Memorization Techniques
“Try to Remember”, from the musical The Fantasticks, is a nostalgic tune that reminisces about the better and simpler times of the past- a time that has since vanished and changed. Yet it illustrates that going through hardships can often help us to understand and appreciate the good moments, allowing us to see how we’ve grown because of them.
Speaking of remembering: everyone has a different relationship with memorization and how easily it comes to them. If you plan on being an actor, you don’t have to like it, but you will have to do it for almost every job you have. The first look at a script can be daunting when you see all the lines you must memorize, but have no fear because we will be giving you some tips and techniques to make your experience a bit easier, and hopefully more successful. Keep reading to learn more!
In a Nutshell:
Memorization really comes down to three things: repetition, familiarity, and stimulus. Repetition honestly isn’t the most fun but learning your lines will take time and practice. There’s not really a way to skip past this, so really be prepared to put in the effort it takes to memorize.
Familiarity with your character, their relationships, and the arc of the show will aid you in understanding where your lines happen in the storyline. The better you know your character and the world of the play, the easier it will be to remember your lines.
And finally, the stimulus. In this case, stimulus will be the things that other characters say or do that cause you to say your lines. If you know the words or phrases that trigger your next line, you’ll understand the reason why you say those specific words. And that is one of the biggest keys to memorization (and good acting) so don’t forget the importance of responding to stimuli. Now, keep your eye out for these themes in the following tips and techniques.
TIPS:
Say Them Outloud
This may not seem like a big deal, but reading your lines out loud will make all the difference in the world. If you read silently or just think through them you aren’t getting the full experience. When you speak aloud, not only will your brain be working but your mouth and body are memorizing as well. So, don’t underestimate the usefulness of saying them out loud. Plus, the words always sound different in your head than they will when you actually vocalize them, so do yourself a favor and run through your lines aloud whenever possible.
What Are You Saying?
Knowing what you are saying is obviously important for any show, but especially when you are acting in shows with heightened language- Greek, Shakespearean, etc. If you don’t know exactly what is happening in the scene and you don’t understand what your words mean, it will be incredibly difficult for you to memorize. If you do make the effort to figure it out, you will know the arc of the scene and the context which will make your memorization run much smoother.
Mess up? Keep going.
Sometimes if you are running lines and you know you made some mistakes you’ll want to stop and have them corrected then and there. The idea makes sense, but it might actually be more beneficial in the long run to continue with the scene and look at what you missed afterwards. If you always mess up a specific line and then stop to think and fix it every time, your brain will also memorize stopping in that place. In the performance you won’t be able to call for a line or check your script, so teach your brain to forge ahead. That being said, you obviously want to know the line correctly so continue to look over your script to make sure that you aren’t paraphrasing or changing words around.
Walk Around
If you are having a hard time remembering your lines, try walking around a bit. When we realize or discover something we tend to physically respond, so a bit of movement can help jumpstart your memory. And walking around will require you to intake more oxygen, which actually helps your brain function better. So, take a little stroll around the room and a few deep breaths when you start to feel stuck.
Before Bed
Try going over your lines right before you go to bed, or even thinking about them as you are falling asleep. If your lines are the last thing on your mind before you sleep, your mind tends to remember them or continue to think about them throughout the night. Test this out, then in the morning see if your lines feel more solid. We won’t get into all of the scientific reasons why this works, but feel free to do some research, or better yet, do a little experiment of your own.
TECHNIQUES:
Backwards
Yes, you read that correctly: backwards. Let’s talk about what memorizing backwards means. It doesn’t mean you know your lines out of order because that would be absolute chaos and not helpful at all. Take each scene and work on memorization starting with your last line. Repeat each line a few times, then move on to the line that comes before it; say that line, then see if you can remember the last line of the scene (the first line you memorized.) And you will continue like this, with as much repetition as you need.
Now this concept may seem a bit confusing and you may wonder why this would even work, but- as we mentioned earlier- being able to know where you are going next in the scene will help you know how to get there. After all, it’s much easier to find your destination if you have directions. So, make sure you know every landmark, twist, and turn of the scene.
Highlight Your Cue Lines
Instead of highlighting your own lines, try highlighting the lines that come before yours (known as cues). Sometimes when you memorize, especially if you are doing a lot of the work by yourself, you tend to be very familiar with lines you say but are unsure of what the other characters say.
And memorizing your cues is just as important as memorizing your own lines! If you specifically highlight the words or phrases that cause you to say your next line, you’ll have a thought process that makes sense in your mind, instead of just trying to pull your line out of thin air.
Write Your Lines
Another technique to try is physically writing out your lines. And after some time doing this, try writing them down from memory. Similar to what was mentioned earlier, this technique allows your eyes, your mind, and, in this case, your hand to become familiar with the lines. And a twist on this technique is to start by writing out the first letter of every word you say, then afterwards, you will look at that collection of letters and try to remember your full lines. It gives you a hint with the first letter, but you have to work to come up with the rest of the word. It may seem surprising, but try it out!
Notecards
Another tool that you could use is notecards. Write your line on one side of the card, and write the cue for the line on the other side. You can quiz yourself by looking at the cue, trying to remember your line, then checking if it is correct. This is especially helpful if you don’t have someone to run lines with. If notecards have been a useful technique for you when studying for school subjects, this might be worth a try!
Memorization will come more naturally to some than others, and you may have to try out a few different techniques to find the way that works best for you. But now that you have been equipped with the proper tools, go forth and memorize! And don’t forget the three main ideas: repetition, familiarity, and stimulus.