General Discussion

I'm currently taking a drama course right now, and I'm kind of worrying about the memorization part of it''

I usually just read the script over and over and glance back at it whenever my mind goes blank when practising without it, but I'm not sure if that's the most efficient way...

What are some techniques you use for memorization ??

i hate writing out flash cards but they do help me a lot v_v when i was in drama in high school, i made flash cards for all my lines! i wrote the cue line on the front and my line on the back so i could memorize where i'm supposed to say what. i'd recommend trying that! keep them tied together with a rubber band and bring them with you wherever you can.

also i know this sounds really boring but taking notes really helps me. like, physically writing out the notes. sometimes during lectures the instructor talks too fast and it's hard to take notes but it's been proven that writing out stuff helps you memorize it so i try really hard to do what i can. i take my notes cornell style because that's how i was taught and that's what i'm used to, but any notes are good! when i was in drama i'd just write my lines out over and over while saying them out loud on scrap paper to help me memorize the wording.

this one isn't best suited for drama but mnemonics have always come in handy for me too! i make up little songs and whatnot to help me remember things. to this day i still know all the presidents of the united states because of a mnemonic i learned in 5th grade.
my final tip - practice and study lots, make sure to eat enough, get enough sleep and drink plenty of water! good luck!

My go-to is notecards, but those are better for like definitions and stuff, idk how well that would work for scripts :P I've never tried this myself, but I've heard that writing things three times and writing things in blue ink are both supposed to help with memorization.

@fakeviolin @AllasBarron

Thank you for all the tips!

I do find that writing them out does help as well, so thank you both for the taking the time to respond to this!! ;;

I'll try my best!

@ShadowOfTheBird

Yeah, that makes sense! I've been trying to do that whenever I find myself just sitting around, ahah ^^

Thank you for responding to this !

I've never taken a drama class before, but when it comes to terminology and concepts, it helps me at least to write it over and over and over and over again until there are few mistakes or none. And then move on to the next terminology and repeat, but also come back to the first one and then back.

I'm not sure how effective that is with a subject so "vocal", but maybe incorporate that with what Shadow said?

hello uwu

university theatre "student" here.
in quotations because I'm an English major that isn't enrolled in the theatre program, but I actively participate in projects. anyway.

i highly suggest you don't just memorize the words. go through the script over and over, read the words out loud with different inflictions and tones.

also move while you memorize. it's easy to remember lines if you're matching a gesture to them. do small sections at a time

and honestly, unless this is a course that is entry level and super basic where you don't do proper script work, I urge you to look behind every line and find intentions for your character. knowing what the character wants makes their words so much easier to say

remember that this isn't an academic course, you shouldn't cram scripts :)

@Amorah @Xiabrine

Thank you both^^

Movements while reading out my script feels awkward for me too do, but I feel like I should practice getting used to this method! I realize it probably makes planning out movements a lot easier''

I can attest that writing definitely helps, but another thing that's great for dialogue is to record yourself saying the other characters' lines and pausing in between to recite your lines while you listen to it. Break a leg! ;)