy.
Developing Characters Through Dialogue
https://www.texasgateway.org/resource/characters-and-staging-drama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJaxd1BQr9g
Developing Characters Through Staging
https://www.texasgateway.org/resource/characters-and-staging-drama

Staging Develops Characters By…

• Stage Directions – these tell the actors what they should
be doing on stage while speaking their lines

• Set Design – this includes props, backgrounds, and other

items that make the stage look like it really is the setting
of the play

• Lighting – the way lights are used to spotlight certain

characters or add to the mood of the play

• Costumes – clothes worn by the actor to look like the

character
Developing Characters Through Staging
https://www.texasgateway.org/resource/characters-and-staging-drama
Developing Characters Through Staging
https://www.texasgateway.org/resource/characters-and-staging-drama