Acting tips for beginners.

Acting Lessons:

Memorization

This lesson is for anybody, thespians and non thespians alike. There comes a time in everyone’s life when he/she is required to memorize something.
In the context of this lesson, we’ll be focusing on memorizing monologues and dialogues, but these methods can be used in the memorization of any small or large chunk of text.

If you’re memorizing while you’re rehearsing, you might be so focused on getting the lines right rather than the way they are delivered (volume, intensity, inflection, etc.).
Now, I understand that, during the first few rehearsals, you’ll have a script on stage, but you’ll notice that it’s actually a hindrance because you can’t very well put your focus on something or someone if you’re reading lines from the script. You also won’t be able to work with your properties (props) as well, having one less hand to work with. So, your responsibility is to memorize the lines as quickly as possible, and the methods I’m about to show you should help in that. Memorizing Monologues As I got larger roles, I noticed that the lines got a bit longer. I could no longer use my memorize while rehearsing method. I had to devise a method for memorizing these
insanely long lines, some of which went from one half to two and a half pages!

Memorizing Dialogue

You might think that memorizing dialogue should be no different.Though they might have
a few similarities, there are still some major differences. The biggest difference is that, aside from memorizing your lines, you have the extra task of memorizing things other
people say.
The key to memorizing dialogue is “go one line at a time”. It’s not helpful to just blaze through huge chunks of dialogue; doing that will get you familiar with the dialogue, but it
will make your job of memorization a little harder later on.

The first thing you’ve got to do is find out where you come in. When I said that you had to memorize things other people say, I didn’t mean that you had to memorize the whole script. I meant that you had to memorize at least the first and last bit of the line that
precedes yours. In doing so, you’ll have a good idea of when you come in.
It’s also pretty good to become familiar with the entirety of the subject matter of the preceding line. This will save you when some one blanks out or skips around the
lines on stage, especially during a performance. It will give you the chance to cover up the mistake and save the show from going into a dead silence, humiliating everyone who is
performing at that time.

The line preceding yours (or the last bit of that line) is called the “cue line” or the “cue”.
Some plays, such as anything written by Pat Cook, can be wildly confusing and can have a bundle of stuff flying at you from left field.
So, it’s not always good just to memorize the cue. You’ve got to be familiar enough with the
preceding line (and the entire scene, for that matter) that you can step in with your line when the basic gist of the preceding line has been conveyed.
On a side note, it’s also good to read through the entire script at least once, even if you’re just in one scene. This will allow you to get a better sense of where your character fits into
the whole scheme of things, but that’s for another lesson.
Anyway, back to memorization. Once you’ve found where you come in, read aloud the entire portion of the scene that you’re in, your lines and everyone else’s.
This should give you a good idea of your purpose in the scene. Once you’ve done that, you can start with the memorization.
Start by memorizing your first line. A great way to do this is to use the methods explained in the previous section. Once you’ve memorized your first line, get something to cover up
your line (i.e. a piece of paper, a book, your hand, etc.) and read aloud the line before yours.
Then, see if you can come in with your own line.
Memorize your next line. Then, cover your line and read off your cue line.
Once you’re able to say your line perfectly three times in a row right after reading the previous line, move on to your next line and repeat the process.
When you’ve gotten a page or two into the scene, try doing all of your lines thus far by memory, reading everyone else’s lines aloud and covering your lines when you say them.
After saying your line, uncover it to check if you made any mistakes. If you did make a mistake,don’t flippantly blow it off; correct it. Go back a few lines and try it again, using the
same method of cover and uncover.
This is the best method of correction because you get a real sense that you have fixed your errors rather than saying, “Oh, I’ll just fix it next time around.”

Use the chunk method and run the scene a few pages at a time when you’re first starting out, then run entire scenes. If you can get a helper, have them read everyone else’s lines
while you quote your own. If you can get so me together, run lines often with the other cast members. Be sure to work out problem areas with the other cast members. You’re all in
this together; work as a team.
This running of lines can also help when memorizing monologues. Have someone follow along when you’re delivering your monologue so they can catch mistakes that you might
not know that you’re making.