CHARACTER BUILDER
PURPOSE: To help introduce as well as tie each month’s theme
to their respective Bible stories. They will add fun and laughter to the
program. The characters will grow and learn along with the children
during this PALS Odyssey year. They attend the beginning of the first
week of each month. They precede the storyteller. Since their time in
Odyssey is so limited, try recruiting from some of the adults who don’t
regularly attend.
CHARACTERS: The characters are loosely based to coordinate
with the Roman Road Rally, although they don’t necessarily need to tie
into each group.
 Aunt
May – dresses as a country cowgirl including a lasso and cowboy
boots. She speaks with a bit of a Southern accent. Her character flaws
are the least noticeable…maybe she’s a bit too gullible and loud.
 Cousin
Jake – dresses as a teenage skateboarder. He uses appropriate teen
slang and suffers from the typical teenage independence. He’s a bit
cheeky and tends to often act bored.
 Uncle
Maxmillion – dresses as a wealthy ski instructor/competitor. He
speaks with an English accent. His character flaws include being
self-centered and materialistic.
PREPARATION & PROCEDURES:
- Recruit the actors in the summer. Give them each copies of
the Character Sketches and the Skits of the Month. Allow them to
find their own embellishments for their costumes and voices. If
adults aren’t available, how about recruiting teens?
- Encourage the actors to meet 20-30 minutes before the first
Odyssey each month to practice their skits. The skit suggestions
that follow are only suggestions. The ideas we’ve presented aren’t
word for word because kids enjoy seeing adults talking
conversationally rather than reading from a script!!! One important
thing to note is that the actors need to stay in character
throughout each skit. There’s nothing more intrusive than giggly
or self-conscious acting.
- Give the actors 5-10 minutes between singing and story time
to present their skits. You may wish to use these in addition to or
instead of the bulletin board ideas to introduce the theme each
month. The skits weave together throughout the year to create some
growth in each character. Be sure to allow the children to discuss
the character builder skits after each story time.
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