Learning-Focused Lesson Plan Name: Sadie Andros

Topic: Introduction to Playwriting - Character

Learning Goals for this Lesson Standards:

Students will equip themselves with a method by Cr.1.1.II: Use personal experiences and
which they can develop original characters. knowledge to develop a character that is
believable and authentic in a drama/theatre work.

Cn.11.1.I: Research how other theatre artists

apply creative processes to tell stories in a
devised or scripted drama/theatre work, using
theatre research methods.

Students Will Know: Students Will Be Able To:

● Why character is important to the playwright
and what sort of details need to be included
when creating a three-dimensional character.
Lesson Essential Question:
● Create a three-dimensional character
● Define the term character--as well as four
other pertinent vocabulary words
● Write a monologue from their character’s point
of view

What do I, as a playwright, need to know about the characters I choose to write about?

Activating Strategy: Creating Character through Object

Students will select an object from a pile on the floor. They will then head to a spot in the theater with
their object. Students will be given four minutes to create a character who would own the object they
have selected. At first, the teacher will prompt students by asking questions such as: how old is your
character? what is your character’s name? where does your character live? and more. They will
capture their character notes in their composition notebooks. After four minutes, students will be
prompted to return their objects to the pile and will select a new object. This activity will be repeated
two more times--totaling twelve minutes spent on the activating strategy.

Key Vocabulary and Vocabulary Strategy:

Strategy - As a group, students will define the word: “character” within the scheme of dramatic writing.
Following this process of defining the term character, the students will be separated into four random
groups and assigned a word to generate a definition for. They will have three minutes to do so before
sharing their definition with the class. All students will capture the definitions for the words listed
below in a Notability chart (Notability is an app where students can take and share notes).

Vocabulary - Character, Protagonist, Antagonist, Deuteragonist, Tragic Hero

Completing this Vocabulary Activity should take approximately twelve minutes

Lesson Instruction
Learning Activity 1 Graphic Organizer:

Character: Strong plays feature strong, well- As a class, the students will create a
developed characters. What do we, as questionnaire that consists of ten questions.
playwrights, need to know about characters These questions should be answered in the third
before sitting down to write? (How do you know person and should be aimed at making a three-
when you really know someone? What do you dimensional character, as opposed to an
need to know about someone in order to really archetype. Questions should demand detail
know that person?) rather than simply brushing the surface--no
yes/no questions belong on this questionnaire.
*Common Misconception to Address: As actors, Generating this questionnaire should take about
we often think of character as “I,” but this is not fourteen minutes.
the same for playwrights. Therefore, we, as
playwrights, can recognize flaws in our
characters that they perhaps may not see
themselves. For instance, Hamlet, from
Shakespeare’s most celebrated play, is deeply
flawed due to his inability to act. It is Hamlet’s
inaction, that ultimately leads to his demise--
although he fails to see this in himself, the
audience and playwright certainly note this flaw.

Assessment Prompt for LA 1

Each student will select one of their three object

characters, and will complete the questionnaire.
This questionnaire will be submitted to the
teacher.

Learning Activity 2 Assignment:

Developing Character: Each student will then be
tasked with embodying the character they
previously investigated through the questionnaire.
Following Learning Activity 1, students will stand
in a circle. The students will be presented with an
improvisation exercise, and tasked with acting out
the character they have created. The
improvisation consists of: the teacher will play a
fire alarm sound. In this scenario, every character
hears the fire alarm, but they are unable to leave
the room as every door is locked from the
outside. The improvisation will last for eight
minutes.
Assessment Prompt for LA 2
Following the improvisation, every student will
answer the following questions in a Schoology
discussion board: (1) Which other characters
were you drawn to when performing as your
character? Why do you believe your character
was attracted to or repulsed by them? (2) What
new information about your character became
Every student will write a one-page monologue
for the character that they have created during
class today. Students will begin this assignment
following the summarizing activity, and will
complete whatever they have not finished for
homework.
Reminders: Monologues are written in the first
person from the character’s point of view. The
character is speaking to someone (usually
another character, sometimes the audience or
themselves). The words that you select to use in
your monologue need to be specific to your
character--a 2018 aspiring rapper would sound
different than an early twentieth century
newspaper delivery boy. Refer back to the
character questionnaire and consider what details
you can use in the monologue.
evident when you saw them dealing with an
emergency situation? Students will receive four
minutes to respond to the two questions on the
discussion board.

Learning Activity 3

Relationship: Noun. The way in which two or more

concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the
state of being connected

Relationships are arguably the most important thing

to consider while creating a character. The previous
learning activity should have prompted the students
to begin considering how their three dimensional
character interacts with different types of people. In
this exercise, the students will pair up and each will
have the opportunity to respond to the following
question:

Who does your character have a significant

relationship with? Why?

This question is very important because all humans

reach out in some way--even outsiders may have a
significant relationship with a pet, an imaginary friend,
a deceased family member. In Little Shop of Horrors,
the main character Seymour has a significant
relationship with a plant. Anything is possible in
theatre! As you discuss, help your partner to figure out
what it is that makes this particular relationship
special. Each partner will have two minutes to speak
about their character’s relationship.

Assessment Prompt for LA 3

Students will then share what their partner

discussed with the whole class--with emphasis on
detail. This will help students to listen critically
and engage their partner in the discussion prior to
the sharing out. This will probably take no more
than ten minutes.

Summarizing Strategy

Students will answer the following question on a piece of paper and submit it to the teacher: Why is
character so important to a playwright?

Students will have the opportunity to share what they wrote full-class. The teacher will follow up the
conversation by explaining that a common misconception about writing is that an idea needs to be
fully developed before writing can happen. While outlines are very fruitful when it comes to writing an
essay for class, ideas in creative writing can be questions and fragments. Before leaving class today,
students will finish the following four sentences by filling in the blanks as the character they created:

1.) What if…?

2.) I wonder…?
3.) If only…?
4.) Why does…?
I will demonstrate a model that answers these four questions as a character that they are familiar with
—Hamlet.

After filling in these blanks, students will select one of the four sentences to be the very first sentence
in their monologue. This conversation and exercise will take approximately fourteen minutes, followed
by individual student work time.