Creating and developing characters is a must in ay theatre class or production. Whether performers are working on a show or just playing around the basis for performing is learning how to create and develop your character. For young actors, developing characters can be an exciting journey filled with discovery, creativity, and lots of laughter.
Whether they’re stepping into the shoes of a hero, villain, or an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances, here are some character-building exercises and techniques that make this journey even more fun!
1. How they walk? 🕺🏃♀️
One of the first steps to creating a character is figuring out how they move. I remind performers that this is the time to explore, play big and have fun.
First ask young actors to try walking in different ways to discover how it changes their sense of the character. Here are some great games you can play to encourage imgination and play:
The Animal Walk: Have them pick an animal and imitate how it might walk. Does their character walk slowly like a turtle or with fierce strides like a lion?
Emotion Walks: Try happy, sad, angry, or shy walks. Each emotion will bring out different physical movements and help kids see how feelings can shape a character.
If this game gets too loud (which sometimes it does) I have performers explore with just their body and movements first without sound. If you wish to add the next level you can let them have some sound as well.
Character Style: Walk like an old wizard, a superhero, a queen, or even a robot. Kids can switch characters quickly, which keeps it dynamic and helps them understand the link between physicality and personality.
This is very similar to the game I play often - Back to Neutral.
Body Part Leading: Have performers walk around the space and call out different body parts that may be leading you walk around the room. Your nose, forehead, hips, knees, butt. Stop and ask performers what does that say about the character? How does it change how they move and enter a room?
Mimic walk: A great exercise to have performers watch and be aware of how people move and then mimic how they walk. Have 4-5 performers walk around the room as they normally would walk as themselves. Have other performers watch them first then once they notice how these actors move the stand on the stage with them and mimic how they walk. The performers in the audience need to guess who is micmicking who. It is a fun exploration game but it can also an opportunity to have some self awareness of how you move.
2. Character Hot Seat 🎭
In this game, one actor sits in the “hot seat” as their character, while the others ask questions like, “What’s your favorite food?” or “Do you have a secret?” The answers reveal details about the character’s personality, background, and motivations. Some tips:
Encourage kids to stay in character throughout.
Ask silly questions to keep it fun, like “What’s your biggest fear?” or “What’s the weirdest thing in your bedroom?”
Have kids try out voices and mannerisms to keep their character consistent.
3. Speak Up 🗣️
Sometimes the voice alone can help build a character! Have young actors say simple words or phrases using exaggerated vowel sounds to explore how the character speaks. Does the character have a high-pitched, squeaky voice or a slow, deep one?
Try phrases like:
Make up short sentences using only one vowel sound at a time.
Combine voices with physical traits for a complete character transformation.
4. Emotion Exploration Game 🤩
Learning to express emotions clearly is key to building believable characters. Give each actor a simple line—such as “I can’t believe it!”—and ask them to repeat it with different emotions (like joy, fear, anger, and surprise). This teaches them to:
Convey emotions without overacting.
Be consistent in their portrayal.
Notice how each emotion can shift the character’s personality.
This game is great to explore how body language and voice come together to reveal what’s happening on the inside.
I also love the game emotion levels. It shows performers that there is a scale when it comes to emotions. Have them start with level 1 sad for example which would not be that sad then move to level 4, then 7, then level 10 the sadest you have ever been in your life. Continue to explore different emotions. It is a wonderful way for performers to have the freedom to explore.
5. The Character Diary 📓
For older kids and teens, keeping a character diary is a powerful tool. They write journal entries as their character, describing what they did each day, their feelings, and interactions with others. It helps them:
Delve into the character’s mind.
Practice making choices about the character’s backstory.
Build empathy for their character’s journey.
Younger kids can draw pictures of what their character might wear, eat, or see, creating a visual diary instead.
6. All in the relationships 🤹♀️
Not only is it important to develop how the characters moves and what they sound like, it is extremelty important to know who this character has relationships with in the scene or show.
Actors are usually able to use their scripts to get clues on their relationships within in a show but I encourge performers to create thier own story and backstory if it doesn't.
A good exercise is to have all of the performers walk around the space and lead them through prompts like:
Who is your character's best friend? Go to them
Who is your character's enemy?
Who is a character your character wants to learn more about?
Who is someone your character is jealous of?
Who is someone your character respects?
Another fun relationship exercise is all about status. The purpose is to show that in every group there is a hierachy of who has the status. I explain like a totem pole who is at the top, middle and bottom. This hiearchy can change throughout a scene or show, but it is important to think about and be aware of.
One improv exercise I love to play with young performers is to have three performers on the stage. I give them a location and I secretely whisper in their ear 1, 2, 3. If you are 1 you are the top of the hiearchy, 2 you are in the middle and 3 you are at the bottom. Once the scene begins the performers try to show why who is where in the hiearchy by supporting each other. The audience will have to guess what everyones number is.
Character-building is about diving deep into the “who, what, and why” behind every role, which can empower young actors to create unique, believable characters on stage that people love and add depth to their performance.
These games and exercises let kids explore their creativity, push boundaries, and learn to express themselves in new ways—all while having a blast! The more they practice, the more confident and committed their characters will become. So get ready to watch these young actors surprise you with their talent, creativity, and the amazing characters they bring to life!
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