CHARACTER PAINTING: A DRAMA GAME for KIDS
Performing Character Traits

Three character qualities are “painted” on an actor, who then demonstrates them in a brief performance.

Step-by-Step Instructions

• One volunteer stands on stage. Three other students approach one at a time and pretend to “paint” the volunteer–making two or three imaginary brush strokes. As they paint, they describe one character trait or detail, e.g., “You speak with a southern accent,” “You walk with a limp,” “You have a single tear running down your cheek,” “You’re afraid someone is trying to harm you,” “You are deeply in love,” “You’re from another country,” “You take offense at everything,” “You can’t stop smiling.”

• After the volunteer has received three character traits, they introduce themselves to the class as a character incorporating those three qualities. If necessary, the teacher can ask the volunteer questions which they must answer as the character.

• After painting two or more characters, choose two and place them in a scene together where they have to interact. It could be a simple location where any two people might meet, e.g., a park bench, a family reunion, waiting in line at a coffee shop, a birthday party, etc.

• In addition to suggesting a location, you can name a specific situation that fits the characters, e.g., a marriage proposal, a teenager asking a parent for permission to borrow the car, two siblings playing cards where one is cheating, a babysitter trying to get a frightened child to go to bed, a husband forgetting a wife’s birthday, auditioning for cheerleading squad, a bank robbery, etc.

MORE DRAMA GAMES AND THEATER ACTIVITIES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:
BODY WALK - Students explore creating characters by walking with different body parts leading.
HOTEL DESK - Actors adopt strong specific characters and interact with a hotel desk clerk in an improvised scene.
SLEEPY COWBOY - Actors instantly create characters based on a single adjective and a randomly assigned vocation.

© 2023, Friends of the Groom Theater Company

Curtains Up Curriculum by Friends of the Groom Theater Co. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Curtains Up is a training program designed for young actors sponsored by Friends of the Groom Theater Company.
It is available to the general public for free under the terms of the Creative Commons License above.