I was recently asked to speak at a ‘Heart2Heart’ Ladies’ Meeting.  A heart-to-heart is a candid, intimate, and personal chat so speakers are asked to share their testimony and talk about the passion that drives their purpose.  My passion is Cooee Kid’s Ministry.  I decided to begin my presentation with a little drama and a Memory Verse-style game.  I was sharing about Kid’s Ministry after all.  I needed to create a character. 

Creating Mrs. Daisy Whoops

The character I settled on was a cleaning lady.  She had changed her cleaning day and arrived at the same time as the ladies.  Before the meeting I had ‘planted’ jigsaw pieces around the room which the cleaning lady thought was litter.  She enlisted the ladies’ help to tidy up quickly so she could catch the number 75 bus to visit her sister.  (When assembled, the puzzle pieces made the ‘big picture’ that God had seen from the beginning!)   

I had previously used the character of a cleaning lady when teaching children about Israel demanding a king.  I was cleaning the throne room, my daughter was cooking in the kitchen, and my son was now in the army.  (1 Samuel 8:10-12)  That character’s name had been Mavis and she was popular with the children.  Well, it was summer and Mavis used her water spray bottle on them!  But something about Mavis the cleaning lady didn’t feel right for my presentation despite the headscarf, the apron, and the cleaning cloth.  I was not feeling confident about the character and it was affecting my performance.  It was the night before the presentation when I realized it was the name ‘Mavis’ that was part of the problem.  I tried changing her name to Florrie.  That didn’t work either.  I decided to come at the problem a different way.  What would my character’s favourite expression be?  I decided it was ‘Whoops’.  You can get a lot of laughs from a character who is a little clumsy.  

This idea of using a particular phrase for a character came from my reading a book about famous British TV comedies.   Writers give characters a catchphrase that the viewing audience comes to expect in every episode.  Those phrases can become part of popular culture.  The ‘whoops’ worked because I remembered the expression ‘whoops-a-daisy’.  That was the name I needed!  The character’s name was Mrs. Daisy Whoops.  She was cheerful, innocent, and a little clumsy but had a heart of gold.  Now I could immerse myself in the role even if it was very last minute.    

Creating Characters

There are questions to ask yourself that will help you create and convey a character who will engage children’s attention as you teach. 

Character Motivation

Your character will have intrinsic motivation.  That is internal desires like curiosity, fear, purpose, power, or achievement.  Your character will also have extrinsic motivation.  External desires like survival, competition, threats, or deadlines.  Create a backstory, even a mini one, and keep asking ‘why?’  Putting an obstacle in your character’s way and giving them a short time to overcome it works especially well in Kid’s Ministry where the pace of the morning helps with children’s attention and behaviour.

Character Profile

Ask yourself these questions:

• What is their physical appearance?
• What does your character wear?
• What level of grooming?
• How does your character sound?
• How does your character walk?
• Does your character have any quirks in the form of gestures or expressions?
• Does your character need a prop?

Mrs. Daisy Whoops was well received by the ladies at the meeting.  They even want to catch up with her again if only to find out how her sister’s bunions are.  What I know for certain is that Mrs. Daisy Whoops is a wonderful, well-rounded character, and she is ready and waiting to appear in a Bible lesson or Memory Verse someday.  Keep an eye out for her, won’t you?