Figuring out how to connect with your character starts from the moment you’re cast.
Depending on your training and acting experience, you might have your approach totally locked down, feel totally at sea about how to begin, or somewhere in the middle.
I hope the following tips for connecting with your character through the five senses will help shake things loose on days when you’re feeling stuck.
Feel free to use any or all of them, and have fun with the process!
TASTE
Your character doesn’t need to have scenes where they actually eat for you to think about what they’re partaking of on their own time.
Your preparation as an actor probably includes thinking about how they dress, how they walk, and so on. But don’t forget to spend some time on what flavors they’re encountering—the ones they enjoy and ones they hate. Think about their relationship with food and how they might eat in company versus alone. Think about whether they know how to cook their favorite meal or not.
Try different snacks, candies, or gums that make you feel more connected to your character.
Keep an open mind as you explore and take note of the ones that connect for you.
Sour candies for an acerbic wit? Bitter herbs for the grudge they bear? Cotton candy for their carefree outlook?
Play around with this sense and embrace your discoveries.
TOUCH
We are constantly interacting with the world around us via touch: the sensation of our clothes on our own skin, the pinch of shoes or the feeling of the ground under bare feet, glasses on the bridge of a nose, hair falling against a cheek, the feeling of your chin resting on your own hand.
Think about the impact of touch, both in your character’s daily life and in extraordinary moments.
What do they touch day-to-day? What do they wish they were allowed to touch?
Explore textures your character may encounter, especially ones they might have strong feelings about.
A beloved pet’s downy-soft fur, or the handle of a farm implement. A lover’s rough palm, or their late grandmother’s silky hair.
Which things do they enjoy touching, and which ones repulse them?
What touch brings pain in their life? What touch brings pleasure?
SIGHT
This is a great sense to explore, if you want to share your discoveries with others.
(It’s much easier to show your director and cast-mates a photo collage, than to organize a field trip so they can run their fingers along the stone wall you found so evocative of character and setting.)
Build up a visual language for your character and the world they inhabit, and refer to it often.
What colors do they like? What architectural styles? Do they feel most comfortable in messy or tidy surroundings? Do they prefer being out in nature or strolling along city streets?
Go grab some inspiration by visiting museums or going on photo-walks.
Take whimsical, visual personality quizzes from the point of view of your character. (What DOES their favorite Nancy Meyers kitchen say about them?)
Keep track of your exploration just for yourself, or to share with others.
Keep a scrapbook or journal to paste clippings into or draw in, if you’re artistically inclined. Post reference photos to social media and share your vision with others. Email things to yourself. Save them to your phone. Whatever works!
SOUND
Whether it’s music they love or sounds that drive them up the wall, your character probably has a wide range of sounds that they connect with emotionally and viscerally.
Creating a music playlist for your character is a great way to slow down and think carefully about them.
The interplay between music and lyrics in a pop song can force you to confront contradictions in your character. You may find a song that fits their personality or circumstances so perfectly, it seems like it was written for them.
Perhaps their favorite opera is mentioned in the script—listen to it! Maybe the setting of of the play or film begs for you to learn more about jazz or sea shanties or disco.
Consider what sounds surround them from the moment they wake up to the time when they go to sleep: a snoring partner, the squeak and squeal of a subway train, the sound of wind in forest trees, dishes washed by hand, a crowded restaurant, a clash of swords?
Would they like ASMR videos?
Explore the qualities of different instruments and whether they fit your character: clarinet vs steel drum, violin vs electric guitar. Can you try any of them out?
If you do have access to a musical instrument, try playing songs your character might enjoy, or even composing something for them, as if you had been hired to score their life story or come up with a jingle they could have written.
Have fun with it, and play!
SMELL
Memories and emotions evoked by scent are incredibly personal and woven into our unique experience of life, so playing with scents can be a powerful tool for connecting with your character.
A word of caution, however: please be considerate of others.
If you are tempted to douse yourself in perfumes or colognes as part of your character-work, remember that many people have sensitivities to the chemicals in these products, and even powerful, natural scents can have very different effects on people. Something one person loves might turn another one’s stomach. Check in with the people around you and err on the side of caution.
Fortunately, the preparatory work you do on your own can absolutely be powerful enough to carry through to your rehearsals and performances without physically bringing it into the room with you.
As you play with this sense, think about what smells your character encounters day-to-day and what they love or hate about them.
See if you already have scents in your own life that might help you to connect.
Perhaps that means scented candles, fresh sweat after a workout, firewood, compost, a bottle of perfume, jars of spices or essential oils, or the smells outside your own window.
If you want to explore scents outside your personal experience, see if you can set aside the time to go on an Aromatic Mission of Exploration and track them down. Take notes!
Ask yourself if the smells you connect with are ones you might ascribe to the character’s lifestyle (diesel exhaust, pond scum, fresh laundry), or if there is some abstract quality you associate them with (nurturing, hates being cooped up, fastidious).
If you want to bring character-related scents into your day, you might try herbal teas that help you connect with your character and step outside of yourself. Consider changing up your soap, hand lotion, deodorant, shampoo, lip balm, or toothpaste. Maybe pack your lunch with some fruit or other snacks that have a particular scent.
IN CONCLUSION
Whether you’re someone who likes to schedule dedicated character-work sessions, or you prefer to go about your daily life, only taking notes when inspiration strikes, these tips should fit neatly into your preparation for a role. I hope these tips inspire you, and that they help you build a deeper connection to your character and the world they inhabit.
Did any of these ideas spark your imagination? Do you have more to add? Let us know! Follow Quietly Dramatic on social media for more tips, and share this article with your friends and followers if you found it helpful. Thanks for reading!
