Is there a fast and easy way for an actor to learn dialogue?
- A mnemonic memory system.
2, Rote: Repetion. Repetion. Repetion. Repetion. Repetion. Repetion. Repetion. Repetion. Repetion. Repetion. Repetion. Repetion. Repetion. Repetion.
- Lots of luck!
Repetition always worked for me.
Start with line-only readings, then move to rough blocking and then final blocking. You should have it by then.
Plays have long rehearsal periods because people memorize at different speeds and in different ways- some just learn by re-reading and others have to move around in the space.
I always liked to bring a tape recorder to read through, or failing that, tape record all the lines myself. Then I’d play the tape over and over and over. I’m an auditory learner. I can still quote huge portions of plays I did a decade ago, and I do it by repeating what I “hear” in my head.
I always found that I did better by memorizing everyone’s lines in the scene, not just my own and my cues. Comprehending the entire scene made more sense to me then remembering a bunch of random lines.
Doing this really helped when someone else missed a line, because I could more easily bridge the gap.
I, too, can quote large chunks of plays from many years ago, playing all the roles.
I should add, my method didn’t work for long monologues. I performed “The Night the Bed Fell on Father,” from A Thurber Carnival years ago, by slogging through it line by line, adding a bit more each time.
I performed it fine (25 years ago) but don’t remember a word of it now.
practice practice practice.
I usually started out by concentrating on memorizing my lines and cues, but over the course of rehearsal, I would have entire scenes memorized.
It’s often easier to learn lines if you have someone extremely patient to run dialogue with. Usually running a scene several times in a row is enough to get the lines firmly stuck in your brain. But I second what the others have said about making sure you know everyone’s lines. There’s nothign more terrifying than realising another character has completely dried and you’re not sure what they were supposed to do next!
Being a visual learner, I wrote the lines down repeatedly. (I imagine this is pretty much the visual adaptation of WhyNot’s approach.) Started with one, wrote it about 10 times, added a second line, wrote them both 10 times, etc. After a few lines, I’d drop off the first lines (to save myself from writing so much really) and then, when I’d gotten to the end, I’d write all of them a few times, just to make sure I’d memorized everything. It worked especially well for monologues, as I didn’t have to worry about cues.
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Read line one out loud.
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Read lines one and two out loud.
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Read lines one, two and three out loud.
Etc., etc.
I don’t know why the following method works, but I can assure you it does. When you are learning the lines make it a habit to repeat them to yourself just before you go to sleep at night. They will be entrenched in your head the next morning when you wake. (I’ve learned thousands of lines of verse in this fashion).
I was advised to start memorizing from the end first, then work your way to the front. That way, with each readthrough you get better as you go through it rather than worse, which helps reinforce it.
YMMV, but works for me.