acting tips: the 5 “W”s and “H”

A very common pitfall for beginner actors is focusing too much on how one “sounds”, versus authentically committing to the scene. This can either result in a flat-sounding performance, or a performance that sounds “technically” good but lacks emotional connection.

Whether for an audition or an actual job, making informed acting choices and committing to them is important. But it can be difficult to know how exactly to approach the copy, especially if it’s a character type you’re not familiar with or don’t have a lot of experience playing. So here are a few questions you can ask yourself when you’re having trouble making that informed choice and getting that emotional response that really sounds like it’s coming from the character rather than a person reading the lines!

One important caveat: Asking yourself these questions can serve as good practice and preparation when you receive a script prior to your session and can really look over it on your own time. It’s especially useful for beginners still honing their acting skills. However, the goal will ultimately be to incorporate these elements into your natural instinct as an actor—when you have a live-directed session, you usually won’t have time to look over the script extensively and make notes. You’ll be expected to have that good instinct right from your very first read, which can then be further refined by the director based on how they envision the scene. But if you find yourself stuck, thinking of one of these questions in the back of your head can give you a quick push to help you make a strong choice. Remember, practice makes perfect!

“homework” questions to ask

• WHO am I talking to?
• WHAT am I responding to?
• WHEN do the emotional beats happen?
• WHERE is the scene taking place?
• WHY am I saying this?
• HOW am I really feeling?
• Conclusion

WHAT am I responding to?

If you’ve taken acting classes—which are highly recommended if you wish to become a professional voice actor—you will probably hear at some point “acting is REacting”. Reacting is exponentially easier once you have a scene partner in front of you and can review and rehearse the script ahead of time…but it becomes more challenging in voiceover when 1) you are almost always recording your lines independently rather than playing off other actors in the scene, and 2) most voice acting involves cold reading.

Your lines aren’t said in a vaccuum… they are responses! It’s not only important who is speaking to your character but what they are actually saying, because your character is going to respond to that.

Being that you don’t have the other actors reading with you the way you would in a stage play or film, you have an added layer of difficulty in making sure your responses sound like parts of a conversation rather than individual lines. This will be difficult in an audition because you’ll normally only have your own lines on the page with little to no context. But when recording an actual job, you’ll probably have the full scene in front of you, so look at the line(s) before yours so you can see what you’re actually reacting to and respond accordingly. “Say” the preceding line quickly in your head if you need to so you can respond rather than just speak.

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WHEN do the emotional beats happen?

Particularly if your character is delivering lines as somewhat of a monologue, it’s helpful to map out how you want to handle the emotional transitions and energy changes (often called “peaks and valleys”.) A classic example of this is if the character is delivering an emotional speech that culminates in shouting, tears, or some other intense emotion. You don’t want to start off at a 10/10 in terms of energy/intensity or else there will be nowhere for the scene to build. Particularly with crying, it can actually be less emotionally compelling if you are crying the entire time as opposed to choking back tears here and there until finally losing control and sobbing. Similarly, even if the scene involves shouting, resist the urge to shout the entire time as it will just start to sound like noise. See if you can add emotional layers and levels to your performance so that when you do need to amp up the volume or intensity, it has more impact.

WHERE is the scene taking place?

Environment is an important, but often overlooked aspect of a scene—especially so if you don’t have the visuals available. (If you don’t have a video or storyboard, imagine in your head what it might look like.)

One of the reasons the “where” is so important is because it affects your base level of projection. If you’re outdoors with lots of noise going on around you, you’re going to speak up more in order to be heard. If you’re sneaking around to spy on someone, you’re going to whisper so you don’t get caught.

The proximity of the other character is also an important aspect of the “where”. Regardless of whether you’re indoors or outdoors, in a noisy or quiet environment, your projection will change based on how close they are to you. If you’re calling out to them from across the room, that’s going to have a very different sound than if they’re right in front of you and you’re having an intimate conversation. Don’t be afraid to play with dynamics and go loud and soft when you need to based on the circumstances—just make sure to set your levels appropriately so the take isn’t rendered unusable for technical reasons. Changing your proximity to the mic can also add to this effect—stepping back when doing called-out lines can give a distant, roomy sound, whereas stepping in closer to the mic can sound more intimate and heartfelt. (You can play with this on your own at home, but don’t move from your spot in an in-studio session unless you are asked to.)

*The environment can also affect pacing, believe it or not. If you’re on the battleground with no time to waste and your job is issuing orders to your team, you better get those orders out quickly and efficiently. If you’re relaxing in a nice forest, however, your pace will probably be slower and calmer. (Of course, if you’re dubbing to picture in cases such as anime, you don’t have the luxury of changing up your pacing, but it’s a good thing to be able to play with on projects where you don’t have timing restrictions.)

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WHY am I saying this?

If you’ve ever taken acting classes, you may have heard your teachers talk about the importance of a character’s motivation. Chances are, a character isn’t talking just for the sake of talking—they have a reason for saying that line. Sometimes it’s deep or important, but it doesn’t always have to be, especially in more casual or conversational scenes. If the character says “I’m hungry”, it probably means just that—they want food, and that’s why they’re saying it! But other times the motivation can be part of something much bigger.

“What do you want?” Everyone (including your character) has some kind of end goal they want to achieve. It could be a big, lofty goal (wanting to become King of the Pirates!), a time-sensitive goal (solving the labyrinth before time runs out), or even just a minor short-term goal (getting off work so you can go hang out with your friends.) The “want” may even be more a philosophy that shapes how the character conducts themselves (wanting to live a quiet life).

What your character wants isn’t always going to be evident if you don’t have a lot of character description or context to work with, such as on short audition sides with only a few lines. But if it’s information you can gain or even assume/invent based on what you have to go off of, it can be a helpful tool in determining how your character’s actions and interactions are shaped by their hopes, fears, and desires.

If an audience clocks a project as having “bad acting”, it usually means they didn’t find the acting believable for whatever reason—perhaps the characters sounded like they were “performing lines” as opposed to actually talking to each other. Without some semblance or understanding of motivation, the read will fall flat. Everything has a reason behind it, even if the reason is something mundane.

HOW am I really feeling?

Just like in real life, words can often have deeper meaning. It’s not always just about what is actually said, but also about what is unsaid.

For example, take the line “I don’t care.” Many times, the underlying thought is “I’m actually really upset about this, but I don’t want to cause conflict with you, so let’s drop it.” Or maybe the character truly doesn’t care, in which case the line is said flippantly with an underlying meaning of “This is a waste of my time, so let’s move on to something else.” Or maybe it’s even in a heightened and dangerous environment, where it means something more like “I don’t care WHAT we do, just hurry up and make a decision before somebody gets hurt!”

If you’re having trouble with a read not sounding authentic, stop thinking (for instance) “I need to sound upset in this line” and think instead about WHAT is making you (as in, your character) so upset.

Emotions are complex. It’s easy to get caught up in a one-note emotion, as in, “the character is angry here.” But anger is often accompanied by other emotions—perhaps sadness, fear, disgust, shame, resolve, jealousy, etc. Suppose a character confronts their partner about cheating on them, and the line is “How could you do this to me? I’ll never forgive you!” Yes, the most obvious emotion is anger, but underneath that could be the shock of finding out, the hurt of being betrayed, the fear of what’s going to happen next, , but underneath that anger she could be hurt at feeling betrayed, afraid of what’s going to happen next, etc. Those emotions can subtly creep their way in when appropriate, and give your reads more depth.

You don’t have to overthink things, but when you need to, imagine what’s actually going through your character’s head in that particular scene.

Conclusion

Perhaps you’re thinking: “This is crazy! I’m not going to go through all this just for a couple of lines!” Of course you don’t have to do that, and in a live session you’ll be expected to perform quickly and efficiently. But remembering the 5 W’s and H in your head can be a quick point of reference when you’re feeling stuck on how to interpret a particular line or scene. It can also be important for things like demo reels where you actually have to flesh out the scene and make informed choices even for just a couple of lines. When things like motivation become second nature to you, it’ll be easier to get in the moment, get in the mind of your character, and “just be”.

Now, keep in mind that many times you may not have context for some or most of this information. That’s okay! If you need to, make it up (especially when recording a demo—even if you’re just saying one or two lines, you need to have the rest of the scene fleshed out in your mind so that your words have meaning behind them rather than just putting on a voice and the emotion you think you’re supposed to have. It will keep your reads from sounding one-note.) If you’re really stuck during a live session, you can ask the director for clarification, but try not to bog them down with too many questions and just focus on giving the best reads you can! Practicing and honing your acting instincts will help all of this become much more subconscious.