As a theater director, I love it when a story is so captivating that it can show something that feels both surprising and inevitable. That combination of “I never would have thought of that!” and “that makes perfect sense!” is only possible because, as an audience or participant in the story, we care deeply about the characters and what happens to them. I have explored these moments as a director in my pro-wrestling inspired adaptation of Wagner’s Ring Cycle and recently in my community-engaged production of a Twelfth Night musical here at UVA. As a director and a teacher, I’m interested in finding those moments when a performer comes alive and suddenly a character can feel like more than just a set of facts about someone in a story. In the right moment, whether in a play, on screen, or in a role-playing game, a character can feel like an extension of the person playing them and can lead both the performer and the audience to moments that feel both unexpected and that fit the story precisely.