When a playwright puts a character on paper, anthropomorphism occurs. The playwright takes an inanimate object (an abstract idea) and attaches human characteristics to it to create a theatrical character, a person who, when portrayed by an actor, will become a living, breathing human. The difference between a great playwright and a not-so-great playwright is the ability to create engaging characters.
The term one-dimensional is frequently applied to characters who show little variation in their actions and little depth in their personalities. Even though the concept of one-dimension is physically impossible (ask any physics teacher), the term continues to be applied by critics to poor writing.
Classic examples of one-dimensional-ness are the characters in the Dudley Do-Right series that played during The Bulwinkle Show, namely, Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties, the evil Snidely Whiplash, and sweet Nell Fenwick. Dudley always did good; Snidely always did evil; and Nell was always sweet. This is the typical setup of many mellerdrammers with good versus evil scenarios.
As playwrights, we need to create characters with depth, characters the audience can identify with, characters that elicit sympathy because the audience says, "I know that person," or "I met a person like that once," or "I am that person."
A 15-year-old high school student named Lumie has a good understanding of character development. She has developed a couple of worksheets that help keep track of the things that make characters real.
Real people are happy, sad, successful, unsuccessful, angry, frustrated, and at peace; sometimes seemingly simultaneously. Dramatic characters need the same complexity and depth.
Take M*A*S*H, the television series, for example. Two characters survived the entire 12 seasons, and in the course, changed, grew, and consequently improved during its run: Hawkeye Pierce and Hot Lips Houlihan. In the beginning, both characters were simple. He was a boozing womanizer with little regard for military discipline, and she was committing adultery while presenting an image of a by-the-book regular Army major. They were opposites and clearly disliked one another. In later years, both had grown to include many more faces and facets of their characters, including real warmth and friendship for each other.
Finally, it is inevitable that every character created will be comprised, at least slightly, of characteristics of the playwright. If I write a historical drama based on the life of Martin Luther King, whom we know a great deal about, the Martin Luther King who would appear on my pages will have a certain amount of me contained in him. He would include some of my perspectives, insight, and experiences in the portrayal of his character, and of every character I create.
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