Getting your lines down cold for a film or play involves a lot more work than one would think. You can go over the script with your scene partner, but unless the two of you go through life joined at the hip he or she is not often available when you are. Bringing in a friend or significant other to read the lines with you can be problematic because (a) ho hum, they're not invested in the outcome and have other things to do and (b) they're likely to give you a flat read in any case.
Alternatively you can highlight your lines on the page and hold the script at your side for quick reference as you memorize, or hide sections of the script with your hand as you learn them, or record the scene partner's lines and flip back and forth in the script as you flub your own. It's frustrating and a slow slog.
Here's a tip I learned from an actor in Los Angeles that has proved very effective for me, doesn't require a partner or script in hand, and goes anywhere. Here's what you do: read (act) the entire scene into a hand-held voice recorder. Read your scene partner's lines loudly and with whatever emotion and pacing you think is appropriate. When you get to your own lines in the scene, read them at a whisper.
Later - driving to the day job, walking down the street, making dinner, whenever you have a moment alone - pull out the recorder, play the scene back, and speak your lines in a normal tone and with feeling. If you blank or get a line wrong, the correct whispered line is right there for immediate reference.
It works like a charm and has cut the time it takes for me to learn lines by at least half.
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| The usual way. |
Here's a tip I learned from an actor in Los Angeles that has proved very effective for me, doesn't require a partner or script in hand, and goes anywhere. Here's what you do: read (act) the entire scene into a hand-held voice recorder. Read your scene partner's lines loudly and with whatever emotion and pacing you think is appropriate. When you get to your own lines in the scene, read them at a whisper.
Later - driving to the day job, walking down the street, making dinner, whenever you have a moment alone - pull out the recorder, play the scene back, and speak your lines in a normal tone and with feeling. If you blank or get a line wrong, the correct whispered line is right there for immediate reference.
It works like a charm and has cut the time it takes for me to learn lines by at least half.
Dear Kathryn,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting this.
You might not believe it, but I've done this for years and it worked perfectly with me too.
I myself was looking for a quicker and effective way to learn lines and came out with this little trick. With only one difference: I don't whisper my lines. I only read the other character's lines (giving it more or less emotion and pacing) and let the tape run silent when it's my character's time to speak. By so doing, I'm forced to be extremely precise about the lenght of the silence and, later, about when to start my line and how long it should take it me to say it. Then, once I'm totally off-book and the lines have become second nature, I can do whatever changes I deem appropriate.
Extremely interesting.
I'll post the link to this article on my blog page.
Thank you for this beautiful insight.