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 5^th 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.