Love acting but slow memorizing?

Question

i love acting and have a huge passion for it but i am slow for some things i takes a while for me to memorize a couple of lines i understand i donut process things that fast am kind of slow what should i do?? confused

Answer 1

Here's the technique I developed years ago. You’ll need a tape or digital recorder, your script, and a quiet room. You’ll record the sections of the play wherein you have lines.

1. Before recording, go through the sections. This includes making sure you can read you’re your lines and those of the other characters.

2. Record your lines slowly, distinctly [excellent diction], and without any dialect or inflection. Text only, no acting values -- make it a flat and dull monotone. And again, slowly: the line “To be or not to be” takes about two seconds at normal conversational pace, but if you were speaking it for this recording it should take four seconds. You don’t need a full pause between every word, but they should be separated by about 1/3 second of silence. In other words, speak each word distinctly, without running them together as we do in conversation.

3. Speak the other character’s lines very, very rapidly. Just plow through the words, making sure you use enough diction to be able to understand them. [Here you can have fun and act all you want, even assigning each a different character voice.] When you get to the last few words before your next line, slow down just a bit and emphasize each word, so you will be able to later tell that it’s the end of the line -- this will also help you to memorize those cues.

4. If it’s a musical, you can also use this technique by singing your part down-tempo while playing it on the piano [or having it played by the music director]. The notes should be sung correctly, but diction must be at the forefront -- this recording is about learning all your words.

5. Once you’re done, you can close your script. You’re not going to need to look at it again for anything other than reading your blocking notes. Do NOT use this tape and follow along in your script. Trust me on this.

6. You now start working with the tape daily -- at LEAST 30 minutes, and more if you have less time to get your part memorized. You can break it up into entire scenes or take it one page at a time. [I have gravitated toward working on memorization by pages, so when I’m making the recording I’ll snap my fingers when I start a new page. These create an audio “bookmark.”]

7. Listen to the section completely WITHOUT speaking along, and do this several times. Even if you’re familiar with some of the lines, remain silent. This is actually the hardest part of the process, because it’s natural to think, “Well, I can’t just sit here and do NOTHING.” Resist that urge.

8. After listening to the section several times, start speaking along with the tape. Repeat numerous times -- this is getting the “muscle memory” going on the word order. And just as your recorded self has no expression, you should likewise avoid any “acting” -- this recording is solely about getting the words into your long-term memory.

9. You’ll find after four or five times that memorization is starting to occur -- you’ll start to know what the next few words are before getting to them.

10. You can then break it down to line-by-line work. Try to speak each word BEFORE your recorded self -- this is why you recorded your lines slowly and distinctly. If you make a mistake, rewind a bit to the beginning of the line and do it again. Once you’ve said each word perfectly just ahead of your recorded self, rewind and repeat about three times [and don’t get discouraged if you again make a mistake or two].

11. Once you’ve done this with every line, go back and do the entire scene [or page]. You’ll make mistakes, so just do the short per-line review to correct the mistake.

12. You’ll find that the next time you return to that section [the next day], you’ll have lost some of the memorization. This is normal. Just re-refine the memorization.

13. Once the text is coming almost effortlessly to you, you can shake things up a bit by saying your lines very fast -- try to say each line twice in the space of time it takes for your recorded self to say it. This is an excellent way to gauge that you’ve truly gotten the words in your long-term memory.

14. If time permits, you can now go back and re-record the material, this time with your lines read at a normal pace but STILL without any acting values -- just flat and monotonous. By the way, the reason you avoid “acting” the lines -- both on the tape and when saying them live with the tape -- is because you would come to “imitate” what you did on the tape, thereby locking yourself into that interpretation. This tape is all about the text -- the acting stuff you add on later. Even the most ornate and brilliant building is built on a solid foundation, yes?

I call this the “Happy Birthday Technique” because you learned that song simply by hearing it over and over. No one ever sat you down and actually taught it to you -- or gave you the words on paper like a script. Several years ago, I was a last-minute replacement for the role of Ko-Ko in “The Mikado” -- a very dialogue-heavy lead -- and used this technique to learn the part in four days [working five hours per day with the tape]. Nerve-wracking, but it worked!

Answer 2

1. First use a pencil or word processor and write down or type each page of the script (you can also do several pages at a time, or even several lines at a time if need be, as opposed to the entire script).

2. Take the page into a quiet room, shut the door, and eliminate all distractions.

3. Look at the first line in your notes and read it out loud. Then, close your eyes and say the line without looking at it.

4. Repeat the step above, this time with the first 2 lines.

5. Next, try it with 3 lines. Then 4. Repeat until you have memorized every line in the script/sides.

After a study session, take a quick nap. New memories are very vulnerable, but studies have shown that sleep helps your new memories stick. After your nap, repeat the memory technique once more for maximum retention.

Answer 3

Get a pocket tape recorder and record your cue lines along with you own lines. Listen to it over and over. Then get to the point where you only listen to the cue lines, stop the tape and recite you lines. Then play the tape and listen to your lines to make sure you have said them correctly. Read the entire script every day too. That will help a lot. Repetition is key. Also getting someone to help you go through your lines helps as well. Another trick when you have someone running lines with you is to stand up and move while you are running them.

Answer 4

You said that he has been checked out. In this, do you mean he has had a complete veterinarian examination? A behavioral change in a horse that is of this nature can mean many things, many of them are caused from a discomfort on the horses side. Sometimes a back injury--sometimes a misfitted saddle. Has there been a tack change in his life lately? Could he be wearing an improperly fitted saddle? Did he get a back injury? Check for lumps, hard muscles and the such. After he is ridden, check to see if the wetness under the saddle from sweat is evenly distributed. If there are dry spots, that equals a saddle rub. I have a mare that will buck if her girth is not perfect. It is her way of telling me to check the girth for spots that are rubbing. Bucking at the canter is a sign I have learn ed to associated with pain in my mare. Linda Parelli (Parelli Natural Horsemanship) states in her work that she has found this to be true as well when a horse bucks at a canter. I would ask for a vet check by a vet that knows back problems in equines, and check his tack with a fine toothed comb.

Answer 5

Figure out what the character is saying and why. The cues will make sense when you know what they provoke from your character and the lines will come when you know what you are really saying in response to your cues.

Answer 6

Talk to a good theater director. Or any good actor - they always have tips to overcome "whites" and the amount of lines per day to work with

Answer 7

put the other lines on tape leaving a space for your lines and let the tape cue you over and over and over until you have them pat

Answer 8

i believe You are a good candidate for Television and Movies (not for theater)

Movies and TV use "Telepronters" (an invisible speaker in the ear and someone read the scrip in the other side)

Answer 9

practice makes perfect!