Character Recital Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A single performer presents a character in costume, judged on how convincingly the person is created and communicated within a short time limit.

A character recital is a short solo performance in which one entrant brings a single, clearly defined character to life, usually in costume. The character may come from a book, a play, a poem or a piece of the entrant’s own choosing, and the entrant speaks as that person rather than about them. It sits between a straight recitation and a full one-person show: the words matter, but so do the voice, the walk, the costume and the attitude that make the character recognisable in seconds.

A round is quick. The entrant is called, states the title of the piece, takes position and begins. With no set, the character has to be built from a few choices: a distinctive voice, a way of standing and moving, a prop or costume detail, and a clear idea of what the character wants. The adjudicator listens for whether the words are understood and heard, and watches whether the character stays consistent from the first line to the last.

On the template that carries it, the item is an Individual class open to boys and girls together, performed in English and marked out of 10. It is offered in four age bands, and the time limit grows with age: three minutes for entrants under eleven, four minutes for eleven and twelve, five minutes for thirteen and fourteen, and six minutes for fifteen and over. Entrants are expected to keep inside their limit, so a piece that suits an eight-year-old will not simply be stretched for an older entrant.

Organisers run the class because it gives young performers a way into acting that is less daunting than a full scene. It rewards imagination and preparation, lets a teacher see who has understood a character and not just memorised lines, and produces a lively session because every entrant chooses someone different to be.

Where Character Recital is run

Character Recital appears on one eTalenter template, a New Zealand speech and drama section of a local performing arts festival, where it is listed in the Action category with four age bands. It is closest to a Mono Act and a Dramatic Solo, but its focus is on presenting one costumed character rather than an original one-person show or a speech lifted from a scripted scene. Beyond that template, similar costumed character classes are common in school and community speech and drama programmes in English-speaking countries, though the name and the rules vary by organiser.

• New Zealand

Key facts

• Individual entry of one performer, boys and girls together
• Performed in English, with the entrant playing a single character in costume
• Four age bands: under 11, 11 to 12, 13 to 14, and 15 and over
• Time limits rise by age: 3, 4, 5 and 6 minutes
• Marked out of 10 on the template; no separate judging criteria are printed
• Different from a Mono Act (an original one-person show), a Dramatic Solo (a scripted speech or scene) and a group sketch (two or more actors)

On eTalenter, Character Recital is filed under Action and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 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 Recital is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 10, commonly time-limited to 3–6 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Character Recital

What a Character Recital panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Creation of the character: one clear person, recognisable at once through voice, posture, gesture and attitude
• Consistency: the character does not slip in and out of the entrant’s own voice or manner during the piece
• Clarity of speech: every word is audible and understood, even when the character is whispering, shouting or speaking in an accent
• Use of costume and prop: they support the character and are handled naturally rather than being a distraction
• Choice of material: the piece suits the age of the entrant and gives the character something to want and something to change
• Command of time: the performance has a shape and finishes cleanly inside the age-band limit
• Confidence and focus: the entrant stays in the moment, facing the audience and not checking with the adjudicator or the side of the stage

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Character Recital under Scoring Setup, or start from the full mono act judging criteria guide.

How to prepare for Character Recital

How entrants and their teachers usually get Character Recital right on the day:

• Pick a character you can describe in one sentence, such as who they are, what they want and how they feel right now
• Decide three physical choices before you learn the words: how they stand, how they walk and what they do with their hands
• Choose a voice you can keep up for the whole piece, and practise it until it no longer needs effort
• Keep the costume simple and easy to put on; practise with it so it never gets in the way of your lines
• Time the piece aloud, including the introduction, against your age-band limit, and cut rather than rush if it runs long
• Learn the words so well that you can concentrate on the character, then rehearse in front of a friend and ask who they saw
• Finish with a clear final moment and hold it for a second before you relax, so the adjudicator knows the piece has ended

Frequently asked questions

Is Character Recital 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.

Is a character recital the same as a mono act?

No. A mono act is usually an original one-person show that tells a short story, while a character recital focuses on presenting one costumed character, often from existing material. Both are solo, but the character recital is judged mainly on how convincingly that character is created.

How long can a character recital last?

On the template it depends on age: three minutes for entrants under eleven, four minutes for eleven and twelve, five minutes for thirteen and fourteen, and six minutes for fifteen and over. Organisers should confirm the limits in their own syllabus.

Does the entrant have to wear a costume?

The template describes the item as a character recital in costume, so a costume is expected. It does not need to be elaborate, and a few well-chosen pieces are usually enough to signal the character.

Is it judged individually or as a team?

It is an Individual class. One performer is marked on their own, out of 10 on the template, and the organiser can decide how the adjudicator weighs the criteria.

Want the full judging picture? Read the full mono act judging criteria guide, or browse every action competition item.