2 Character and Objectives

Building a character through action

A convincing character is more than a collection of traits or emotions. The actor builds the character by understanding the situation and pursuing something specific through action. A useful preparation chain is: given circumstances → objective → obstacle → tactic → playable choice. These elements connect the character’s inner life to observable behavior.

Establishing the scene

The scene’s given circumstances are its established facts: who the character is, where and when the scene occurs, what has happened before it, who is present, and what pressures or relationships affect the moment. Start with evidence in the script. Distinguish stated facts from reasonable inferences, and do not invent backstory that conflicts with the text.

Questions to consider include: Who am I? Where and when am I? What has just happened? What do I want? What might prevent me from getting it? The Magic If invites the actor to imagine what they would do in these circumstances while keeping the role grounded in the play’s facts.

Pursuing goals under resistance

An objective is what a character wants to achieve in a scene or moment. State it clearly and specifically so it gives the actor something to pursue. A larger, play-long aim is sometimes called a super-objective, and smaller scene objectives can contribute to it. Objectives may shift when events or new information change the situation.

An objective is different from an emotion: “to make my sister stay” gives the actor a goal, while “to feel sad” names a feeling rather than something to accomplish. Mark changes in the immediate pursuit or approach as beats.

An obstacle is whatever resists the objective. It may be another character’s refusal, a practical circumstance such as lack of time, or the character’s own fear, uncertainty, or divided loyalties. Obstacles create conflict; if the goal were immediately available, there would be little reason for the character to act. Identify resistance from the scene, asking what the character cannot get, do, or persuade someone to do—and why that resistance matters now.

Choosing and adjusting tactics

A tactic is the action a character uses to overcome an obstacle and pursue an objective. The objective may stay the same as tactics change. For example, a character trying to persuade a friend to stay might first tease, then reason with, then plead with the friend. Active verbs give the actor something to do; instructions such as “be intense” or “show anxiety” ask for a displayed state instead.

A playable choice is specific, active, and supported by the circumstances. It may involve words, timing, attention, or physical behavior, but it should grow from the character’s pursuit rather than a desire to display an emotion. The actor makes a choice, listens, and responds to what the scene partner actually does. If a tactic fails or new information appears, the actor can adjust it, keeping the performance responsive rather than mechanically fixed.

Applying the ideas to a scene

Consider Mara, who arrives late to persuade her brother Jon not to sell their family home. The sale is scheduled for the next morning, and Jon has already signed an agreement. The siblings are alone in the house the night before the sale; Jon has committed to selling. Mara’s objective is to delay the sale, while Jon’s belief that keeping the house is financially impossible and the approaching deadline create obstacles.

Mara might remind Jon of a shared promise, challenge his certainty, and then offer a practical compromise. If supported by the script and character, playable choices could include laying out papers she brought, waiting for Jon’s answer instead of filling the silence, or moving closer when making the offer. The actor need not decide in advance to “play grief”: pursuing an objective against resistance may naturally reveal affection, frustration, or fear. The character’s behavior and complexity emerge from trying to get something under pressure.

Preparing and rehearsing a scene

Use this sequence to prepare a scene:

1. List the established facts and important relationships.

2. Identify what the character wants right now in concrete terms.

3. Name what stands in the way and why it matters.

4. Divide the scene into beats where the pursuit or tactic changes.

5. Choose active tactics that fit the text and character.

6. Rehearse those choices while remaining open to the other actor’s responses.

Character development is not simply adding a biography or a set of mannerisms. It comes from discovering how circumstances, desires, resistance, and changing actions shape one another. Specific objectives and flexible tactics help make that development clear and playable. Given circumstances establish the situation; objectives define what the character wants; obstacles create resistance; and tactics are the actions used to pursue the goal. Actors translate this analysis into specific behavior and adjust as the scene unfolds, expressing character through purposeful action rather than emotion presented in isolation.