Ways to memorize scenes?

Question

I'm in need of a little help.
I'm in Theatre Arts and we are doing 2 people scenes and we have to memorize 2 pages. I know I can memorize it. I've memorized a 1 page before. Right now, I just want to see if anyone has any advice/ suggestions on the best way to memorize my lines. If you have any ideas that helps you, please share them. Thank you!
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Answer 1

read my profile and email me at my aol address and i will send you a two page document all about learning lines.

Answer 2

Here's the technique I've used for years to get stuff in my long-term memory:

Get a tape recorder or digital recorder.

Record your lines slowly and with no dialect or inflection, but then read the other characters' lines extremely fast [including their lines will help you become familiar with them]. You leave out acting choices like inflection for your lines because otherwise you'd tend to memorize what you recorded.

Once the recording is done, close your script. You don't need it again except to write down blocking.

You then work with the recording over and over again, preferably in small portions. Listen to a section several times WITHOUT trying to speak along -- just listen. Then listen to it more times and start to speak along, in the same non-acting drone of your recorded voice. Since you're not dealing with acting choices as you speak the lines, this frees you up to focus on cementing the text into your brain.

After getting a section "down cold," you'll find that the next day some of the memorization fails you. This is normal -- just do a bit more work to refresh the memorization.

After you start to get the stuff memorized, continuing working on the sections. However, since you recorded your lines slowly, you can start speaking your words just before they sound on the recording -- this proves that you have them memorized.

Once you feel quite secure, still continue working with the tape at least once per day to further cement them in your long-term memory.

I call this the "Happy Birthday" technique, because no one ever sat you down and taught you that song, or even handed you the words to look at. You memorized that song simply from hearing others sing it. Pretty nifty!

Oh, and speaking of music, if you're ever in a musical, you can include your songs on the recording. The trick there is to record them down-tempo, have your melody played on piano [preferably with a bit of the accompaniment so you get familiar with the tonality], and above all don't sing loudly on the tape -- it's purpose is to teach you the melody and lyrics, not to prove you have a big voice. Just sing the melody at a moderate volume, but really spit out the words so that you can recognize them when working with the recording later.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I make flashcards. They take a little work, but actually making them helps me too. I put the line before mine on the front, and then my line on the back. Then I keep going through them over and over again until I don't make any mistakes.

Break a Leg!

Answer 4

Walking round while reading it over and over agian helps. The walking REALLY helps the words sink in.

Answer 5

I was about to go in to my read it, say it, write it speech, but never mind.

Listen to Pippi. She gives good advice.