Learning Lines

IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT living in a time before writing was invented, a time with no books, no video, no iPods, no Microsoft Word. There was no paper. There were no pencils.

Language was exclusively oral: Words conjured ideas and images that disappeared like smoke ― unless, of course, the ideas and images were important enough to make the effort to remember the words that represented them.

Though memorization may no longer he necessary to the survival of our culture, it is still an essential though seldom discussed aspect of an actor’s toolkit. There is no way around it: An actor, if she is going to be employable, must be able to learn her lines accurately and in a timely manner. She must he able to reliably deliver them when called upon to do so.

Disciplined and committed actors know that their lines need to he learned long before opening night. By the time the play is performed for an audience, those lines should be as second nature as breathing. By opening night, the best actors are focused on reacting to the moment, not thinking about whether their next set of lines will be there for them.

I’m sure that many of you reading this article have had the feeling of being totally in the moment onstage. And a wonderful feeling that is. It is a magical place, where you are no longer thinking about what you are going to do or say. You don’t have to; it’s all there. You are so well rehearsed that all of your energy goes into listening and reacting because you no longer need to think about any of that stuff that you worked on during the rehearsal process.

When you are in this zone, you act spontaneously; your lines are nuanced, and they rise from the specifics generated in the moment. No longer do your lines sound canned or sung. Everything you do is better, more real, more compelling. This is what acting is about, and it can never happen if you haven’t learned your lines properly, if you haven’t absorbed them totally into your being.

Below is a list of 20 memorization techniques. Try them as your time and energy allow. Mix and match, and eventually you’ll arrive at a memorizing regime that works best for you.

Treat memory as you would a muscle. Memorize texts regularly and get better at it. Increase the amount you take on to memorize each day as your ability grows.
Find a time of day that works best for you to memorize. Consider that time sacred and make sure you use your best time for memorizing whenever possible.
Memorize before you go to bed and sleep on it.
Repeat lines in your head all through the day.
Read the lines over and over before trying to memorize them.
Learn the ideas and their interconnectedness before trying to memorize.
Learn the story of the lines before you learn the lines.
Say your lines aloud rather than in your head.
Say your lines aloud and in your head.
Say your lines while moving around.
Picture your lines as images as you say them.
Remember the feelings that the words and images create, not just the words.
Write your lines down before memorizing them. Write them as you are memorizing them.
See all of your lines in a scene as one big whole. Write them down as though they are a monologue. Examine this monologue in terms of its dramatic progression. Divide it into its beginning section, middle section, and concluding section. Then, divide each section into its constituent parts. Once you understand all of each section, and its cause and effect sequences, then memorize.
Figure out what the character is actually saying when they say what they say before trying to memorize it. (This is not the same thing as memorizing the way to say the line. That should be avoided absolutely.)
Use mnemonic devices to help remember lists. Anagrams, rhymes, silly sentences, and song tunes, for instance, can all be effective.
Make a recording of your part and, once you have memorized sections, repeat it along with your recorded version.
Learn the part by listening to and reciting with your recorded version.
Listen to your recording and develop specific gestures, movements, and stage business that you actually do while listening. Eventually, the physicality will help you remember the lines.
Memorize by beats. Learn a beat, add a beat, repeat the already learned material, and add another beat.

Regardless of what techniques you use, never forget that what the playwright has written into the script is there for a reason. Each word, each phrase, and every piece of punctuation was put there by the playwright after careful deliberation and with painstaking care. You owe it to the playwright and to yourself as an artist to respect their choices and their craft. It is very unlikely that your accidental changes will improve upon what is already there. Learn your lines and deliver them the way they were written.