While the most obvious reason for memorizing your lines may be so that you don't look silly carrying a script on opening night, there are many other reasons. Whether amateur or professional, learning your lines early on improves your credibility with directors as well as fellow actors. You don't just say those lines for an audience, you also say them to crew & cast members who have cues, blocking, and dialogue that rely on your words. If you aren't off book, or are constantly needing to be prompted, you are making it more difficult for everyone else to rehearse. It's an inconsiderate way to behave. Also, when your lines are memorized early, you have more time to concentrate on really acting - you can worry about blocking and your character's feelings, since your lines are coming to you easily.

In an audition, your monologue is prepared in advance, and the audition panel will expect more from it because of this. If your monologue is not memorized, it sends a strong message to the audition panel about how committed you are.

Remember, too, that in order for you to give a truly meaningful performance, you must be able to rattle off the lines without thinking about it. Stress can do funny things to our brains, and you can't rely on the lines "coming to you" in the middle of the audition. Only once a piece is totally, thoroughly, and completely memorized can you conquer stage fright and build an emotional foundation. Memorization is the beginning of everything. It's difficult to walk in and win over an audition panel if you aren't sure of the words of your song or the lines of your sides of monologue. Memorization has to come at the top of the list of preparation.

1. Just Do It
   Often, those of us who complain that they have difficulty memorizing songs and monologues for auditions or performances have not actually spent any considerable amount of time on it. Remember, rehearsals are for working with your director and fellow actors, NOT for learning lines. Memorizing your lines is actual work, and there is no way around it. Having a scheduled time of the day or week set aside for this type of work is important if you are serious about performing. Using the time when you are off-stage during rehearsals is also a good idea (and it makes you look good!)
   
   
2. Say It Out Loud
   Common sense should tell you that things should be practiced the way they should be done. It stands to reason then that in order for you to memorize your lines you must practice them out loud.
   
   
3. Pay Attention To Cues
   Remember that the lines that you memorize will not be performed in a bubble. There are other people involved. One of the mistakes inexperienced actors make is memorizing their lines without also memorizing the cues. What good is memorizing your lines if you don't know when to say them?
   
   
4. Learn The Lines In Context
   Whenever possible, learn your lines while also practicing your blocking. If you have learned lines and blocking together, then when you are performing, the lines will remind you of the blocking and vice-versa.
   
   
5. Split It Up
   Playwrights make things more convenient for performers by splitting the script into acts and scenes. Take advantage of this by splitting up your memorizing work into manageable pieces. In most cases, your directors should give you a rehearsal schedule that will indicate when you will be working on certain scenes. Common sense should tell you that working on memorization in the same order will help you look well-prepared at rehearsals.
   
   
6. Look For Patterns
   Pick out the most important words in a sentence and find the relationship between those words. Are there rhyming words? Does the same letter repeat at the beginning of words? What links one important word to the next important word or one sentence to the next sentence?
   
   
7. Do What You Have To
   Everyone learns in their own way, so do what works for you. The list below is a good starting point, but if something doesn't work, find something else.

Our List of Memorization Tricks

• cue cards (one for each scene, which also can be used to keep track of blocking)
  
  
• tape recording (make a tape of only the other character's lines, then use it to rehearse - this is great if you do a lot of driving)
  
  
• rehearse with a friend or relative
  
  
• read the line above yours, covering your next line with a sheet of paper. Say the line, lower the paper to check for accuracy. Repeat as you work your way through the scene.
  
  
• Cover the script with another sheet of paper except the line you are saying. Glance down at that line and pick up as much as the eye allows you. Look up and say the line aloud, slowly. Repeat this pattern through the entire page.
  
  
• Use a computer to retype the scenes you are in, putting them in larger print and using colored ink for the major words. The visual cues on this printout will make the lines easier to read and will aid memorization. It's also amazing how much of your lines you will learn just through the act of typing them.
  
• Write out the lines on a sheet of paper writing down only the first letter of each word. For example: (From "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder) Emily: I can't bear it. They're so young and beautiful. Why did they ever have to get old? Mama, I'm here. I'm grown up. I love you all, everything. - I cant look at everything hard enough.
  Would be read as: Emily: I c b i. T s y a b. W d t e h t g o? M, I h. I g u. I l y a, e.-I c l a e h e.
  I do this for both long paragraphs i need to learn, or monologues...but also for dialogue i have trouble with. You can either write out the other person's lines in their entirety between your lines, or you can just write a snippet of them to help jog your memory. Hope this helps a bit, it usually does me some good. - contributed by broadway_baby

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Links to More Tips for Memorization & Learning Lines

• Master Thespian: How To Memorize Monologues and Scenes

Comments (5) >>

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written by Rachel Diamond, February 09, 2008

Oh my gosh! I thought I was the only one who did the writing-only-the-first-letter-of-the-word thing. I do that all the time!

This tip is kind of like the "find a pattern" one: if you're having trouble remembering a your next line (like your line after someone else's), find a relation between their line and yours. For example, with the show I'm in now, I absolutely not remember the line, "The woman uses knowledge as a weapon, so let's fight fire with fire." Finally, as a last resort, I looked at the line above mine, which was, "We wouldn't want to get hit by a sweetie like you." I looked at both lines and linked the words "hit" and "weapon" together; the guy before me mentioned violence, and my character continued that thread. And it actually works!

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written by Ryan Stewart, February 13, 2008

So, I'm working on a monologue right now, and I find that listening to very relaxing music, aka mozart, or generally anything on the piano just gets you in the total mindset for learning and remembering. But yes, I found the computer method of typing very effective, seeing as you type and point out the important words/phrases in the monologue, and you begin to connect the words in between as well, you don't realize it, but while you spend all that time focusing your gaze on pointing out those simple words, your brain absorbs SO much of it at the same time!

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written by Kaylee, May 27, 2008

I find that, when it comes to monologues, writing it out in its entirety really works for me. It'll be learned in fifteen minutes if I do it that way.

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written by Emily, November 29, 2008

Doing the tape recording really helped me learn my 10-minute monologue I thought I could never memorize in a week!

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written by Molly Turner, March 16, 2009

Personally, I find it most effective to read over a scene a couple of times, then hand the script to a friend and struggle through it until you get it. It might be a little rough the first few times, but it's in your mind everytime, you just have to look for it. After several attempts, it's a part of you.

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