My son is in a play and is worried he will forget his lines.?

Question

My son is going to be in a play at school. He is 13 years old and very shy. He is worried that he will freeze and forget his lines. Any suggestions on how I can make him more comfortable or what can I say to him?

Answer 1

Help him practice. Use visualization techniques - have him imagine success in advance, with as many sensory details as possible.

Make sure to tell him that it's about the experience and fun, and that nobody is expecting a Steven Spielberg production. Participating is the point. Remind him that perfection is impossible (for humans), but excellence is obtainable.

Do your best to take the emphasis off his "successful" performance. He's a success already, because he signed up to do this activity, despite his shyness. Since he has already succeeded, the rest is just riding the waves...

Answer 2

I have many tricks I use to learn lines. One idea is to have him write out flashcards of all his lines. I write the line before mine on one side and my line on the other. This way, I can look at the line before mine and try to remember what my line is. Also, I find that it really helps to make a recording of yourself reading the entire scene. You should probably do something to make your lines sound a little bit different, like make your lines louder or softer. This way, you can start by listening to the whole scene to learn it and begin to say your lines along with the recording once you begin to feel more comfortable. I've been in many school plays over the years and with a lot of practice and effort, these strategies really work. I hope this helps!

As far as what you say to him, tell him to remember that the audience doesn't have the script memorized. Unless there is a long awkward pause or you do something obvious to show that you messed up, they won't realize that you've done anything wrong. Instead of telling him that he won't mess up, tell him what to do if he does. Often times the other actors will cover for the line you missed, or you can say something that you know covers the general idea of what your line is, even if it's not your line word for word. And if he does mess up, it's not the end of the world. It happens to the best of us!

Answer 3

i would just keep praticeing with him..but don't put alot of pressure on the whole thing...that will only cause him more stress...and give him a plan "b"...if he freezes a word that he can remeber or something in the gym he can look at to jog his memory or how to improvise if he cant remeber the lines..let him know that it is a play and is to be fun and even if he was to mess up noone will really notice as long as he just continues...more then likely with pratice he will be fine...you can also maybe invite some of his play mates over to pratice together and he will feel more comdertable seeing they arent perfect either..

Answer 4

Try energy therapy. EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is a drug free therapy that you can easily learn and help your son. EFT has helped thousands of people (including many children) become more confident and reduce stage fright of all sorts.

You can download a free manual from the EFT site.

You can also find out more from these web sites.

Good luck with the play :)

Answer 5

It is not your job to be responsible for his lines. It is the actor's job.

Advice: Stop worrying for your son and let him succeed or fail on his own . The more you "mother " him , the less confident he will feel. Allow him to succeed or fail on his own. Let him freeze. Trust me, he will come through.

If he does not, he has no business on the stage.

At 13, he still has time to choose a useful trade.

Answer 6

I wound advise you, to practice with him. Don't push him to his limits. A good exercise is to tell him lines and at the same time doing other things. An easy way is walking through the house. This will help his memory to respond freely. These are tricks we do.

Answer 7

I think first of all, you should assure your son that no matter what happens, you'll be proud of him. Encourage him just to do his best when he's up there.

As for the lines, just go over the play with him at home. You and your spouse could play as characters of the play and interact with him as he goes over his lines. (Did that make sense?)

I hope things work out for him. I'm sure he'll do fine. ^_^

Answer 8

Practice with him. Have him do his lines several times. Also, he could tell his director, producer, or student advisor. There may be plans to have someone in the front row ready to prompt students who forget their lines...

Answer 9

help him practice have him recite his lines to you friends family he will be a lot less nervous if he practices and if hes shy repeating his lines to a lot of people before the big night will help him see that he can do it with out anything major happening.

Answer 10

You should give him some chocolate before the play because when you eat some chocolate your stage fright disappears, or you should tell him not to be afraid, it is important to participate!