B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Drama: Becoming a Character

B1.2 B2.2About 30 minutes

Learning goals

I can show how a character thinks and feels using my face, body and voice.
I can change my voice to be loud or soft, high or low, fast or slow.
I can use gestures and a special walk for a character.
I can freeze in a tableau (a frozen picture).
I can tell how an actor showed what a character was feeling.

Words to know

character
A person, animal or creature in a story or drama.

gesture
A movement of your hands, arms or head that shows meaning, like waving hello or shaking your head no.

facial expression
How your face shows a feeling, like a big smile or a frown.

voice
How you speak: loud or soft, high or low, fast or slow.

posture
How you hold your body: tall and proud, or slumped and tired.

tableau
A frozen picture made with bodies, like a photo of one moment in a story. Say it "tab-LOW".

Who am I?

Watch this. Your grown-up hunches over, walks very slowly, holds a pretend cane and says in a creaky voice, "Oh my, where did I put my glasses?"

Who are they pretending to be? An old grandpa or grandma, maybe! How did you know? Their body, voice and gestures told you!

Actors use three tools

Face: your facial expression shows feelings. Happy, sad, surprised, angry, scared.
Body: your posture, gestures and the way you walk. A proud king walks tall and slow. A sneaky mouse tiptoes.
Voice: you can change how you speak.

loud or soft
high or low
fast or slow

A wooden cane, round eyeglasses, a gold toy crown, a straw hat and a knitted shawl lying on a wooden stage floor. — Costume pieces and props help an actor become a character. Who might use the cane and glasses? Who wears the crown? AI-generated image

Actors use three tools to become a character: their face, their body and their voice.

😀😢😠😮😨

Facial expressions: happy, sad, angry, surprised, scared. Can you make each face?

Character	Body	Voice
Big Papa Bear	tall, heavy steps, wide arms	low, loud, slow
Baby Bear	small, quick little steps	high, a bit whiny
A sneaky fox	low, tiptoeing, looking around	soft, whispery, fast
A proud queen	very tall, chin up, slow walk	clear, loud, slow
A sleepy kitten	curled up, slow stretches, yawning	soft, slow, quiet meow

How actors change their body and voice for different characters

Thoughts and feelings

A good actor thinks about what the character is thinking and feeling.

Ask yourself:

How does my character feel right now? (happy, scared, grumpy?)
What does my character want?
How would they move and talk because of that feeling?

Tableau: a frozen picture

A tableau is when actors freeze in a picture, like someone pressed pause on a movie. Each actor shows their character's feeling with their face and body, without moving or talking.

When a grown-up taps your shoulder, you can come alive and say one sentence about what your character is thinking!

Worked example

Example: The troll under the bridge

Let's become the troll from The Three Billy Goats Gruff. The troll is grumpy and wants to eat the goats!

Think: How does the troll feel? Grumpy and hungry. What does he want? To catch a goat.
Face: a big frown, squinty eyes.
Body: hunched over, heavy stomping feet, fists clenched. A gesture: pointing at the goat.
Voice: low, loud and growly: "WHO'S that trip-trapping over MY bridge?"
Tableau: freeze in the troll shape, glaring up at the goat.

We showed the troll's feelings (grumpy, hungry) with a frowning face, a hunched, stomping body, a pointing gesture and a low, growly voice.

Worked example

Example: Noticing how an actor showed a character

Your sister acts like a nervous kid on the first day of school. What did she do to show it?

Watch her face: she bit her lip and looked worried.
Watch her body: she hugged her backpack and took tiny, slow steps.
Listen to her voice: it was soft and shaky: "Um... hi... is this Grade 1?"

She showed nervous with a worried face, small, slow steps, a hugging gesture and a soft, shaky voice.

Just for fun

Knock, knock. Who's there? Tiny mouse. Tiny mouse who?

(say it in your tiniest, squeakiest voice) Tiny mouse... please let me in, it's cold out here!

Hands-on activity

Character walk and talk

You need: some space to walk and a grown-up to call out characters.

Walk around the room as yourself.
The grown-up calls out a character: a giant, a mouse, a robot, a tired grandparent, a superhero, a penguin on ice. Change your walk right away!
When they say "Talk!", say "Hello, how are you?" in your character's voice.
When they say "Freeze!", make a tableau of your character with a strong facial expression.
Switch: you call out characters for the grown-up.

Talk about it: "Which character was the hardest? What did you change about your voice?"

Your turn

Say "I lost my mitten!" in a sad voice. Then in a surprised voice.

Walk like a giant. Then walk like a mouse.

What is a gesture? Show one.

Make a scared face.

How would Goldilocks feel when the three bears find her? Show it in a tableau.

What three tools does an actor use?

Name two ways you can change your voice.

More practice: warm-up

Make a happy face.

Say "hello" in a high voice.

Say "hello" in a low voice.

What is a tableau?

Show a thumbs up gesture. What does it mean?

More practice: on your own

How would a proud king walk? Show it and explain.

Make a tableau of a bear waking up in spring. What is the bear thinking?

Use the same words, "Come here," to show angry and then kind.

A character is very tired. Name one thing for their face, one for their body and one for their voice.

Your grown-up acts like a character. Tell them how you knew what the character was feeling.

Challenge

Play The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Use a different voice for the little goat, the middle goat and the big goat. How are they different?

Make a tableau with a grown-up: someone gives a gift and someone opens it. Each person shows a different feeling. What feelings did you show?

Why might an actor talk softly and slowly when playing someone who is sad?

Check your understanding

Quiz

What three tools does an actor use to show a character?

A gesture is ___.

How would a giant most likely talk?

A frozen picture made with bodies is called a ___.

An actor walks with slumped shoulders, slow steps and a soft voice. How does the character probably feel?

Which is a facial expression for surprise?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: In Grade 1, the focus of drama is the element of character/role. Children show a character's thoughts, feelings and gestures using face, body and voice, and describe how an actor did this in a shared drama.

How to help:

During read-alouds, ask: "How do you think the bear's voice sounds?" and let your child read a character's lines.
Play "Guess my feeling": act a feeling without words and let your child guess, then switch.
When watching a show, ask: "How did you know she was scared?"

Common difficulties:

Only changing volume. Encourage changes in pitch and speed too.
Scary characters getting too real. Use "Freeze! Back to me!" and keep characters like trolls a bit silly.
Can't hold a tableau. Count to 5 together. Holding still takes practice.