The SpiderMan:
Getting
Started 1. Read the play at least twice 2. Action your text 3. Create the world
4. Here are some new character questions and exercises for you to experiment
with. Try them. Include your notes in your character log for this monologue:
What
makes an engaging or compelling character? How do you create one? What can you
do to make the people in your head come over on the page? The two main purposes
for these development exercises are
1) to help you solidify your characterization
by imaging your character in a variety of situations; and
2)
to you work with the information you have. Knowing your character as you do,
you have to write about him or her in a way which makes use of the knowledge
you have. The image often used here is an iceberg: most of what you know about
your character will never be seen (or, stated) directly. Much of it will never
be used at all. However, it is good for you - the writer - to know everything
so that you can be confident about your character and how he or she will react
in any given situation.
1st
development exercise: writing in the third person, describe your character in
an environment familiar to him/her, carrying out some habitual action (work,
eating, sleeping, domestic chores, driving, shaving,), whilst in the grip of
some intense emotion. Suggest as much as you can about your character without
spelling things out or ‘telling’. Convey the mood, without naming it. Aim for
about a page.
She sits in her room,
a heap of old photos spread across the length of her bed, she picks up a photo
of him and sighs, slowly glancing out the frosted window into the night. There
was nothing she could do and deep down inside her there was nothing that she wanted to do. She felt obligated to care
but, some part of her just couldn’t. She rests the photo back down on her bed
and retreats to the mirror, staring at the reflection back at her, the jewel in
her nose glimmering underneath the bulb on her ceiling. She twists it between
her fingers, wincing at the slight throbbing pain. She’s forgotten to put the
solution on it again but, the pain felt good. The pain always felt good, she
enjoys it. It makes her realise that she’s alive, a substitute for the only
feeling that she knows. She picks up the saline solution on her unit and
dribbles a few of the solution onto her nose, the cold liquid relieves some of
the pain for now. She sits down at her cabinet’s stool, grabbing the coloured
wristbands that were scatted on the wooden unit. She grimaces at the thought,
stretching and clawing at the rubber material. The thought repels her, but
she’s curious.
She listens; her mum
and dad are at it again. Screaming at each other. She understands, they have a
reason to be like this but, it doesn’t help. It never resolves it. They’re
arguing about Sarah. Her mum is worried about her and about marijuana.
She lays down on her
bed, wrapping herself in her checked duvet cover to keep the warmth in. She
stares at her ceiling, only this time she notices every little flaw in the
paintwork. Every crack, every peel, even the discolouration. She is worried. She’s worried cause of Michael, worried more
for him than David and she feels bad. She rolls over to her right, pushing the
photos off of the bed and on to the floor, creating a pile of overturned
memories. She rolls up her sleeve, revealing the tattoo on her forearm. She
stares at it for a while before rolling it back down. She brings her legs up and gets up into a
sitting position again. She doesn’t want to go downstairs.
She gets up from her
bed, stepping on the cold, plain side of the photos, sending little shivers of
frost up her body. She likes it. She sits back at the mirror, taking the
hairband from the ponytail and releases her hair in one swift movement, letting
her brown hair cascade over her shoulders. She lets out a half-smile, picking
up her brush and sliding the bristles down the hair; pulling at each and every
knot. She doesn’t know why it feels nice, but it just does.
2nd development exercise: list the contents of
your character's purse, pockets, shopping trolley, brief case or car. Character
questionnaire:
Sarah’s
school bag:
A
single apple and a bottle of spring water.
Text
books for history, science and maths.
Makeup
bag with eyeliner and blusher.
Black
studded purse with £2.56
Loose
hair bands and hair grips.
Old
empty crisps and chocolate wrapper
A
Kit-kat chunky chocolate bar
Name
and age?
Her name is Sarah Michelle Oak, she is fourteen
years old.
Nickname?
Who gave it?
Her nickname is ‘Saz’ given to her by her bestfriend
Karen who gave it to her because it’s short and sweet.
What is most noticeable about your character’s
appearance/physical presence? How does he or she feel about it? Describe his or
her voice, verbal ticks, pet phrases etc.
The most noticeable thing about my characters
appearance is her piercings. She is quite a plain girl but, has a nose piercing
and a tattoo with ‘Mum’ in a heart on her right forearm. She didn’t want to get
a tattoo but it was something she just did in the heat of the moment.
Her voice is quite soft and slow, she tends to hold
back on words sometimes as she can be quite awkward around people. She also
sometimes stutters on words despite speaking slowly.
Describe
a gesture your character makes.
Sarah does hand gestures while she talks to
sometimes emphasize her words and how she speaks.
Where
does he or she now live? Describe the city, town or village, the house itself.
Be very specific.
Sarah and her family live in Broadford, County Clare
in Ireland. A small village/town. It is tucked between valleys, and there are
mountains and lakes and forests surrounding the village. It was a quiet place
where everyone knows eachother. Sarah lives in medium-sized semi detached house
with her mum and two brothers, Jacob and David. The house has a small garden
with only flowers and a pond at the end of it. The house is plainly decorated;
the walls are mostly magnolia and laminate wooden flooring. The kitchen is a
galley one and the living room is plainly decorated like the rest of the house
except the living room isn’t painted magnolia, it is coffee-colour paint with a
white dado rail. There are a few pictures and photoframes in there giving a
little colour to the room. The photo on the fireplace has David, Jacob, Sarah
and their mum all smiling in the photo.
Any feelings about this place? Has s/he lived
elsewhere?
Sarah doesn’t really mind living in Broadford since
she hasn’t lived anywhere else in her entire life so she is so used to living
in a small village. She does want to experience new things but, she is content
living in the small, close-knit village that she is in now.
What
part of her home is her favourite? Least favourite? Why.
Her favourite place in her house is her bedroom
because she is alone there. She doesn’t really like bei ng alone but, since she
doesn’t really associate with her family she prefers to stay away from them and
in the solitary of her own room. Her least favourite place of the house is the
living room where her mum resides most of the time. She doesn’t like to be
reminded that they don’t talk and finds it awkward there.
Describe,
using specific details. What does your character’s bedroom/sleeping place look
like? (lots of detail please)
Sarah decorated her room herself; her walls are a
black and white wallpaper with scribbles all over the walls with light laminate
wooden flooring. The curtains are black and the netting at the window is
slightly faded where her mum hasn’t washed it for a while. There is a crack in
the window that has been forgotten about and has never been mended. Sarah has a
single bed with a white bottom sheet and her duvet cover is a maroon red, a
simple and basic colour as Sarah likes red. Her bookshelves are messy and are
covered with school textbooks and exercise books and a few strewn CDs that she
has forgotten to place back. She has a small TV standing on another shelf with
a VHS player underneath as they can’t afford a DVD player at the moment. She
has a small stereo beside the TV, but only a basic one. The rug on the floor is
a small circular one and is off-white as she rarely hoovers her room. She
barley wears makeup but, keeps an eyeliner and a saline solution for her
piercings beside her bed, on a nightstand which also contains a small alarmclock
and a glass of water which is always there. Her wardrobe is beside her bedroom
door and is only a small one which can only contain a small amount of clothes
and a small chest-of-drawers beside the wardrobe containing delicates.
What
does he or she wear to sleep in?
Sarah sleeps in a two-piece red and black checkered
pajama set as they keep her warm because of the crack in her window which can
let in some cold air at night. She doesn’t like to sleep in anything less than
that because it makes her feel uncomfortable.
What
does your character dream of at night?
Sarah dreams of her crush, Michael at night. She dreams of
impressing him and for him to fully notice her feelings. She dreams that he
feels the same way about her. She also dreams that she can get on with her
family because in real life they are truly dysfunctional.
Who
are/were her parents?
Her parents are Lucy Oak, 40 and Richard Oak, 42.
She doesn’t get on with her father as he refuses to make any communication with
the family and is also a violent man at times.
Rest
of family? What does she feel for them?
Sarah doesn’t really talk to the rest of her family
I.E. cousins, aunties, uncles. She doesn’t really feel any love for her family
immediately although, she knows that she would miss them if something had
happened to them. For example, when David dies she confesses that she misses
him. She doesn’t feel much and isn’t given any love by her mum which makes
Sarah feel emotionally deprived.
Class,
ethnic group, religious background?
Sarah is in the working-class as her mother tries to
juggle many jobs and over-extend herself because she is a single parent. She is
of White British ethnicity and so are her parents. Sarah comes from an Atheist
background despite living in a catholic area herself but, her mum is
religious.
Who
does s/he love, or has s/he loved? Or what. Detail.
Sarah loves getting piercings and tattoos because of
the pain. She has a nose-piercing, a tattoo on her forearm and a belly button
piercing. She loves getting them because it gives her pain; a feeling and a
rush that she gets because it makes her feel something again because of the
lack of affection and attention that she gets from her family. Also, she loves
her image and the piercings that she gets.
How
does your character feel about sex/intimacy?
Sarah doesn’t really care too much for sex/intimacy
as she is only fourteen. Her friends are all talking about sex and ‘coloured’
wristbands as they are a symbol of how ‘far’ they have gone and Sarah doesn’t
really care too much for them. And intimacy with anyone makes her feel awkward
as her bestfriend Karen’s mum kissed her on the forehead it made her cry
because she isn’t used to affection and intimacy.
What
sexual relationship(s) is he or she involved in?
Sarah isn’t involved in any sexual relationships as
she is fourteen but, she does have a ‘crush’ on Michael who is fifteen.
Exactly
what does your character do to make a living (or in the case of a child, what
do his/ her parents do; or in the case of independent wealth, how does he or
she pass the time?)?
Sarah doesn’t work as she is still in school. Her
mum works as a cashier in a small supermarket in the village and a cleaner of a
pub as another job as she has to compensate for her husband who doesn’t work at
all. Sarah goes to school to pass the time then mostly does work in her
bedroom, hang down with her friends by the tattoo shop or go to her bestfriend
Karen’s house.
How
much does s/he earn?
Her mum earns £5.78 an hour in the shop and minimal
wage as the cleaner in the pub.
What
is the best part of the job, the worst?
N/A
Who
or what does/he fear? What about his or her life would he or she change if s/he
could?
Sarah doesn’t really fear anything, she’s not really
scared about things either. If Sarah cold change her life she would change the
fact that her family is dysfunctional and the fact that Michael doesn’t feel
the same way about her as she feels about him.
Does
the character have a hobby? Secret passion? (Can be something ordinary like
soccer playing or yoga classes or mountain biking or sewing or fixing up old
trucks - or an unusual interest like some Greek poet from the third century, or
collecting spiders, or walking the tightrope…
Sarah’s secret passion is drawing. She likes to draw
about her feelings and the things that she wants to be. She doesn’t show anyone
her drawings as she is embarrassed about them. Sometimes she just doodles and
sketches tattoo art designs but, mostly she likes to draw different things to
keep her imagination fresh.
What
would be his or her favourite smell ( why)?
Her favourite smell is the smell of Karen’s mum. She
smells like floral perfume and moisturizer because that’s the smell of ‘grown
ups’ and how a mother should smell and she doesn’t know what her mum wears,
also she likes it because it’s calming and warm.
What
kind of shoes does he or she wear, (e.g. furry slippers or gumboot or trainers…
new or old, style, what colour, fitting properly or too tight or too loose,
nice and clean or old and smelly)? Describe exactly.
She likes to wear her Nike trainers. They are white
with a black tick on the sides of them. Since they are her favourite they are
off-white with scuff and dirt marks all around the sides. She cleans them
sometimes but, sometimes leaves them for months without cleaning. They are size
6 but, they are beginning to get a bit tight on her yet she continues to wear
them.
Favourite
meal?
Her favourite meal is Fish and Chips; plain and
simple.
Favourite
clothes?
Her favourite clothes is the studded leather jacket
she owns and her dark-navy skinny jeans with her faded white Nike trainers.
What
is the worst thing that could happen to him or her right now?
The worst thing that could happen to Sarah is if she
lost her bestfriend, Karen. Since her brother, David’s death at the end of the
play, the worst thing that could happen to her would be to lose Karen. She
tells her everything and they are bestfriends.
What
vehicles does your character use/own? (for example: bike, skateboard, truck,
yacht, stroller, canoe, spaceship, battered pickup, etc.. please be as exact as
possible).
Sarah has a grey bike with pink tribal patterns
along the body work. Her back wheel is punctured and the bike and brake chains
are rusty since she doesn’t use it often. Since the bike is getting a bit small
for her and young for her Sarah likes to walk everywhere.
What
are his/her feelings towards it/them.
Sarah likes her bike and doesn’t want to get rid of
it since she has had it since she was young. It
reminds her of her childhood even though the body work is a tad
scratched and the wheels and chains are beyond repair she can’t bring herself
to get rid of it.
What kind of journeys does he or she make?
Sarah doesn’t travel far as her village is quite
small. Karens’ house, the forest, her school and the tattoo shop is all quite
close to her so she has to make quick, short journeys to wherever she wants to
go.
What
is his or her most treasured possession?
Her most treasured possession is a small jewellery
box that is on her window shelf in her bedroom. She doesn’t have much jewellery
inside it apart from several ‘butterflies’ to her earrings. She keeps her
piercing solution in there too. It’s her prized possession because her
Grandmother gave it too her on her 5th birthday because it
represented a ‘princess’ she’s kept it ever since along with a golden butterfly
broach inside it.
What illnesses has he or she suffered, if any?
Sarah hasn’t suffered from any form of serious
injuries except when she climbed a tree in the forest near her home and fell
out of the top branch that she had been climbing on and had broken her
collarbone and wrist when she was eleven. Luckily, she was not seriously
injured.
What’s
his/her philosophy of life? For example’ You’ve got to look after Number 1’ or ‘Never
say die’ or ‘Don’t ask for reasons.”
Sarah likes to live by the philosophy ‘You’ve got to
look after number 1’ because of the lack of love and affection in her family
although she doesn’t crave or seek the attention.
What
are his or her most strongly held beliefs? What does he or she feel guilty
about?
She doesn’t have any strong held beliefs, but she
does feel guilty that she didn’t communicate with David as much as she did
before he died.
Biggest
mistake ever made?
Her biggest mistake, like what she feels guilty
about is not showing enough love to David.
Best
thing he/she ever did?
The best thing that Sarah ever did was winning the
art competition at her school which made her very proud of herself as she’s
never won anything before.
What,
right now, does your character want most of all? His or her deepest desire – a
glass of water, to get out of her marriage, a new pair of shoes, peace and
quiet…
Her deepest desire is to be with Michael above most
things.
