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    12 Guideposts

    Uploaded by

    Joshua Sewell
    The document outlines 12 guideposts from Michael Shurtleff's book "Audition" that can be used to develop a character for a scene or audition. The guideposts are: 1) Relationships with other characters, 2) Goals and conflicts, 3) Moment before the scene, 4) Humor, 5) Opposites, 6) Discoveries, 7) Tactics, 8) Importance, 9) Events, 10) Place, 11) Roles played with other characters, and 12) Secrets and mysteries of the character. Answering questions about each guidepost helps flesh out details about a character and their circumstances in a scene.

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    12 Guideposts

    Uploaded by

    Joshua Sewell
    123 views3 pages
    The document outlines 12 guideposts from Michael Shurtleff's book "Audition" that can be used to develop a character for a scene or audition. The guideposts are: 1) Relationships with other characters, 2) Goals and conflicts, 3) Moment before the scene, 4) Humor, 5) Opposites, 6) Discoveries, 7) Tactics, 8) Importance, 9) Events, 10) Place, 11) Roles played with other characters, and 12) Secrets and mysteries of the character. Answering questions about each guidepost helps flesh out details about a character and their circumstances in a scene.

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    The document outlines 12 guideposts from Michael Shurtleff's book "Audition" that can be used to develop a character for a scene or audition. The guideposts are: 1) Relationships with other characters, 2) Goals and conflicts, 3) Moment before the scene, 4) Humor, 5) Opposites, 6) Discoveries, 7) Tactics, 8) Importance, 9) Events, 10) Place, 11) Roles played with other characters, and 12) Secrets and mysteries of the character. Answering questions about each guidepost helps flesh out details about a character and their circumstances in a scene.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    123 views3 pages

    12 Guideposts

    Uploaded by

    Joshua Sewell
    The document outlines 12 guideposts from Michael Shurtleff's book "Audition" that can be used to develop a character for a scene or audition. The guideposts are: 1) Relationships with other characters, 2) Goals and conflicts, 3) Moment before the scene, 4) Humor, 5) Opposites, 6) Discoveries, 7) Tactics, 8) Importance, 9) Events, 10) Place, 11) Roles played with other characters, and 12) Secrets and mysteries of the character. Answering questions about each guidepost helps flesh out details about a character and their circumstances in a scene.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    Shurtleleff’s 12 Guideposts

    The following questions are pulled from Michael Shurtleff’s “Audition: Everything an Actor Needs to
    Know to Get the Part”. In it, Shurtleleff gives 12 Guideposts that you can use to build a character in
    any scene, either for an audition or in performance. Answer the following questions in about your
    scene(s) or character(s). When you answer, refer to the character as yourself using “I” statements (ex.
    Instead of saying, “Christine believes the phantom is her father’s ghost”, we would say “I believe the
    phantom is my father”.

    I. Relationships
    The most fundamental building block in any scene is how you are related to your fellow actors.
    Examples could be Father and Son, Boss and Employee, or King and Loyal Knight.
    Who are the other characters in this scene? What is your relationship to each of those characters? How
    does your relation to them change the way you behave around or towards them?

    II. What are You Fighting For? Goals and Conflict


    Each character in a scene has something that they want, a Goal they are fighting for. They also have
    obstacles that keep them from reaching their goal, a source of Conflict.
    What does your character want, what are you Fighting For? What is keeping you from your goal?

    III. The Moment Before


    You didn’t appear out of nowhere as the scene began, every character has a history- form their birth to
    the Moment Before the scene starts.
    Where were you in the moment just before the opening of the scene? What were you doing? How does
    that change or influence your behavior at the start of the scene?

    IV. Humor
    There is an element of humor in every scene, even in scenes that aren’t meant to be funny. The
    characters in the scene may be able to the humor, or they might be clueless to it.
    Where is the humor In your scene? Do you see what is happening in that scene with any humor?

    V. Opposites
    For every quality that is shown in a scene, it’s opposite is also present as well. Finding where opposites
    meet can show us moments of high dramatic tension, or clue us into a scene’s themes.
    What opposites can you find embodied in your scene? Are there any traits that you embody that you
    can find an opposite for in the scene?

    VI. Discoveries
    The “Illusion of the First Time” is a phrase that is used often in theatre. This refers to the idea that the
    characters in a scene are experiencing everything is the scene for the first time. Discoveries are things
    you find out during this scene that have some impact on you, and likely change you in some way.
    What do you Discover in this scene? How does this change things for you?

    VII. Tactics (Changed from Shurtleff)


    The second guidepost talked about your Goals and Conflicts that keep you from them; This guidepost
    is how you fight for your Goals.
    What Tactics do you use to get your goals? Is that successful, or not? How do you change your Tactics
    to adapt?

    VIII. Importance
    A major rule in writing is to write the most interesting part of a character’s life, (If something from
    their past or future is more interesting, write about that!) Although the character in the scene may not
    realize it, this scene is one of the biggest moments in their lives.
    Why is your scene Important? What does it mean to you?

    IX. Events
    Events can be seen as landmarks in a scene, large moments that the rest of the scene is either leading
    towards or away from. These are the moments that inform and define everything that happens around
    them.
    Are there any big Events before the scene starts? What are the big Events that happen during this
    scene? How do they inform your behavior, leading up to and after the Event?

    X. Place
    The most self-explanatory of the guideposts, this means not just physical location but also everything
    that informs how you behave in that setting.
    Where does your scene happen? What is one thing you can see, hear, feel, and smell? What time of day
    is it? What season? Are you comfortable here? How does all this change how you behave?

    XI. Gameplay and Roleplay


    Similar to Relationships, Game and Roleplaying are also how you connect to your other actors- but
    these are much more flexible. Relationships tend to change slowly, if at all, but roles are changed out
    often. Two character may have the Relationship of Mother and Daughter, but play the roles of
    Caretaker and Dependent, Teacher and Student, or Rebel and Disciplinarian all in the same scene.
    What roles do you play in your scene? Do these roles change during the scene?

    XII. Secrets and Mysteries


    Lastly, what do we hide from others and what do we not know. Secrets are things your character knows
    but hides from others. Mysteries are secrets that are kept from your character.
    What secrets are you keeping? Are those secrets revealed during the scene? What mysteries are being
    kept from you? Are those revealed during the scene?

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