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Regular news and insight from our many poets, writers, educators and facilitators

03 February 2024

Posted by By Carla Hall

Character and Performance

This week in Mayflower Junior and Young writers, the group cemented their understanding of character in Studio 2 at MAST Mayflower Studios. The group were excited to be back in the room where, months before, they had watched Ricky Tart’s Crockadogapig.


The group leader, Ali Sparkes, was away promoting her new children’s book 100 Summers, so this week we had Sue Edser leading the tribe.


Having heard about the room change beforehand, Sue had planned a fun session for both groups, using the much-welcomed space to get everyone up and exploring their characters.


In the first half, Sue asked the groups to pair off and play the sticky note game. The rules were:


  • Write a fairly well-known character on a sticky note

  • Stick the sticky note onto the forehead of your partner

  • Ask ‘yes or no’ questions, such as, “Am I an author?”

  • The first to guess their character wins.


Everyone in the group participated, offering wonderfully creative characters.


  • Harley Quinn

  • Ali Sparkes

  • The Hulk 

  • Fred Weasley

  • Harry Potter

  • Scarlet Witch


Because the group were enjoying it so much, the game went on longer than expected. It proved to be a helpful way to get the group thinking about what makes a strong and memorable character.


Taking this information, the group put their newfound interrogation skills to the test and tried to create a character based on the aforementioned questions. Was their character an author? Was their character old or young? Did their character enjoy eating marshmallows? 


Once their characters were outlined, the group incorporated another person’s character into their story, using the questions we’d used in the game. After 20 minutes, each story was brought to life through engaging performances.


All in all, a great session from Sue and we hope to see her back in the group soon!


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