Leadership Inspired By Arts Education

How To Create a Character Biography

Template and activities for creating a detailed, three-dimensional character biography.

A character biography is a detailed, three-dimensional breakdown of your character’s physical, emotional and spiritual world.

There are multiple entry points into creating a character biography, including:

  • question/answer organizers

  • creating a visual lookbook/slide deck

  • first person, free writing

  • hot seating improv game (i.e. answering questions verbally)

Regardless of the approach, a compelling character biography includes questions to guide deep analysis of the “whys” behind the character’s thoughts and actions.

Creativity rooted in textual analysis will help create a character biography that is truly authentic and grounded.  

Here is a sample template that uses the question-and-answer approach to creating a character biography.

The sample template supports the critical thinking prompts found in the Character Biographies: Questions to Create Authentic Characters video.

I encourage my students to use first person voice when completing character biography activities.

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Some of the most insightful character biography categories include (but are not limited to):

  • cultural and social contexts and situations

  • family history

  • physical and spiritual characteristics

  • philosophies

  • health and wellness

  • relationships

  • wants, desires and annoyances

When creating a character biography, please go beyond the basic facts. Although it is essential to know your character's age, the real work comes from diving into your character's personality, conflicts, and rationale for doing the things they do. Humans are complex beings full of experiences and details. Your characters should be that way too. 

Click here to purchase an editable Google Doc of the Character Biography Worksheet.

Less is More | Minimal Scripts As An Entry Point Into Character

Today I just spent some time planning the ADA 10 Grade 9 Dramatic Arts course with a colleague.  It was an excellent exercise in reflecting on what works best for our student learners, focusing on how the dramatic activities will bring about our key learnings in the course: communication, collaboration, confidence and critical thinking.  

As we were going through the course and outlining the units, we landed upon minimal scripts as an entry point into character and script work.  Starting small but using clues in the text to develop: 

  • character relationships

  • character building based on the facts found in the script

  • confidence in lines and memorization

As an arts educator, I'm gearing my lessons everyday for my students to build confidence.  I honestly believe that we need to help students learn their parts.  By encouraging students to be "off book" from the beginning of the year, especially with short burst activities such as minimal scripts, it will help the students to gain confidence in longer sections of material.  For memorization has two main components: confidence and accuracy.  Both concept are rooted in the idea of knowing one's character, relationship, objectives and motivations inside and out.  

I have linked a handout and activity to minimal scripts to the Dramatic Arts resource page.   In terms of planning where minimal scripts could go in your curriculum, consider the following: 

  • at the beginning of a script writing unit to study character voice and what needs to be said in order to get the message across

  • during the elements of drama units to bring out concepts of physicalization, staging, communicating character's reactions between the dialogue lines

  • as a warm-up activity to extend characterization

  • anywhere else where it fits.

Remember: minimal script doesn't have to be a beginning activity.  It could be used to dive into characterization at any point in the process. 

Also remember that this is a great technique to develop student voice and confidence.  Give the students prompts and encourage them to place these lines into a context that is relevant to their lives.  When you are reflecting on the activity, how did the text allow the students to enter into situations that matter to their lives?  What is the difference between what is said on stage and what can be inferred by body language?  What context does the audience need to understand the storyline?  Be direct with your reflection questions and prompt the students to develop their literacy skills in their response to the activity (both as performers and audience members). 

A warning to all of my fellow drama teachers and directors out there in the world: be careful of timing with minimal scripts.  You need to schedule enough time so the students feel confident in their decision making and choices, but not too much time so rehearsal becomes unproductive.  In an Ontario curriculum 75 minute lesson, you could totally use this sample lesson as your action portion of the lesson plan with a characterization minds on and a performance reflection at the end.  

Less is more.  How can you use minimal dialogue and have maximum impact on stage?  Encourage your students to round out their characters using physicalization.