Act: make your character credible

To be credible, an actor needs to truly study his character. There is a very simple method that an actor can use to do this. It’s called the GOTE method. GOTE is an acronym that is very easy to remember. It stands for objective, obstacle, tactic, and expectation. This is a very basic approach to breaking down a character. Now let’s review each of these objectives.

The goal is what the character is after. It is the whole purpose of the play. The goal kicks off all the action. The goal is to be persuaded by the character. Now the objective cannot be general, it must be something very specific. For example, a general goal would be “I want to feel fulfilled by marrying someone.” A more specific goal would be “I want John to marry me.” The objective must be very specific. A good exercise is to imagine that you are starving and that a sandwich is out of reach. Now try to reach it. This is how it should be when you pursue your goals.

The obstacle is what gets in the way of the goal. The obstacle must be in direct opposition to the goal. For example, if the goal is “I want John to marry me,” the hurdle might be “My parents hate John.” The character needs to fight the obstacle to reach his goal. This is what makes a play interesting and not just 2 people chatting about the weather on stage.

Tactics are what a character uses to overcome obstacles and reach the goal. This is where a play gets fun. Tactics make the character real. The tactics a character chooses show the audience what kind of person they are. Tactics can be fun, honorable, deceptive, etc. There can be multiple tactics used by an actor. A good actor will be able to switch from one tactic to another with ease to achieve the goal.

The expectation gives tone and enthusiasm to the tactics. This is what keeps goals from being too academic and boring. Show what is the emotion and enthusiasm of the characters behind your goal.

You can find out what the GOTE of the character is simply by studying the play. An actor should take notes when reading a play. You can set up a GOTE sheet to keep with you while you read. Just take a piece of paper and write Goal, Obstacle, Tactics and Expectations. It is also useful to write name, gender, age, marital status, education, and invent a typical day in the character’s life (a day that does not occur during the play).

It really doesn’t take a lot of extra work to set up a GOTE sheet. A character needs to come to life for the viewer. They need to draw the viewer into their world. An actor needs to do everything possible to create a character and a world that is 100% believable. Studying a character’s GOTE sheet can add the third dimension to a character that is often lacking in theater.