MAR
5

Making Memorization Work (As Told by Teachers)

Memorizing lines...  ugh!  Your young actors are supposed to be off-book by now, but too many of them don’t have their lines memorized yet.  What can they do?

When student actors struggle to memorize their lines, it’s usually for one of two reasons.  First, they might not be dedicating enough time to this labor-intensive task, perhaps not understanding the work they need to be putting in outside of rehearsals.  There’s no real fix for this beyond convincing (persuading?  threatening?  bribing?)  the reluctant actor to commit 20-30 minutes once or twice a day, seven days a week, until they have all their lines memorized.  After that, it still takes time to maintain their memorization so they don’t lose the results of their hard work.  Being in a play is a larger time commitment than attending all the rehearsals and performances.

The other reason actors have a hard time memorizing their lines is they don’t know what to do even when they devote the time to the task.  They read their lines over and over again, but that doesn’t seem to help.

We’ve gathered suggestions from hither and yon and compiled them here for you to share with your students.  We also have a printable handout with some tips from one of our playwrights that you can share with your struggling actors.  Of course, everyone has their own learning style, so encourage students to try a variety of techniques until they find the one (or two or three or more) that work best for them.

• Have students make flash cards on Quizlet with their “question” being their cue.  If they have a monologue to learn, they split it up into beats to put into Quizlet.
• Have students make flashcards with index cards.  By saying the line aloud as they are first writing each card, they are also using fine motor skills and listening skills to help them learn.
• For a monologue, have them write it out on a white board, saying it aloud as they do, and erasing one word every time they read the monologue.
• Have them pick a focal word in a cue line that connects to a focal word in their own line.
• Some students live by this one:  record a table read, then play it back as much as needed, even while doing other activities, until it just gets in their heads.
• Try a psychophysical approach that utilizes multiple senses at the same time.  Copy the lines from the script while reading them aloud to be actively writing, reading, speaking, and listening, all at the same time.
• Have students chunk monologues into manageable sections by “hiding” parts with a sticky note or other sheet of paper and working only on what they can see until they feel they have it.  Then they move the paper and work on another chunk.  Finally, put the chunks together.  It feels less intimidating that way.
• Run the lines, write the lines, run the lines, write the lines.  Repeat as necessary.
• Repetition is key.  First, have them record their selves reading a line and listen to it over and over.  Then say that line over and over again.
• When working on memorizing a dialogue with another person, record only the other person’s lines, giving a silent pause in the spot where their line will be spoken.  Be sure to give about 1½ times the amount of time.  (Have them try slowly — almost in slow motion — mouthing the line so they know they’re recording enough space to remember it.  That way, if a mistake is made, they have enough time to fix it before the next line is played.)  Have them play and practice over and over until they can go through the entire recording smoothly without looking at the script.
• Have them write down the first letter of each word in the line or monologue on a separate paper.  Then, they read the original lines, then look at the letters.  Having them remember what each word is will help with the memorization much faster.  An actor can learn a monologue in ten minutes this way!  Check out this YouTube video to see for yourself!
  
  

Young actors need to understand that true acting only emerges once they know their lines.  As long as they are worried about WHAT to say, they can’t yet be focused on HOW to say it, let alone stage movements or other stage business.  Only once they’ve memorized their lines can they be in the moment, truly portraying their character.  And that’s when great acting begins!