The Four W's of Acting - Where?

Within a screenplay or a theatrical play, every scene has a certain ebb and flow of energy powered by the characters. As an actor, you must tap into this hidden energy to help uncover the true desires and objectives of your character, which ultimately informs you what is moving the scene, and script, forward.

As an actor, there are four questions you must ask yourself, which are known as the Four W's of Acting. Within this article, I will be discussing the third "W" - Where.

Where?

Where are you right now? Where are you in the course of your life? Where are you when it comes to reaching your goal? Where are you on a scale of happiness, sadness, anxiety, depression?

All these questions, and more, are important to ask yourself when it comes to your character. The third "W" in the Four W's of Acting, is one of the most important as it allows you to clearly see where your character is within a particular scene, where your character is emotionally and where he wants to go - and of course, where he is physically.

When you ask yourself the "where" question, delve deeper into the subtext of a script. Subtext is the internal dialogue your character is thinking throughout a scene. This subtext, which you should write out in the actual script, will help you navigate throughout the "where" question.

For example, your character is sitting in a park waiting for a drug dealer. His subtext may include, "It's cold out here. I hope a cop doesn't walk by. I should be using this money for something else. I wonder when my cell phone will be cut off?" Using these lines of subtext, your "where" answer may be based off of the third sentence, fourth sentence and the first sentence.

In the third sentence, the character is expressing that he has other monetary obligations that could benefit from this money. Where does that place him within his life? Obviously, he does not have ample money to pay his bills while still having extra. It suggests his priorities are not where they should be, and combining the fourth sentence, he states that he is in a dire financial situation.

Locating the "where" of your character can be a challenge, and should only be done after you have fully read and comprehended a script as well as completed your character biography and in-script subtext.