How to Learn Your Lines: A Personalised Guide to Making It Stick

Learning lines is probably one of the most daunting parts of theatre, especially if there are lots of lines to remember, complicated word combinations, the rehearsal period is short, or most definitely when your brain just won’t play ball. But fear not, there are numerous tried and tested methods that can help you get those lines to stick. Do note that what works for one person, might not work for you, so make sure you find what suits you best.

Below is a guide of 13 tips that will help you on the road to becoming off-book:

Understand the Whole Play First

Before you jump into learning just your specific lines and scenes, it is very beneficial to take a little time to understand the script as a whole. What’s the overarching storyline? What’s the emotional tone? Where does your character and their scenes fit into all of that? Taking this time to understand this, can help put your scenes into context, and this might help you to remember the order of everything. ‘Once this scene happens, I know that it’s this scene, and that we talk about stuff that relates to the next scene…’

Make a Through Line for Your Character

This is very similar to the above point; however, this is more specific to your character. Making a through line is essentially plotting out your character’s narrative, both physically and emotionally. Why a character says something is equally as important as when they say it and what is actually said. If you can remember your characters mental and physical state at all times throughout the play, it might help you remember the lines as you understand the motivation behind it.

Prioritise the Hard Parts

This is one of the simpler concepts on the list, but it is here for a reason. The smaller stuff will come quite easily in the rehearsal room, however those big chunks are the ones that need a bit more focus. Look at these as soon as you are ready to start and get chipping away at them. Some people tackle the script in chronological order, but you don’t want to leave the complex parts too late.

Highlight Your Lines

This works for some people, for others it’s a waste of time, but the theory behind it is quite solid. Essentially highlighting the lines makes them stand out of the page, and what then happens is your brain starts to associate the stuff in the bright colours as important and retains it better. It also can provide a visual idea of pacing because it lets you know at which points you speak the most and when you don’t.

Learn Your Cue Lines

This is a very good tip for those that more struggle with the concept of when to say the lines. If you know the line but say it in the wrong place, you might as well not have learnt it at all. So the hint is to try and learn the lines before yours, even if it is just the end of it. This gives you a mental note that you are next. Don’t just learn the words though, think about how your character would react to those lines as it will help you get the right emotion ready as well as the right words.

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

These next two points are quite similar; however, they do slightly differ. Repetition is one of the best ways to learn anything, however the best way to constantly repeat lines is in the rehearsal room. Doing the movement with the other cast is so helpful that some people only use this method to learn lines. If you run a scene multiple times in a row, most people will find that on the 5th or 6th time, usually they can start to put the book down. Having the whole dynamic there makes the repetition stick a lot easier.

Practice Regularly (Not Just Before Rehearsal!)

Going on from this point, we have practicing. This is where you do the repetition technique away from the rehearsal. Don’t cram though as this is only good for short term memory and in a few days the lines will just be gone. Do short bursts of practice at home, whilst walking the dog, cooking your dinner. Find regular periods where you can just run a scene or two and over time these will become habit.

Write Your Lines Out

Another technique that sometimes helps people is to physically write out the lines. This engages a different portion of the brain. It allows you to slow everything down and focus on each individual word. This is sometimes great for people that seem to paraphrase a lot as you can start to see the words that you miss out.

Read with a Buddy

This is probably the most common technique used by people. Getting a friend, family member or partner to sit down with the book and read in the other characters allows you to focus on just your part. It simulates the pace and rhythm of the scene, but also doesn’t allow you to cheat and check the next line. There are drawbacks as your buddy might not read the lines the same way as your fellow actor, but the benefits are obvious.

No Buddy? Use a Line-Learning App

If you don’t have a willing volunteer to help you read a script, because for some people they just don’t have the time, or in some cases the person doesn’t take it seriously and it becomes counterproductive, then a line learning app may be the way forward. There are lots of apps out there, some let you type in the lines, some let you record the lines. Do some research, ask fellow actors and see which one works best for you. But this is a great way to get the same experience as reading with someone, but wherever and whenever you like.

Speed Runs

Once you are confident with your lines, a great way to lock them in and make sure that they are second nature to you, is to try a speed run. This isn’t rushing them, but it is essentially taking the emotion and pace out of it and just delivering the lines quickly. This means you can get through larger chunks in quicker time. It also means that you have less time to think about it, so you can find out which bits might need a bit more practice.

Use a Memory Palace (if you're into that sort of thing)

Our penultimate piece of advice is a bit of more ‘out there’ concept. A memory palace a mnemonic technique which helps you to recall information. Outside of theatre mnemonic techniques are used all the time for memory. One of the most common ones is the rhyme to help you remember the colours of the rainbow, or the order of the planets. A Memory Palace differs slightly, because it uses spatial awareness. It boils down to this, you associate your lines with certain locations. If you know that you cross the stage on a certain line, you associate the line with the movement. If you are stood next to a piece of furniture one a line, you link the two together, so next time you are stood next to the furniture, you’ll remember the line. It’s not an exact science and it takes time, but it can be helpful.

Enjoy the Process – It Will Come

The final piece of advice is simple; don’t panic. You’ve got time and you are wanting to learn (otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this). Keep at it, trust whatever processes you choose to utilise and remember that it will eventually come. Most people are scared and then at some point it just clicks and people never look back. Be patient and enjoy the whole process. Theatre is all about entertainment, and that should be fun, so have fun with the script, don’t look at it as some daunting item that is going to cause problems.