How To Run An In-Character Panel: A Step-By-Step Guide

For the companion piece to this, How To Run A Fandom Event: A Step-By-Step Guide, click here!

So I see a lot of new aspiring panelist getting into the convention circuit lately! Which is great! But i’m also seeing a lot of really newbie mistakes so I figured I would make this post to help some people out when they decide they want to run a panel at a convention.

Here is a simple guideline to follow for when you want to run a panel:

• First, have your idea! There are a lot of types of in-character panels. The most basic is your standard Question and Answer, then you can get into audience participation panels, game shows, completely scripted shows, and all sorts of things! Before you do anything else you’ll want to nail down your basic plot, the characters you want, and what you want to happen. The second step is…
• Your title! The title of your panel should be three things. The first is short. Check with your convention to see how long they allow the panel names to be and how many characters they can fit in their program. If your panel title is too long, it may be cut off by the convention in the program. For example, at AFO 2011 where the full panel title was How To Be Culturally Sensitive: A Homestuck Panel, the convention cut it to “How To Be Cultural Sensitive” so all the Homestuck fans didn’t know it was a Homestuck panel and missed it, while people who didn’t know Homestuck came thinking it was a panel on, well, how to be culturally sensitive. The second should showcase your fandom. Try to include the fandom name in the panel somewhere so it’s easily identifiable in the schedule. And third is to the point. Your panel name should tell the person looking at the schedule what it will be like. For example, at AUSA there was Enter Command: A Homestuck Choose Your Own Adventure Panel. This panel name has a creative title, shows what the panel will be about, and it’s long but the entire title fit into the program so that negates problem one.
• The third step is ironing out your details. This is where you take your “rough draft” of sorts from step one and nail it down. What characters are you going to be using? What is the plot of this panel? Where are you in the current canon? What milestones do you want the panel to have? Are you splitting your panel between improv and scripted? What times will those happen? Who will be the timekeeper? Who is the person who will “lead” the panel if it gets off track? How long do you want your panel to be? Essentially, you’re going to want to know exactly how your panel will run from start to finish.
• The fourth step is scripting. A common misconception with panel like Question and Answers or other improv panels is that it’s just that, all improv. But a really good panel has some scripted parts too! For example for a question and answer panel: first there can be a scripted introduction, then 20 minutes of improv, then a scripted segment, then another 20 minutes of improv, then a scripted ending. This breaks up the monotony of the improv well! But other panels, such as long-form improv panels, may only need an introduction, which leads to…
• The fifth step which is the introduction. This gets it’s own step because it’s very important. In your introduction you should do all of the following. First, lay down how the panel will run and the rules. Tell the audience, in character, how the panel will work and their participation. Then the rules, such as do not throw things at the panelists, raise your hands if you wish to speak or ask something, ect. The other thing it should do is lay out your canon. For example, in Homestuck, a lot of characters are dead. You need to establish a) what situation as lead them to all be in the same room and b) where in the comic this takes place. This is not only important for your attendees to know what questions to ask, but it’s EXTREMELY important for your panelists! If your panelists’ answers are conflicting that’s bad for everyone! A good tip is to stay with as current as you can possibly get in your comic/manga/anime/whatever. That way all the characters will know what everyone is talking about. Example: Hey everyone! Well, it looks like the meteor is caught in a rouge dream bubble again! But while were here, why don’t we take this time to catch up and sort out some of our issues? This simple introduction not only tells how the characters got there, but the goal of the panel and where in canon it is. Your next, and one of the most important steps is…

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