What the character desires from the other person in this scene. Want is the dramatic engine — it's what makes characters do things rather than merely exist.
Meisner's foundational question: "What do you want from the other person?" Not what you want in general — what you want from them, right now. The specificity matters: "I want you to admit you were wrong" drives a scene. "I want to be happy" drives nothing.
Want vs. need:
- Want is conscious, external, specific. The character knows what they want and pursues it. Want is the visible engine of the scene — it generates offers, creates conflict, and gives the partner something to respond to.
- Need is unconscious, internal, often the opposite of want. The character who wants control needs to learn to trust. The character who wants approval needs to find self-worth. Need is the arc — the transformation the character undergoes.
The gap between want and need is where drama lives. When they don't match, internal conflict emerges, and the scene has somewhere to go.
In improv specifically: You rarely pre-plan want. You discover it through the first few exchanges — your character's desire becomes clear through behavior, not through deciding. Stanislavski's "objective" (what do I want?) becomes improv's "what am I already doing, and what does that tell me about what I want?"
Want drives scenes mechanically:
- Two characters with competing wants create natural conflict
- A character whose want is threatened escalates (heightening)
- A character who gets their want has no more engine (the scene may be done)
- Want that connects to game — "the game sticks best when tied to fear, desire, shame, or love" (UCB)
The strongest scenes have want embedded in the relationship, not the situation. "I want you to say you love me" is a scene. "I want to escape the burning building" is a plot.