It’s hard to allow yourself to open your heart to strangers.
You think about being dressed as a comic book hero or an animated character or a dinosaur or a robot. It feels goofy to be serious about any of this. It feels better to wink and nod and make jokes about the whole situation.
That was ok a while ago. But, it’s not the environment we work in today.
Today, it’s about making connections with people and encouraging their participation in a genuine, heart-felt way. You have to make them feel unique, valued and welcome.
That can’t be done with scripted lines, sound bites or witty bits to entertain them. It has to come from the heart.
But, hang on. The performer’s heart is only part of the formula. In fact, it’s really not the most important part.
The character’s heart is the key to freedom in creating relationships. Here’s how you find it.
Two of the steps in our homework process come into action.
One, look at your script. Decide why the character is in that place – what the character wants to accomplish in it’s story, in it’s world (that the guest is visiting).
Two, look at the character’s history. Decide what the character values over everything else – what they want most in life.
Together, both things get you to the heart of the character. You know what is emotionally the most important thing to the character at that moment – and if they are getting closer to their goal.
You have a heart for your character. You don’t have to be self-conscious about opening up to strangers. It’s the character that is doing the opening up. And it is coming from a genuine, unique place, not a performance.
Every interaction will come from a recognizable place of honesty and shared feeling.
More on adding in the performer’s heart and the “As-If” later.
Interactive Characters 