The HonesThespian Expert Panel will be answering reader submitted questions all summer long. This is part of the HonesThespian mission and we look forward to receiving many more questions from our readers.
How do you memorize long passages or monologues?
MATTHEW MCGEE
The best way to do this is study, study, study. Never hesitate to call for a line or seek clarification from stage management during rehearsal. That’s why we rehearse. A great app that I’ve started using is LineLearner. Check it out!
BRIDGETTE KARL
I break it up into chunks or beats. I try to get the first few sentences memorized then move on. I find it is alot less threatening to memorize a few sentences than a whole page! I also look at the material at least once every day, ideally a few times. I could wake up in the morning, go over it, then revisit it at lunch and look at it once more before bed. Doing it that way gives me some time to let it sink in and relieves the overwhelming feeling of having to do it all in one sitting.
JOSH HAYES
I memorize long passages by rewriting them out on index cards. At the top of the index cards, I will write the act, scene, and page. On the card itself, I write the line before mine (cue line) then my line, and the one after mine. I also read my lines right before bed.
LINDSAY NANTZ
I break it down into sections. I read each section out loud a few times, then try to write each part down. The act of writing the passage down really gets the lines into my brain. I have also recorded myself reading the passage and listening to it so much that I eventually can recite along.
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