Latest / The Imperfect Impulse w/Bree O'Connor / S2 Ep3: Who Are You and How Did You Get In Here?

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S2 Ep3: Who Are You and How Did You Get In Here? · The Imperfect Impulse w/Bree O'Connor

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SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Imperfect Impulse with Brie O'Connor.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Brie O'Connor.
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SPEAKER_00: Today we are going to talk about character.
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SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in, shall we?
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One of the first things that we need to pay attention to is
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getting to know our character.
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SPEAKER_00: After we have established the rules of the universe,
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SPEAKER_00: And,
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SPEAKER_00: and looked at,
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SPEAKER_00: um,
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SPEAKER_00: you know,
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SPEAKER_00: the setting and action and how that impacts,
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SPEAKER_00: um,
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SPEAKER_00: the world that our characters live in.
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And we've written down some dialogue and we,
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we're starting to getting into the flow.
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SPEAKER_00: it's really important for us to pay attention to character.
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SPEAKER_00: Specifically,
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SPEAKER_00: who are these,
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SPEAKER_00: these people or sometimes creatures,
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SPEAKER_00: depending on your story,
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SPEAKER_00: what are they doing in this world?
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SPEAKER_00: What do they want and why are they there?
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SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we get to know a character almost immediately.
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They are probably the first thing that pops up in our head is
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that I want to tell a
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story about this particular person because there's something
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familiar or funny or
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SPEAKER_00: endearing,
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SPEAKER_00: something about them that we
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we know well and would like to live in this particular universe
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for me I have I
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have a character that I've been living with for a number of
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years and and her name
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SPEAKER_00: is Tammy and I know Tammy immediately
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And how I know her is because she talks like this and she
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sounds a lot like the
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SPEAKER_00: ladies that I grew up with.
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SPEAKER_00: And I know she's got a particular point of view.
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I immediately know as soon as I hear that voice in my head,
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I know what Tammy is thinking.
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SPEAKER_00: I know how she views the world.
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SPEAKER_00: I know what her priorities are.
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SPEAKER_00: I am cued in to Tammy.
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SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it's that simple that we hear that voice or
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Sometimes as an actor,
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you might strike that posture and you just feel them.
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They kind of take over as part of your own persona and you are
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them and they are
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SPEAKER_00: you and you understand them and you understand their behavior.
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SPEAKER_00: That is the ideal situation.
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SPEAKER_00: And we absolutely love that.
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SPEAKER_00: But where it gets hard is when we're writing someone who
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is a little further from our experience and sometimes we have
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difficulty connecting with them.
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SPEAKER_00: Maybe we might carry a bias.
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SPEAKER_00: It's hard to write someone that you hate.
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I mean people do it and you can tell when people do it to be
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honest because they
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SPEAKER_00: tend to write them without
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without much honesty and a lot of accusation that makes it
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really hard as an actor
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SPEAKER_00: to,
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SPEAKER_00: to grab onto.
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SPEAKER_00: So to a certain extent,
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SPEAKER_00: you have to understand them enough to empathize with them,
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to be able to get inside their head and understand why they
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make the decisions that
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SPEAKER_00: they make.
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We want to make sure that each character we write has their own
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perspective,
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SPEAKER_00: their own wants and needs and their own point of view.
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SPEAKER_00: So if all of a sudden that character became our protagonist,
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that we could tell the story of these events from their
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perspective without losing
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SPEAKER_00: a beat.
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SPEAKER_00: So
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SPEAKER_00: That's the ideal situation.
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SPEAKER_00: And that's actually the thing that you should be working for.
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SPEAKER_00: It's a little easier with a two-hander because,
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SPEAKER_00: you know,
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SPEAKER_00: you just have one point of conflict and two points of view.
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SPEAKER_00: And sometimes they're on the same side.
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SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they're not.
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SPEAKER_00: But, you know, I mean, not to say that two-handers can't get complicated.
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SPEAKER_00: They absolutely can.
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SPEAKER_00: Don't get me wrong.
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SPEAKER_00: But...
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It's a little bit easier process when you're sort of turning
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the perspective as a writer.
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SPEAKER_00: You have fewer things to keep track of.
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SPEAKER_00: But when you have three,
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SPEAKER_00: six,
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SPEAKER_00: eight characters,
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SPEAKER_00: that exercise becomes a bit more cumbersome,
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SPEAKER_00: but all the more necessary.
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So let's talk for a minute about character perspective and how
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do you know that you
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SPEAKER_00: are serving that character?
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SPEAKER_00: Okay.
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SPEAKER_00: There are some tells here,
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some things that you need to use to assess your own work and
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find out if you are
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SPEAKER_00: serving everyone in your play or screenplay or novel.
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SPEAKER_00: or whatever you're writing.
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If your character has a flat nondescript voice if you find that
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their lines get
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lost with the other characters that means you have not
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differentiated that
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SPEAKER_00: character into a whole person.
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SPEAKER_00: People are extraordinarily idiosyncratic.
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SPEAKER_00: We have
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SPEAKER_00: so much bound up in the way we use language.
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The way we use language can be impacted by how our parents
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spoke to us as children,
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SPEAKER_00: our own idea of self,
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SPEAKER_00: How much we've read?
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SPEAKER_00: What is our education level?
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SPEAKER_00: What did we read?
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As a person who has read nothing but science fiction for 40
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years is going to sound
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SPEAKER_00: quite different from someone who's been reading self-help books.
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these influences shape our language in such specific ways and
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that is a tool you
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can use to help differentiate the voice of your characters is
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by understanding
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their experience and how that experience is reflected by the
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things that come out
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SPEAKER_00: of their mouths if they don't have that
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SPEAKER_00: then you will find yourself resting on stereotypes,
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SPEAKER_00: accents,
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SPEAKER_00: a generality that your audience will pick up on.
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So you need to pick up on it before they do,
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before they have a chance to pick up on it.
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SPEAKER_00: That lack of specificity, both of language and language,
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behavior will be your downfall and what that can set you up for
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is using a
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character to move your plot and audiences will recognize that
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that character is
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SPEAKER_00: there only to serve a certain purpose.
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SPEAKER_00: You know, that's where the tropes come in.
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The gay best friend who's really just there to tell the
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protagonist that she's
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SPEAKER_00: pretty and does little else.
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SPEAKER_00: Doesn't really have a story of their own.
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And that's what I mean when I'm talking about being able to
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turn the camera around
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from that character's point of view and tell the events of that
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story with a very
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SPEAKER_00: specific perspective.
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Sometimes when you look through your text that you've written,
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whatever stage you're in,
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You should always go back and read the scenes from each
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character's perspective and
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SPEAKER_00: see if you can figure out what they're doing and why they're in the room.
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SPEAKER_00: And if they are just there to say the thing that nobody else can say,
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SPEAKER_00: okay,
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SPEAKER_00: then maybe they don't need to be there.
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SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you can look back and see throughout, maybe
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SPEAKER_00: you've been shoving off like,
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SPEAKER_00: Oh,
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SPEAKER_00: the person who always says the truth and it's kind of awkward,
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SPEAKER_00: but nobody else in the,
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SPEAKER_00: in your character cast can say it,
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SPEAKER_00: it might fall to this character that you've been rather unspecific about.
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That's an invitation for you to say,
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okay,
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this character serves a purpose in the scene.
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SPEAKER_00: How can I make them more ingrained in this, in this universe?
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SPEAKER_00: if there is a pattern developing, go ahead and explore that pattern.
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SPEAKER_00: What does that mean about that person?
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You may find that that is something that you can carry through
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to the second,
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SPEAKER_00: third act,
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SPEAKER_00: and they may become your favorite person.
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SPEAKER_00: They may become your best friend.
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SPEAKER_00: Or you might find out that like, oh, I'm
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really don't need this person because those lines can be given
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to other characters
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and really give yourself some serious consideration on why all
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those characters are
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there in the first place and you should be able to to drill
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down moment by moment
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SPEAKER_00: what that character is doing.
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SPEAKER_00: Why are they speaking or not speaking?
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SPEAKER_00: Are they distracted?
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Are they keeping their mouth shut because they know something
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and they don't want
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SPEAKER_00: to,
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SPEAKER_00: they don't want to spill the beans.
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There's a whole bunch of reasons why a character may be
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speaking or not speaking.
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SPEAKER_00: And each choice needs to be justified.
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Each moment needs to be justified and true to each character in
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the scene.
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And as you do that work,
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you may find yourself maybe over serving the characters.
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I've seen this happen many times and I've done this many times
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where I've done the
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SPEAKER_00: work,
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I've gotten to know the characters and I look at the scene and
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it feels like it's
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SPEAKER_00: dragging.
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SPEAKER_00: It's going on too long.
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SPEAKER_00: It feels too perfect.
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SPEAKER_00: I've allowed the characters to say everything they need to say.
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SPEAKER_00: And how often in life do we get that opportunity?
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more often than not we will find ourselves uh find ourselves
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late at night sitting
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up thinking about all the things that we wish we'd said but we
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didn't say and our
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frustration or like they really tripped me up or i wish i
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hadn't gotten angry there
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SPEAKER_00: but then they said the thing there's so many reasons why we get derailed
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from saying absolutely everything that's on our minds so your
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next pass needs to be
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looking for those triggers what what derails a character what
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do they say the other
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person say that they absolutely need to respond to right now
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despite the fact that
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they wanted to say this other thing how much does what they say
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paint them into a
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SPEAKER_00: corner
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SPEAKER_00: Honestly, make your character's lives as difficult as possible.
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SPEAKER_00: If you can, paint them into a corner and then watch them get out.
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SPEAKER_00: Honestly, that's all we're there for.
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So you need to make sure that these very real people have very
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real responses and regrets.
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SPEAKER_00: Don't let them always be eloquent.
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SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they're going to trip over their tongue.
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Sometimes they're going to say the wrong thing or say the right
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thing the wrong way.
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SPEAKER_00: And that is also very rooted in character,
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SPEAKER_00: very much rooted in need and insecurity and relationship.
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So what do you do if you find you don't know your character as
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well and the writing
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SPEAKER_00: process is not bringing them up,
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but you know you need them and you keep finding yourself sort
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of brushing them
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SPEAKER_00: aside or dealing with them later,
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SPEAKER_00: or I'll figure out why they do this later.
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SPEAKER_00: So I'm going to credit my dear friend,
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SPEAKER_00: Daniel Sklar,
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SPEAKER_00: uh,
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SPEAKER_00: who created this,
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SPEAKER_00: this,
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SPEAKER_00: um,
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SPEAKER_00: educational program called playmaking.
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SPEAKER_00: And I had the pleasure of being under his tutelage,
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SPEAKER_00: um,
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SPEAKER_00: for,
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SPEAKER_00: uh,
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SPEAKER_00: for a season in learning playmaking.
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SPEAKER_00: And this is a really
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SPEAKER_00: elementary exercise, but I find it is so useful.
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SPEAKER_00: What I love about this exercise is its absolute simplicity,
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but also how it taps into things that we sort of automatically
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know about people.
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SPEAKER_00: For example, name, that's the first thing on the list.
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SPEAKER_00: And that seems elemental.
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SPEAKER_00: However,
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SPEAKER_00: We have to go a little deeper when we're thinking about it because names,
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SPEAKER_00: which often just we free associate,
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SPEAKER_00: they stand in for class,
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SPEAKER_00: for age,
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SPEAKER_00: heritage,
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SPEAKER_00: for background,
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for a parent's hopes and dreams for that little baby that
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they're meeting for the
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SPEAKER_00: first time.
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SPEAKER_00: So names have a lot of meaning in and of themselves.
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And sometimes we can just encounter a name and we feel that
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energy,
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that person from the name.
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SPEAKER_00: I don't mean to get a little woo woo about it, but it's true.
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SPEAKER_00: The next item on the list is age.
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SPEAKER_00: Okay, and that can be reflected by name as well.
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SPEAKER_00: I mean, you know, Ethel is probably born in a certain time period.
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SPEAKER_00: So age becomes an interesting factor and also colors behavior,
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SPEAKER_00: wisdom,
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SPEAKER_00: and a certain point of view,
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SPEAKER_00: a generational point of view.
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SPEAKER_00: Habitat.
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And I love habitat because we use it with the children because
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quite frequently
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SPEAKER_00: they like to write about animals or fantastical creatures.
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SPEAKER_00: But I like thinking of the city as a habitat,
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SPEAKER_00: as an apartment as a habitat,
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SPEAKER_00: as a one-room shack as a habitat,
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that there is something sort of clinical and exploratory about
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using the word
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SPEAKER_00: habitat instead of where do they live.
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it gives you a slightly more analytical perspective to use the
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word habitat.
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SPEAKER_00: These characters also have important characters in their lives.
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SPEAKER_00: Now,
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you may or may not meet these characters in the course of a
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play or a screenplay,
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SPEAKER_00: but,
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SPEAKER_00: you know,
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sometimes that Uncle Marty is a voice in the back of that
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character's head that
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SPEAKER_00: spurs them forward,
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SPEAKER_00: and you need to understand that connection and how
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how Uncle Marty's advice or idiosyncrasies have impacted this
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character that you're
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SPEAKER_00: creating,
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SPEAKER_00: whether or not you ever get to meet him.
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Then the last two things are two sides of the same coin,
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a wish and a fear.
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Every character deals with something they want more than
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anything on this planet
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SPEAKER_00: and for this time period that we are witnessing,
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SPEAKER_00: their wish is paramount.
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SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile,
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their fear also is part of their experience and may play out
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through the course of
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SPEAKER_00: this narrative.
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SPEAKER_00: Once you drill down on these very simple facts about a character,
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you have the opportunity to interrogate them about these
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fundamental things in
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SPEAKER_00: their lives,
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SPEAKER_00: where they come from,
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SPEAKER_00: what does it mean to them,
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SPEAKER_00: what is their attitude toward these things,
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and how are these things intermingling with the set of
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circumstances that you have
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SPEAKER_00: set up in your play,
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SPEAKER_00: screenplay,
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SPEAKER_00: novel,
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SPEAKER_00: et cetera.
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from there there's a bunch of different exercises that you can
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do whatever floats
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your boat if you like to just free write a you know a third
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person description if
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you want to interview them for a job or give them a topic and
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write a monologue in
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SPEAKER_00: their perspective anything that can help
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SPEAKER_00: Just get your brain in the same frequency as this character.
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SPEAKER_00: And it can be almost anything.
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SPEAKER_00: Sometimes people need that extracurricular writing.
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SPEAKER_00: Sometimes people don't.
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SPEAKER_00: We have prattled on quite a bit about character today.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm hoping that you find these little episodes helpful.
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If you find them helpful,
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please feel free to share with all your friends and family.
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SPEAKER_00: Feel free to join me in a writer's group.
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I run writer's groups through Playful Substance and we cover
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playwriting and
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screenwriting and we have an upcoming memoir group in the next
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couple of weeks.
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SPEAKER_00: If you need to reach me directly, you can comment here on my substack or
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SPEAKER_00: You can email me at artisticdirector at playfulsubstance.com.
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SPEAKER_00: That's it for me today on The Imperfect Impulse.
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SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining.