“How do I introduce multiple main characters – like an ensemble cast?” I get asked this question a lot, and I totally get why: figuring out how to introduce a bunch of characters at once is challenging for a few different reasons.
Any character introduction is an opportunity to editorialize a bit more than usual. To pause just a little bit and help the reader grasp who the character is, what they bring to the story. But with any pause you run the risk of slowing down the read, or even pulling the reader out of the story. Now imagine if you’re introducing multiple main characters. That’s a series of introductions, which could add up to a series of sluggish pages.
But you also know you don’t want to confuse the reader, which is an easy misstep when you’re trying to move quickly and throwing a lot of names at them at once. When we’re reading words on a page (and don’t yet have faces to attach to the names) it can be tough to remember who’s who, especially if we don’t get enough of a clear sense of the character right away.
So let’s look at different ways ensembles might be introduced, and what the key factor is in deciding how to introduce your ensemble cast.
The ensemble cast introduction spectrum
There are a million ways to introduce your ensemble of characters, and I think we can look at those million ways as falling along a spectrum that basically goes from:
- All characters introduced in one scene (ala Reservoir Dogs), and
- Each character in their own scene (ala Mom’s Nite Out, an unproduced script by Amy Welsh)
Along the spectrum between these two ends you get combinations and variations like:
- A pair or subset of the ensemble might be introduced in one scene, other parts of the ensemble introduced in other scenes, like in Goonies.
- Or, like in A Quiet Place, the characters are all introduced in one scene, but that scene is broken down into smaller vignette-type moments to give each character a brief bit of focus.
- Or, like in Girls’ Trip, we meet the group all together in a sequence of scenes, but each character gets the focus in a brief scene within the sequence.
Remember: no rules, just tools. Instead of looking for the “right” way to introduce an ensemble (because there isn’t one), look for the best way to service the story you’re telling.
It’s still all about character, even when there’s a bunch of them
Ultimately the scene structure you choose should showcase the content. Scene structure is how you show it, but the content is what you’re showing.
How you show it is the fun stuff, of course. The cool, exciting, dramatic way it plays out on screen.
But what you’re showing is of vital importance, too. Every scene in a screenplay needs to have a purpose.
So what’s the purpose of the character introduction?
As we’ve talked about before, the first sequence of a screenplay (perhaps after a teaser) is usually centered around the protagonist. They’re how we enter the story. They’re who we’re investing in and rooting for. The character’s introduction is the first step in creating that connection between reader/audience and character/story.
And when you have an ensemble to introduce, the purpose remains the same.
Why this character in this story?
Whichever scene structure you choose (form), what we really need to get from it (function) is a solid sense of the characters and why they’re here, in this story, and why we should care. Each ensemble character’s introductory beat or scene is a key moment when you show us what this character is about – as it pertains to this story, this series of events we’re about to see.
And what do you need to show in order to answer those questions? (The questions being, why they’re here and why we should care.)
There are three bits of information that are really helpful to convey to the reader in a character’s introduction:
- Stakes. Because showing us what’s important to the character gets us to invest in them.
- Point A of the character’s arc. Because this sets the starting point for their transformation, which helps us understand why they need to be here, experiencing this series of events. And/or…
- The main issue the character will contend with in this story. Which also helps us understand why this character is here, in this story (and can often speak to theme as well).
So these three things — whether you’re showing one or all of them — would be the what. Figure that out first. Rinse and repeat for each of your ensemble characters. And then think about how to convey this information to the audience in the most elegant, exciting, dramatic way.
An ensemble is made up of individual characters
If you’re asking what’s the best way to introduce a bunch of characters at once in a screenplay, the first question I’d ask in return is: do you need to introduce them all at once?
Whether you’re introducing one protagonist or several, the purpose of those first few moments and scenes with the character(s) is to get us engaged and invested.
It’s worth thinking about the characters individually, and what you’re trying to establish about each of them. And then you can move on to brainstorming the various ways to achieve that — and finally selecting the best version for your screenplay.