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 doesnt 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 characters

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 playwrights words.

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