GOTE: The four basic
elements
What?
GOTE is an easy to remember acronym
that stands for and brings together
the four basic elements to consider
while preparing a character for the
theatre.
GOTE Creator : Robert Cohen
Robert Cohen, Professor of Drama at University
of California at Irvine, created the GOTE
method.
 His Acting One textbook has been said to be one
of the most common beginning acting textbooks
used on college campuses.
 He teaches master acting classes in New York
and as a guest teacher at various
conservatories.

Why?
Actors use a GOTE by actually trying to do what
their character is doing, at least on the level of
actions.
Once an actor figures out the GOTE for the
character ("getting the character's GOTE"), they
find a greater understanding of the character
and hopefully will begin to make discoveries
about tone and style and giving them a
language to talk to the director.
Why?
Actors use a GOTE by actually trying to do what
their character is doing, at least on the level of
actions.
Once an actor figures out the GOTE for the
character ("getting the character's GOTE"), they
find a greater understanding of the character
and hopefully will begin to make discoveries
about tone and style and giving them a
language to talk to the director.
G = Goal
Often times this is also called OBJECTIVE.
This is what the character WANTS in a
scene or play. Usually a character has the
same objective throughout the entire play.
I want _______(to-verb)_____________
O = Obstacle
The obstacle refers to anything that is stopping
the character from achieving their goal.
Drama needs (both in terms of practice and the
need for interest) conflicts, which arise not only
from the goals but from fighting against
obstacles to achieve those goals.
The obstacle, however, should not be "played." In
other words the actors should pursue their
goals, rather than looking whiny about their
obstacle.
T = Tactics
Tactics are what we use to get what we want.
Tactics can range from totally threatening to
wholly inducing, and usually actors should use a
wide variety to create believable interactions. If
an actor has, for instance, the goal "to threaten"
then various tactics might be used to threaten.
One might threaten the character, the
character's family, livelihood, etc.
Tactics:
Strong, actable verbs
 That go through the other person
 We use to get out the objective/goal
 When one doesn’t work, we switch and
use another

E = Expectation
Expectation refers to one's expectation of
succeeding in achieving goals. If one did
not expect to achieve one's goals then one
would not pursue them. Ultimately the
script may have the character fail but the
actor should always act as if they believe
they can succeed. Expectation can also
involve the character's journey.
In Summary
In theatre, we call getting a character’s GOTE the
way we prepare for the characters we are
playing.
Some actors actually take pen to paper and fill in a
GOTE worksheet to help them organize their
character.
Characters from a script are sometimes easier
because you can find their GOTE in the
playwright’s words.
REVIEW
G = Goal
O = Obstacle
T = Tactics
E = Expectation