Learning Your Lines for a Play: A Second Look at Tips for Memorization

Note:  I am in no way affiliated with HBO or "Game of Thrones", other than thinking its cool

Thank you for stopping into Theater is a Sport today.  My name is Bobby Keniston, and this is my own little piece of the internet to talk about all things theater.

I have written about the subject of learning lines before, about a year and a half ago, and in that time, I have had some experiences that have changed my outlook a little bit.  So, at the risk of repeating myself somewhat, I offer these thoughts to you.

I'm asked a lot by people who have never in a play, how I learn my lines.  In fact, the conversation is usually something like this:

ADORING FAN:  I saw you in that play last weekend!  Lord, I don't know how you remember all those lines!

ME:  Oh, well, I'm glad you liked the...

ADORING FAN:  I'd get up on stage some time, but I just couldn't do it.  Remember all those lines! I can't even memorize my shopping list...

ME:  Well, it just takes practice, and...

ADORING FAN:  I mean, I could probably ACT circles around you!  You're nothing special, you know!  It's just the whole memorizing lines thing that keeps me from wiping the floor with your sorry butt!

ME:  Ah, I see.  Listen...

ADORING FAN:  No, you listen, Mr.  "I think I'm so great because I can memorize lines!"  I could be an actor, too, you know!

ME:  Ummm... right, it's just...

ADORING FAN:  What?!

ME:  Ummm.... the minister is talking right now, and people are starting at us.

In any case, usually, from these interactions, I get the idea that some people think that acting really is as simple as just learning lines.  In my opinion, I think learning lines should be the easiest part of being in a play.

Having said this, learning lines IS  important, and can be very challenging.  That's why I thought I'd offer a few tips and suggestions.  These are all things that have worked for either myself or other people I know.  They may not work for everybody.

First off, let's deal with this question:  At what point in the rehearsal process should you be off book? It's a good, fair, question, obviously with different schools of thought on the subject.  The brilliant Simon Callow offers some thoughts on the subject in his book, Being an Actor.  He suggests that, if you have a lead role, you should be off book by the first rehearsal.  On the other hand, if you have a small supporting role, he suggests you wait, for fear of growing bored with the text, among other reasons.

I can see what he's saying.  Last summer, I was in a play where it was required to be off book by the first rehearsal.  I've never really worked that way before, and was a little nervous, since I had so much to say, and, usually, it's the repetition of rehearsals that help me to memorize lines.  But, I did my best, and, I must say, I liked being off book earlier (though the scripts were still around to act as crutches).  It enabled a sense of making connections with other actors earlier in the process.  The lines and their meanings seemed to internalize earlier, as well, and, of course, it made blocking that much easier as well.  However, I do believe good, solid, productive work can still be accomplished with book in hand, but, I must confess, learning in advance really was a great experience that I think I'm going to keep trying for future plays I'm in.  For one thing, it forces everyone, even if not completely off book, to really know the story and how their character helps to tell it.

All right.  Down to the nitty gritty.  How do you learn your lines?

I used to be somewhat luckier than I am not.  I could read through a script over and  over, and just absorb my lines (and pretty much everyone else's, too).  As I've gotten a little older, it's not quite that simple.  So here are some other techniques:

KNOW YOUR CHARACTER and WHAT THEY WANT--- This, of course, is vital, even outside of learning your lines.  However, if you know your character, know what they want from scene to scene and know how they intend to get what they want, the lines make more sense, and, thus, are easier to remember.

HIGHLIGHT YOUR LINES:  It's a visual thing, and it helps.  It also ensures that you are learning ALL of your lines and not missing some.

RECORD YOUR LINES--- This helped me out last summer.  I made a few recordings on my iPad.  On the first, I read all my cues (in different voices), and then all my lines (in my voice).  I would listen to this recording a lot.  I'd wear headphones, and speak with my recorded voice.  As I grew more confident, I made another recording, this time with just my cues, and dead air in between them, for me to speak my lines out loud.  This came in handy when I didn't have another person to help cue me,  Which leads to...

HAVE SOMEONE CUE YOU--- Enlist a friend or family member to take the script, and read your cues.  Have them correct you if you make a mistake (instruct them to merciless on this, pretty much word-for-word).  If you don't know a line, have them read it to you, repeat it out loud, then have them go back and give you the cue again.  It can be a tedious process, but it has the benefit of really working well.  Warning:  you most likely will get frustrated, especially if they have to correct you a lot, but that's okay.  Just take it line by line.

USE YOUR RECORDED LINES WHEN EXERCISING---  I have friends who swear by this, and I've tried it, too.  Physical activity opens up the brain for absorption.  It's a great time to run through lines in your head, or through your earphones.  Exercising, from what I hear, is also healthy.

TAKE GINGKO  (UNLESS YOU'RE ON BLOOD THINNERS)

One thing I would strongly recommend, and Callow makes note of this in his book as well, is to not memorize your performance.  Memorize your lines.  Don'g get married to how you say your lines, but just to the lines themselves.  Meisner always said to learn lines by rote, so that you can react naturally on stage.  This is easier said than done, of course, and, you're bound to memorize your lines with some expression to them.  However, don't let this keep you from letting that go, and reacting naturally with your scene partners, and don't let it keep you from discovering new things about your character.

One last thing--- even though I'm a playwright, I don't think a script suffers from an occasional line that isn't said 100% as written.  In fact, that's bound to happen.  I still recommend trying to learn your lines verbatim, because then, you will hopefully be so aware of your character's intentions, that if your mind does go blank, you can get a close facsimile of your line out of your mouth.

I know there are many other thoughts and techniques about learning lines, and I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject.  Please comment below.  This is a place to share, after all.  We've all got our theater stories to tell.

Just remember--- memorizing lines is essential.  Just don't memorize your performance.

Break a leg!

HOW TO LEARN LINES FOR A PLAY: Advice on Flexing Your Mental Muscles

A Banner Made for Me By A Cool Student Named Claire Hamlin
(I am not affiliated with HBO or "Game of Thrones", though I wouldn't Mind)

Greetings ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Theater is a Sport.  My name is Bobby Keniston, and I will be your host.  This is my little corner of the internet where I talk about all things related to theater as I see it. 

It has been a while since I have posted, largely because of end-of-the-year school activity, as well as being in rehearsals for "The Pajama Game" at Lakewood Theater, where I am playing the delightfully lascivious character Prez.   I apologize for my absence to any or all regular readers of my blog (if, indeed, I have regular readers).

Today I want to talk about the process of learning lines for a play. 

It astounds me how many people think that is the only special trick for being an actor.  I can't tell you how many times people have said to me, "I would love to be in a play, but I couldn't learn all those lines," or, even more often, "How do you learn all those lines?"

I want to stress right from the start that I believe that learning lines is NOT THE HARDEST WORK AND ACTOR DOES.  Don't get me wrong--- I am not trying to downplay the importance of learning lines.  Obviously, it is an essential part of being in a play.  However, I often tell my students that learning lines should be the EASIEST part of being in a play.  The real challenge is taking those lines from the script, building a character with flesh and bones, thought and life.  But... EVERYONE who is in a play should do that, whether they have lines or not. 

Having said all of this, learning lines can, in fact, be a challenge, particularly if you have a great deal of them. 

SO.... how do you memorize lines?

Don't hate me, but I am actually one of the lucky people for the most part where reading over the script time and again just make the lines stick into my memory.  This isn't to suggest that I've never had trouble learning certain lines, but I'm pretty fortunate to have a mind that is geared toward memorization of lines.  Yay, me!

For people who may not have that particular stroke of good fortune, below are some tips I've gathered over the years, and that I sometimes use with my students.  Remember:  you are not just learning YOUR lines, but also need to learn your cues (the lines that come immediately before your lines), so that you know when to come in.

NOTE:  While this isn't officially the first "tip", I do suggest everyone to highlight their lines (if you have a book that is a rental and you can't mark up, photocopy it and then highlight your lines... it helps)

TIP #1:  It is vital that you know the "flow" of the show, and how your character and their lines help to tell the story.  Understanding the script makes the process of learning lines much easier.  Directors can facilitate this process by good discussions after the table read, and by talking about how the story works.  I have even had casts "do the show" without scripts early on in the rehearsal process, using improvisation to tell the story.  This is an excellent way to gauge how well a cast understands a story and how it flows together.  If your director does not do that, and there is not always time for such things, have someone at home or a friend help you with it. 

TIP #2:  Try not to just memorize by rote, but by ACTION.  Every line your character speaks, theoretically, is because your character wants something or wants to get something across.  Think of what these actions are.  What does your character want?  Why is it important enough for them to speak out loud.  If you begin to memorize the "wants" with the lines, then you are actually memorizing concepts, which makes your life easier.  The more you know what your character wants, the more you will be able to help tell your part of the story, even if you don't get it word for word.  (Which, of course, should be the goal to some extent, or as close as possible)

TIP #3:  RECORD:  I know a great deal of people who record their lines.  They start by recording their cues and then their lines, and they listen to it over and over.  Then, they record their cues, and leave a space for their lines, and then listen and try to fill in the spaces.  This is basically "cueing" yourself.

TIP #4:  Have someone "cue" you.  A friend or loved one, even if they can't act.  Have them read your cues, and you give them your line.  Make them be strict with you.  It's important that this person like you, because, most likely, you will get frustrated when you keep messing up, and might get irritable.

TIP #5:  DIRECTORS:  Here is something I've done on a few occasions when I have had casts that are worried about lines or having trouble learning them.  This is hard work.  It is like tip number 4, but it is sort of the atomic bomb of "cueing".  Get some volunteers, one for each member of your cast, to work with each member of your cast.  Take the book away from your cast members, give them to their new "partners".  These volunteers are going to cue your cast in their own little space.  The volunteers will be told to make sure the actors have to have their lines WORD FOR WORD.  If they miss a word, they have to go back to the beginning of the line.  Even if the volunteer has to cue the actors and have them repeat over and over again, this is okay.  I have found this to be an AMAZING and EFFECTIVE method, although it is also difficult for the actors and can be frustrating.  When done, the actors have an understanding of their lines and a scene that they did not have before, and will be much closer in their deliveries.  But it does fry the brain... don't do this for any longer than an hour and a half to 2 hours.  Special note:  when I had to step into a role with less than two days notice, this is how I was able to learn the lines--- I started by basically repeating the lines sentence by sentence, word by word.  Repeat over and over again. 
It works. 

TIP #5:  If you are memorizing a monologue, again, make sure you know the flow of the speech.  I have found when I have difficulty learning a monologue, typing it out over and over again can be helpful.  I know that sounds weird, but doing something physical can help nail things down in your brain.

TIP #6:  Another monologue tip--- do your lines in front of a mirror. 

TIP #7:  Line tag--- another fun thing for directors to do.  If you're doing a line-through, have the cast play a game of tag based on cues.  Whoever speaks next is who you tag when you give your line.  They tag who they're speaking to when they give their line, and so on and so on.  This gives a good understanding of the back and forth, as well as looking and listening.

And finally...

TIP #8:  Read the script over and over.  And over.  And over.  And over.  (You get the idea)

Okay, so these tips are obviously not the only methods of learning lines, but I have seen them do wonders.  Repetition is key for all of the tips. 

So, break a leg, learn those lines, get them under control as soon as possible, and work on the serious stuff like developing your character and looking and listening.  Trust me, that's for more important and taxing than the chore of learning what words you're saying.

Until next time, remember:  theater is not just a craft or art form, but is also a sport.


BOBBY LINKS:

http://www.brookpub.com/default.aspx?pg=ab&afn=Bobby&aln=Keniston

http://www.histage.com/author/authorinfo.asp?AuthorID=528

http://www.playscripts.com/author.php3?authorid=1113

http://www.hitplays.com/default.aspx?pg=ab&afn=Bobby&aln=Keniston

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bobby-Keniston-Playwright-Page/148232788536601