B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Drama: Multidimensional Characters and Relationships

B1.2 B2.2About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can explain a character's motivations, for fictional and historical characters.
I can build a multidimensional character with several sides, not just one.
I can reveal character through props, movement and blocking, and stay committed to my role.
I can develop and analyse a relationship that changes over several scenes.
I can use drama terminology to explain how the elements of drama communicate meaning.

Words to know

motivation
The reason behind what a character says and does: what they want and why they want it.

multidimensional character
A character with several sides (facets), like a real person, who can surprise us. The opposite of a flat, one-note character.

facet
One side of a character's personality, history or feelings.

prop
An object an actor uses on stage, such as a phone, a hockey bag or a scarf.

blocking
The planned movements of actors on stage: where and when they move, stand, sit or turn.

commitment to role
Staying fully in character, in voice, body and focus, even when something unexpected happens.

subtext
What a character really means or feels underneath the words they say.

elements of drama
The building blocks of drama: role/character, relationship, time and place (setting), tension, and focus and emphasis.

Remember from Grade 6

In Grade 6 you learned that an authentic character feels like a real, specific person, not a stereotype. You used gesture and movement to show who a character is, and showed how a relationship can change a character over several scenes.

In Grade 7 you will go deeper: you will look for a character's motivations, find several facets (sides) of one character, and reveal character through props and blocking.

More than one side

Think about someone you know well. Are they only funny? Only serious? Probably not. Your funny friend might also be the one who looks after a little brother every day after school. People are multidimensional: they have many sides, and they act for reasons we can't always see.

In "Shared," it would be easy to play Sam as "the mean kid." But a flat character teaches the audience nothing. A multidimensional Sam makes the audience ask, "Why did he do that?" and that question is where the drama gets interesting.

Motivation: what does the character want, and why?

Ask three questions about every character:

What do they want? (Sam wants the group to laugh.)
Why do they want it? (Sam's older brothers are star athletes. At home, he feels nobody notices him. Being funny makes him feel seen.)
What are they afraid of? (Being ignored. Being the one people laugh at.)

The same questions work for historical characters. For example, in 1813, during the War of 1812, Laura Secord walked a long way through the Niagara region to warn British soldiers about a planned American attack. When we build her as a character, we ask: What did she want? What did she risk? What might she have been afraid of on the way? We base our answers on what historians know, and we say clearly when we are imagining her thoughts.

Facets of a character

A facet is one side of a character. Give a main character at least three: what others see, what they show at home, and what they hide.

Character	What others see	At home	Hidden (motivation or fear)
Sam	class clown, always joking	looks after his little brother; parents work late	wants to be noticed; afraid of being laughed at himself
Maya	confident hockey captain	the youngest of four; teased a lot	thought teasing was "normal"; afraid of losing Theo
Theo	quiet, polite	sings in the kitchen with Mémère	wants to be brave; afraid of being judged
Priya	friendly with everyone	the family peacemaker	afraid that choosing a side means losing a friend

Three facets of each character in "Shared"

A character is like an iceberg. The audience sees Sam the class clown first; the facets below the surface (who he is at home, what he wants and fears) are what make him multidimensional.

Showing character with props, movement and blocking

On stage, the audience learns about a character from what they do and carry, not just what they say.

Props: Maya keeps flipping her phone over and over in her hand (guilt, nerves). Theo wears earbuds with no music playing (hiding from everyone). Mémère holds the old songbook she taught Theo from.
Movement: Sam takes up a lot of space, sitting on desks, waving his arms. When he is alone, he curls up small. That contrast shows two facets.
Blocking (planned movement): if Theo always moves away whenever Maya steps toward him, the audience sees the broken friendship without one word.

Commitment to role

Commitment to role means you stay in character with your voice, body and focus. If someone laughs or a prop falls, you react as the character would. Commitment makes the audience believe.

Relationships that change

In Grade 7, relationships are multidimensional too. Theo and Maya are not just "friends" or "enemies": they share years of memories, they are hurt and angry, and they still care. A relationship graph can help you plan how a relationship changes from scene to scene.

A relationship graph for Theo and Maya. The line starts high at Scene 1 (old friends), drops sharply at Scene 2 (the video), drops a little more at Scene 3 (an apology that doesn't go well), and rises partway at Scene 4 (they rehearse together).

Worked example

Example: Building a multidimensional Sam

Let's turn Sam from a flat "mean kid" into a character the audience understands, and show it on stage.

Want: to make the group laugh.
Why: at home, nobody seems to notice him unless he's funny.
Fear: being laughed at instead of laughed with.
Prop: a phone that buzzes with group chat messages; he smiles at each one.
Movement: loud and big at school; at home, he quietly makes his little brother's lunch.
A surprising moment: when someone posts a joke about Sam's drawing, he goes silent and puts his phone face-down. For the first time, he knows how Theo feels.
Commitment: the actor keeps Sam's confident walk at school even while saying hurtful lines, then lets it drop in the home scene. No winking at the audience to show "I'm not really like this."

Sam is still responsible for what he did, but now he is multidimensional. His motivation (to be noticed) and his hidden fear make the audience think harder about the issue.

Worked example

Example: Analysing a scene with drama terminology

Scene: Maya walks toward Theo at his locker. He closes the locker and walks to the other side of the stage. She holds out her phone and says, "Look, I deleted it." He says, "Great. Only 300 people still have it." Let's analyse.

Relationship: two old friends whose trust is broken.
Blocking: Theo moves away each time Maya moves closer. The space between them shows the distance in their friendship.
Prop: the phone is a symbol of the problem. Holding it out shows Maya trying to fix things with the same thing that caused the harm.
Subtext: Maya's words mean "Please forgive me." Theo's words mean "Deleting it doesn't undo it."
Tension: will Theo accept the apology? The audience is waiting.
Meaning: together, these elements show the theme that harm online is hard to take back.

Using terms like relationship, blocking, prop, subtext and tension lets you explain how a scene communicates meaning, not just whether you liked it.

Just for fun

Why did the flat character get sent back to rehearsal?

It had no depth. It was literally one-dimensional.

Making characters, not stereotypes

Give every character a want, a reason and a fear.
Find at least one moment where the character surprises us.
Avoid fake accents, cruel imitations or jokes about a group of people.
A character can do something wrong and still be a full human being. Understanding a character is not the same as agreeing with them.

Hands-on activity

Four scenes, one relationship

You need: a few household props (a phone or a block of wood standing in for one, a scarf, a backpack, a book), paper and a pencil, and a family member if possible.

Choose a relationship from "Shared": Theo and Maya, Maya and Sam, or Priya and Theo.
Draw a relationship graph with four scenes. Decide where the relationship is close or far in each one, and why.
For each character, fill in a facet card: what others see, at home, hidden want or fear.
Pick one prop for each character that reveals something about them. Write one sentence explaining your choice.
Plan the blocking for Scene 2: where does each character start, and who moves toward or away from whom? Mark it on a quick sketch.
Improvise all four scenes (1 to 2 minutes each). Practise commitment to role: if you laugh, breathe and stay in character.
Out of role, analyse one scene using at least three drama terms (relationship, blocking, prop, subtext, tension, focus).

Bonus: choose a historical person from your Social Studies or History learning. Write their want, reason and fear, and mark which parts are facts and which are imagined.

Your turn

What is a motivation?

What three questions help you find a character's motivation?

What makes a character multidimensional?

Give one way a prop could reveal Maya's guilt.

What is blocking?

What does commitment to role mean?

Name the five elements of drama.

More practice: warm-up

True or false: a multidimensional character always does the right thing.

Name a prop Theo uses in the lesson and what it shows.

What is subtext?

What is Sam's want?

Who did Laura Secord warn in 1813?

More practice: on your own

Give Priya three facets: what others see, at home, and hidden.

Plan blocking that shows Priya is caught between Theo and Maya, without any words.

Theo says "Great. Only 300 people still have it." What is the subtext?

Why should actors avoid "winking at the audience" when playing a character who does something hurtful?

Explain why we should mark which parts of a historical character are fact and which are imagined.

Challenge

Design a scene where Sam's hidden facet is revealed to the audience but not to the other characters. Explain how.

Draw (or describe) a relationship graph for Maya and Sam across four scenes, with reasons.

Analyse how two elements of drama work together in this moment: Mémère hands Theo the old songbook without speaking. He holds it, then opens it.

Check your understanding

Quiz

A multidimensional character ___.

Which question helps you find a character's motivation?

Blocking is ___.

Maya says "I'm fine," but she is close to tears. This is an example of ___.

An actor laughs by accident but keeps her character's voice and posture. She is showing ___.

Which is one of the elements of drama?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 7 students select and combine several elements and conventions to create dramatic effects (B1.2). This year the curriculum focuses on motivations of historical and fictional characters, multidimensional characters and relationships, revealing character through props and movement/blocking and maintaining commitment to role. Students analyse, using drama terminology, how elements communicate meaning (B2.2).

How to help:

When watching a show or movie together, ask, "What does this character want? Why? What are they afraid of?"
Point out props and movement: "Why do you think the director had her hold that?"
Play a scene partner and stay in role. Model commitment by not breaking character.

Common difficulties:

Flat characters. Ask for one surprising facet: "What would this person be like at home?"
Explaining scenes with only "good" or "bad." Offer the word list: relationship, blocking, prop, subtext, tension, focus.
Giggling. Normal at this age. Practise a "reset breath" and try again.

About history: when using historical characters, encourage your child to separate facts from imagined thoughts.