Live Theatre Production: character motivation and interaction

Character Motivation in Live Theatre Production

Character motivation refers to the reasons behind a character’s actions. These reasons, usually based on emotions, beliefs, or personal interests, are what drive characters in their actions, decisions, and interaction with others.
Thorough understanding of character motivation is crucial for interpretations and performances, as it constitutes the basis of the characters’ inner life and helps to create believable emotional truth on stage.
The playwright might hint at character motivation via dialogue, monologues, and stage directions. Still, it’s largely the actors’ and directors’ job to build fully realised motivations for each character.
Misaligned or concealed motivations can create dramatic irony and deepen the intrigue of a narrative, where the audience knows something that the characters on the stage do not.
Character motivation directly feeds into character objectives. These are goals, targets or desires that a character pursues over the course of a play. Defining objectives can help actors find the driving force of their performance and maintain dramatic tension.
Understanding motivation also aids in creating a distinct character history or backstory, which enriches the depth of a character and informs their actions.

Character Interaction in Live Theatre Production

Character interaction is the dynamic between characters in a play. It involves the ways characters communicate, collaborate, conflict, or otherwise interact with each other.
It is portrayed through various means including dialogue, physical actions, reactions, facial expressions, and body language.
Character interaction helps in revealing aspects of characters’ personalities, attitudes, status, and power relations that may not be explicit in the script.
It also serves to build dramatic tension and conflict, release or relief. For instance, a heated argument or a tender moment between characters can immensely affect the mood or tone of the scene.
The interaction among characters also contributes significantly to the plot advancement, the unfolding of dramatic situations, and the revelation of themes.
Adapting to the changes in other characters’ objectives or tactics is a vital part of authentic character interaction.
A specific technique related to character interaction is the ‘give and take’ or action-reaction principle, which emphasises that for every action a character takes, there should be a corresponding reaction from another character. This ongoing dynamic of action and reaction makes the scene lively and engaging.

Both character motivation and interaction are essential tools in building compelling theatre productions. Developing an understanding in these areas will expand an actor’s range, enhance directorial choices, and sharpen analytical skills in interpreting plays.