Character objectives and obstacles — Drama, 14–17 years
A performer plays a character more clearly when they know what the character is trying to achieve in the scene. An objective gives action a direction; an obstacle makes that action necessary.
What an objective is
A character’s objective is what they are trying to make happen right now, not a label such as “sad” or “brave”. It can be active and specific: persuade my friend to stay, hide the evidence, or win an apology. The objective guides the actor’s choices about voice, movement, timing, and attention.
Why objectives help
“Act naturally” is too vague to guide a performance. The objective-and-obstacle approach solves that problem by turning feelings into playable actions: instead of showing fear, a character may try to delay, escape, or win protection. The method grew from modern actor training, which looked for practical ways to create truthful behaviour rather than simply imitate emotion.
Finding the objective
In a scene, Amir says, “You should take the scholarship.” His sister refuses because she would have to leave home. Step one: do not choose “be emotional”; choose an action, such as persuade her. Step two: identify the obstacle, her fear of leaving. Step three: test tactics: Amir may flatter her, show the acceptance letter, or admit that he will miss her. The strongest tactic can change as she responds.
The trap: playing an emotion
A common mistake is to decide, “My character is angry,” and then keep displaying anger throughout the scene. This is reasonable because scripts often describe emotions, and strong feelings are easy to name. But an emotion alone gives no direction; decide what the character is trying to do, and let the feeling appear through the struggle.
Where it appears
Actors use objectives when rehearsing a play, film, speech, or scene for an audition. Directors use them to discuss why a moment feels flat and what action could sharpen it. Outside performance, the same question can clarify a difficult conversation: what am I trying to achieve, what is blocking it, and which approach might work?
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