“Whenever I divulged to acting teachers that I had trouble memorizing lines, they brushed it off as if it were simply a matter of not applying myself enough. Those same teachers should have witnessed all the hours I have sat with my script trying to recall my lines. I thought that there was definitely something wrong with me, either with my memory, or with my brain. That there was some part of my intelligence missing that made acting impossible for me.”

This is what Paula told me when she called me looking to see if I was the right teacher to help her overcome her lifelong memorization problem. I told her I was writing a book called STOP MEMORIZING YOUR LINES (coming out 2027 Routledge Publishing). She couldn’t believe what I said but at the same time she expressed relief. I shared with her that my own experience acting and teaching acting had illuminated for me that memorizing lines first is one of the main reasons that actors get nervous, can’t get into character, and ultimately are not booking roles. As I research and write my book, I am finding scientific evidence that memorizing lines “by rote” does not work because it works against the natural learning processes that govern how our brain retains information. And yet, everyone still thinks that to be a great actor you have to memorize your lines first. What about two-time Oscar-winning actor Marlon Brando, who was famous for not learning his lines at all because he felt his performance would be more spontaneous and natural?

Brando insisted that production write out his lines on cue cards and strategically place them in his eye line but not in sight of the camera. In fact, there is a famous production still from the set of THE GODFATHER with Robert Duvall holding Brando’s cue cards in front of his chest. I do say stop memorizing your lines, but don’t try Brando’s technique just yet and expect to work in Hollywood.

Another one of the greatest actors ever, Anthony Hopkins, is known for reading his scripts hundreds of times. I would guess that he doesn’t just memorize them. In fact, he says: “I learn the text so deeply that I think it has some chemical effect on my brain.” Hopkins is talking about more than memorizing; he’s talking about internalizing. He’s also talking about learning a role for a movie, a movie for which he has months to prepare. This technique of reading the script a hundred times doesn’t work when you have to create a self tape in under twenty-four hours or when you have two minutes to prepare a cold reading. You have to do more than just read it, you have to read for the information keys that will help you understand the meaning of the story and therefore memorize.

The Problem With Tips and Tricks

Memorizing lines is listed as the number one skill that an actor needs to do to keep their job. Memorizing lines is also the number one thing that keeps actors up at night worrying. And memorization is the number one thing that actors use to judge the value of their performance. Yet it is very rare that an actor is formally taught how to memorize. More often actors are told just to memorize their lines and like Paula or to focus on memorizing the meaning of the text. If the actor is still struggling, the teacher will give them some “tips and tricks.”

Some of the most popular tips and tricks are: write out all your lines, learn your lines by rote (say the lines out loud over and over), paraphrase your dialogue, go over your lines first thing in the morning and last thing at night, sleep with your script under your pillow, create a mnemonic device such as memorizing the first letter of each sentence, use word association mechanisms, do physical exercises while you say your lines in a bunch of different accents, etc. These may work for some people, although they only work temporarily. Because these are all tricks—a skillful way to try to deceive the mind into remembering something. They are also time-consuming and put one more unnecessary barrier between the actor and the character, i.e. the actor now focuses on the mnemonic device instead of being present in the scene. With the exception of paraphrasing, all these ways that actors have learned to memorize are not connected to the script specifically. Even when taught to build meaning with the words, I listen to actors attaching ideas and personalized meanings that have nothing to do with the story or script.

Acting is not about the lines or the words.

Think of Reese Witherspoon in Wild or Sandra Bullock in Gravity. Some of the greatest moments in great films have no lines, or just one line. It’s not necessarily the delivery of the line, as much as the story around the line that the words speak to. Michael B. Jordan’s memorable line, “Is this your King?” from Black Panther is another example. Michael B. Jordan is a great actor, and he didn’t spend hours finding ten different ways with ten different accents to figure out how to deliver the line. His delivery was a result of his acting technique: the way he prepared to live in the scene in front of the camera.

Casting is not interested in how word-perfect you are. They want your humanity, to believe you as the character in the circumstances and the experiences of the scene, like how we believe Michael B. Jordan in Black Panther. He never would have been believable in the experience of that scene if he’d only focused on the words.

The problem with rote learning and memory.

One of the biggest problems with rote learning/memorization is that it doesn’t allow the learner to grasp the deeper, underlying ideas and concepts of the subject and therefore hinders their ability to use the information in real-world scenarios. This is also true in acting. Rote memorization prioritizes actors’ minds on recalling words and not on understanding the meaning and the story that the words create. Therefore it limits the actor’s ability to apply the content to their own lives which is one of the keys to connecting to their character, personalizing the character’s story and ultimately memorizing the story and words. Because rote learning does not make any connection between new and previous knowledge, researchers find that rote learning can leave the subject with a wrong impression or an incorrect understanding of a concept. I constantly work with actors who have memorized their lines and made up their backstory and made decisions about the script that have nothing to do with the story written on the page. This is just another good example of what is keeping great actors, who are using rote memorization to learn their scripts, from booking jobs.

And according to Dr. Judy Willis, a certified neurologist, rote learning lacks retention. She says that short term memory can only hold data for twenty minutes. Twenty minutes might help you shoot a self-tape, but that’s not the goal – the goal is callbacks, booking the job and working on set opposite A-list actors!

There are multiple ways your brain memorizes.

Ultimately, rote memory is an inefficient kind of memory. Whereas, memory research supports that the effective retaining and retrieving of information uses multiple types of memory: procedural memory – for skills; episodic memory – for recalling auto-biographical events; sense memory for experiential events, and semantic memory (for words).

A more effective and efficient way for an actor to memorize is to consciously optimize their brain’s multiple tools for memorizing which encourages the actor to take in the information and internalize the story and live in and experience the situation of the scene. Even if you are learning your lines by rote, your brain is probably indirectly and unconsciously integrating different types of memory when you are working on your lines because our brain is complex and we have a variety of ways of intaking and encoding information. Indirectly and unconsciously one reason why it takes so long to memorize and it doesn’t stick. But Intentional Acting is about being intentional, knowing the information, and using it in an intentional way. When you do this your memorization process is more effective, efficient and retaining and retrieving the information can happen with ease. And your acting will be more specific, compelling and repeatable when the Director says – do it again.

Acting is Problem Solving

Acting is about learning, questioning, and problem solving. A scene is about dealing with something – having an intention – an intended purpose which you then follow and listen for and you learn, discover, question in a scene. But if you’re using rote memorization, many actors are also memorizing their agenda for the scene – perhaps their actions, their emotions, their plan, how they want to act out the scene and then they wonder why they get notes like you’re not present, you’re not in the moment, not spontaneous. I did this! Great actors are living in that moment. Living in a moment is about discovering, questioning, problem solving, dealing with what is in front of you, not knowing what is coming next. That’s what my actors do and the scene comes alive and they love it. Think about it, isn’t that what you love when you watch a movie – you don’t know what’s going to happen next. What I think are the best acted scenes, the best written scenes, the best movies are that we don’t know what is going to happen next. We just watch and discover. But then what a really good movie is the one where you know what happens, but you want to watch again because they take you on a journey of discovery in how they get to the end.

Start by asking questions

There is a better way to learn lines which uses the strengths of the brain and is a much faster and a more efficient use of the actor’s time. First, ask questions. Rather than just reciting information, questions implore the brain to apply knowledge, ensuring the actor actually understands the information.

Intentional Acting is based on 9 questions that help an actor internalize a script because they efficiently combine the story, script and memorization techniques. The actor learns the meaning of the script as intended by the writer rather than memorizing self imposed ideas and images to the story. Each of the questions engage a different type of memory and store information in different parts of the brain. The questions encourage critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and get the actor to apply knowledge of their real-life situations to foster a deeper understanding of the script and its concepts. It allows an actor to think outside of the box, and bring more to the project.

Want a different result? Take different actions.

Last week I worked on an eight page scene with two female actors ages 65 and 87. They both came to me and couldn’t memorize a line, let alone an entire page. They were not booking jobs as actors at the time. Now both of them are working: one a Tik Tok star and another was recently on SUGAR opposite Colin Farrell. And in class they performed eight pages magnificently without a script in front of them and without memorizing their lines. It works.

Still, when you get a script, you’re probably going to want to memorize first. Old habits are hard to break. Afterall, the idea that an actor must memorize their lines is so deeply built into the psyche and culture of acting. Start by asking questions. To get very specific start by asking the 9 Questions of Intentional Acting.

And If you need to make self tapes, memorize quickly, calm your nerves and get into character; if you struggle with knowing what to do that second before you hear “Action” and you can’t remember the line and your bladder is screaming to run to the bathroom…let me help: www.DiscoverIntentionalActing.com. Helping actors to be self sustaining, self empowered and undeniable on camera – is my mission and life’s purpose. Join me at The Actor’s Pro Virtual 2024. July 18 – 20, 2024. I’ll be speaking at 9 am PST//12 noon EST//5 pm BST: 3 Ways to Grab Casting’s Attention WITHOUT Memorizing Lines. And visit my virtual booth: Intentional Acting and enter a raffle to win a FREE 1 hour Private Coaching with me. Can’t wait to meet you!