A solo class in which one performer builds and presents a single character in depth, marked on how fully and truthfully that person is brought to life.
Character Study is a solo speech and drama class in which one performer chooses a single character and presents that person so completely that the audience learns who they are, what they want and how they see the world. It differs from a straight monologue in emphasis: the speech is a vehicle, and the thing being judged is the portrait. Voice, posture, walk, pace and small habits all count as much as the words.
A round is short and plain. The entrant comes in, gives the title and source of the piece and then performs it, normally from memory and without scenery or costume changes. In the festival syllabi we build from, the time limit grows with age: two minutes for the youngest entrants, three to five minutes through the middle classes and six minutes for the open class. One syllabus excludes Shakespeare from its older age class, so entrants should read each class description before choosing material.
An entry is one named performer, one piece and one age class. The material may be an extract from a play, a prose passage, a poem in character or a self-written speech, depending on the syllabus. Because the time is tight, the best entries are cut so that the character is established in the first few lines, changes or reveals something in the middle, and ends on a clear final image.
Organisers run the class because it asks for observation and imagination rather than volume. A shy entrant can win with a quiet, precise portrait, and a confident one is pushed to be specific instead of loud. It also fits easily into a speech and drama section: one performer, one slot, one adjudicator.
Where Character Study is run
In eTalenter's data Character Study is carried by three templates, all speech and drama festivals: an English festival with nine age classes, a Northern Irish feis style section with eight school-year classes, and a Channel Islands eisteddfod with six age classes. Time limits run from two to six minutes across those sections. Closely related solo classes appear under names such as Mono Act, Acting Monologue and Dramatic Monologue; the catalogue keeps them separate because age bands, limits and expectations differ.
- United Kingdom - England (festival speech and drama section)
- United Kingdom - Northern Ireland (feis speech and drama section)
- Guernsey, Channel Islands (eisteddfod speech and drama section)
Key facts
- Solo entry: one performer, one character, usually performed from memory.
- Entered by age or school-year class; the three syllabi we build from have six to nine classes each.
- Typical limits: 2 minutes for the youngest classes, 3 to 5 minutes in the middle, up to 6 minutes for the open class.
- One overall mark per performance, with placings First, Second and Third.
- Related but separate catalogue items: Dramatic Monologue, Acting Monologue and Duologue.
- Idea starters, not rules: a night-shift cleaner, a grandparent telling a story they have told many times, a nervous new teacher, or a lighthouse keeper on the last day of the job.
On eTalenter, Character Study is filed under Action and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 3 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Character Study is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 10, commonly time-limited to 2–6 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Character Study
What a Character Study panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Specific characterisation: the performer has made clear choices about age, background, attitude and mood, rather than playing a general type.
- Physical life: posture, gesture, walk and eye line belong to the character and stay consistent from start to finish.
- Voice and diction: clear and audible, with pace, pitch and accent chosen to suit the person, not used as decoration.
- Truth and commitment: the performer believes the situation and does not comment on the character or play for laughs or sympathy.
- Shape and control: a clear opening, a moment of change and a settled ending, delivered inside the time limit.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Character Study under Scoring Setup, or start from the full mono act judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Character Study
How entrants and their teachers usually get Character Study right on the day:
- Write a short profile of the character in your own words: where they live, what they fear, what they want right now, and how they speak.
- Choose a piece that gives the character something to do or reveal, not just a description of events.
- Cut the text with a stopwatch to the class limit and rehearse the ending as carefully as the start.
- Decide on two or three physical habits for the character, such as a way of standing or handling an object, and keep them consistent.
- Watch real people of the kind you are playing and borrow small details from what you see.
- Rehearse for an audience who does not know the piece, and ask them to describe the character back to you.
- On the day, take a breath before you begin, start in character, and hold the final stillness for a moment before stepping out.
Frequently asked questions
Is Character Study judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter's templates it's most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
What is the difference between Character Study and a monologue?
Both are solo performances, but Character Study puts the portrait first: the adjudicator marks how fully and consistently you create one person, while a monologue class puts more weight on delivering a dramatic speech. Festivals set their own wording, so check the class description.
Can I use a Shakespeare speech?
It depends on the syllabus. One festival we draw on excludes Shakespeare from its oldest school-year class, so read the class rules before choosing your piece.
How long can my Character Study be?
The limit is set by your age class. In the syllabi we build from it is two minutes for the youngest entrants, rising to six minutes for the open class. Going over may be penalised.
Can I wear a costume or use props?
The syllabi we build from do not list costume or props for this class, so keep it simple and check your festival's own rules before bringing anything.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full mono act judging criteria guide, or browse every action competition item.
Try Character Study in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Character Study, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
