The New Works Playhouse Workshops: Unlocking Character with Conor Carroll

Unlocking Character with Conor Carroll

Do you know your main character? Do you love them? Do you agree with everything they think and believe? Do they? These are some of the important questions a writer should ask when creating their protagonist. This workshop is a deep-dive into everything that goes into the crafting of a compelling and nuanced character with who the audience is willing to go on a journey. Asking the writer important questions such as: how does the story world reflect your protagonist? And how do that character’s deepest fears and weaknesses help to generate the story world and everyone within it?

Conor Patrick Carroll is a playwright, screenwriter, and graduate of the MA in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He has had work produced throughout the UK with his last full-length play being It Is So Ordered which ran at the Pleasance Theatre London in April 2017. He is an alumnus of the Soho Writer’s Lab and his play Haste Ye Back was shortlisted for the ETPEP Award in 2019.

Overall Structure

The workshop would take the shape of a series of character-based exercises, starting with a general overview of the importance of character and moving swiftly on to how understanding your main character can unlock a number of important story elements including plot, forces of antagonism, the story-world itself and structure. The participants are asked to enter the workshop with an idea for the main character they are looking to develop and be willing to describe them in a few sentences. An initial introduction will allow each participant to introduce themselves and their characters to the group. From there, each exercise will look to unlock a new feature of the character for the story. There will be room for participant feedback on their exercises should they choose to share.

Learning Objectives: 

• For the participants to leave the workshop with a better understanding of the storytelling fundamentals which go into crafting a compelling character.
• For participants to demonstrate and improve their ability to define their characters and focus on their importance to the story.
• To emphasise the ways in which coherent and comprehensive work on a character could help to unlock other elements of storytelling which may initially seem separate e.g. structure of plot or the story world itself.
• To give the participants ample opportunities to speak about their characters and through the course of the workshop feel as though they understand them better by the end.
• To provide repeatable and valuable exercises that can be utilised outside of the workshop by the participants for future writing projects.
• To make the workshop an enjoyable experience with a sense of community by encouraging the participants to feedback on each other's ideas and work should they wish to.
• To provide tangible and useful examples for the exercises and also provide resources which the participants can look to after the workshop to expand on what they have learned.

Max number of participants

10

Estimated length

Approx 1 Hour

Introductions: 5 mins

First Discussion/Exercise & Feedback 15 mins

Second Discussion/ Exercise & Feedback: 15 mins

Third Discussion / Exercise & Feedback: 15mins

Summary & Questions = 5 mins