Have you ever heard a director say that “rehearsal isn’t for learning your lines, it’s for learning everybody else’s?” The adage is one of many actors’ least favorites, as it is often spoken by directors in the act of chastising actors for not knowing their part.

Acting requires a hefty amount of memorization. This is an intimidating element of the art for many. Thankfully, though, memorization is a skill, and all the average actor needs to get their memorization up to snuff for a show are a few memorization techniques that work for them.

You might not always have a partner around to practice lines with. Luckily, there are plenty of strategies for memorizing lines that one can work on privately.

1. Run lines with yourself via recording

Leaf through the script and take a recording of the lines before your own. It might be helpful to mention the page or scene numbers of each scene, and who is speaking. For example, “In Act 2, scene three, Mrs. Peterson says: …” After the cue line, silently read your own line in your head, as you would read it on stage. Be sure to take your time. Repeat this for all of the cue lines before your own, and you will end up with a recording that you can use for hands-free practice, perfect for running lines while making dinner, putting on makeup, or driving to work.

You can also read your own lines aloud and practice by saying your lines with the recording. This method would be more effective for rehearsal early in the memorization process: you’ll want to eventually graduate to recalling the lines from memory during the empty spaces of the recordings taken as described above. Testing your recall like this will be more effective in the long run.

This is a very useful method if you are busy or often on the go. The recordings can be played over headphones almost anywhere, and not having to fumble with a physical script is beneficial in a lot of circumstances!

2. Written repetition

Writing out material by hand is a classic study method that has fallen out of favor somewhat in recent years. True, this might not be the best way to memorizing large amounts of lines: writing each line is a time-consuming endeavor, and the results may not be as rewarding as those granted by other methods. This strategy is most efficient as a spot-checker. Writing requires both mental and physical effort that can be helpful for drilling those hard-to-retain lines or phrases into your head.

You can dress up this study strategy by varying the way you write the lines. If you are someone who enjoys calligraphy, maybe try writing each line (or all the lines of each beat or each scene) in a different script.

This is one of my favorite ways to work on memorizing lines covertly. It can be done anywhere, silently. You shouldn’t use this method to practice lines while pretending to take notes in class or in a meeting… but you could. My other favorite time to use this method is right before bed: picking up a pen and notepad and quickly jotting out my lines in a scene forces me to put my phone down and get away from blue light before sleeping.

3. Get it on its feet

Instead of practicing lines seated at a desk, get up and move around as you do your lines. Perform your blocking or choreography as you would on stage. The benefit of this method is that you can work on memorizing both the motions and the words, and each of these modalities will reinforce the other.

You can do this anywhere, though rehearsing in the physical performance space may be most helpful, if you are able to do so. Taking a few minutes, as able, to move around on the set before/after rehearsal or during break times can be especially helpful for solidifying the mental pathways associated with the lines and blocking. If you’re seated or unable to move, you can also “mark” the movements from your seat– for example, move your feet at the point when you’re meant to walk to the other side of the stage.

You could also experiment with a range of exercises for using movement to deepen your understanding of the words. An example of such an exercise: A voice coach of mine encouraged me to assign some sort of evocative motion to each phrase of a song I sang. These motions would not be enacted in performance, but the physical memory of the sensation was meant to create a different feeling in the words. In short, don’t feel limited to only working with blocking given by the director: adding your own “secret” motions which will only be performed in your personal rehearsals, but not on stage, can be a good way to personalize lines while memorizing them.

One of the benefits of this method is that it forces some more presence than others– it’s easy to space out and while writing your lines over and over again, but a bit harder to do so while physically moving in space. Getting up and moving can also be a good way to change things up if you’ve been seated all day.

4. Cue line flashcards

Like writing and re-writing lines, flashcards are not always an efficient means of rehearsal: creating the flash cards themselves takes time, and the repetitive mode of practice flashcards provide is not extremely effective for long-term memorization. Nonetheless, if you are struggling through a show with tricky lines, making flashcards can be a helpful tool to drill difficult parts of scenes.

Digital flashcards are appealing, but writing the flashcards by hand kills two birds with one stone– handwriting has been shown to be modestly more effective for memorization than digital typing (this is the reason all your teachers encourage you to take notes by hand instead of on a computer).

The benefit of flashcards is that, like writing out your lines, it can be done silently and in a variety of settings. Once the flashcards are made, it is quick and easy to flip through the deck of cards and review quickly. Just remember that this might not be the best memorization tool at your disposal, and use it wisely depending on the situation at hand.

5. Mental rehearsal

Mental images are a critical part of learning. The practice of mentally rehearsing a basketball free-throw before throwing the ball in reality has become commonly accepted as a valuable exercise (and for a variety of tasks beyond just basketball). Mentally recreating the set and picturing yourself moving through the scene can be extremely valuable for memorization, as it strengthens the neural pathways between the neurons that actually fire while actually performing the scene.

The more intensely you focus on this mental image and the more vivid you make it in your mind, the more effective the practice. This is a meditative practice that rewards concentration. You can, of course, combine this with some of the other methods described in this list: for instance, as you listen to your line recordings, you can visualize the theatre space and mentally “perform” the scene, as opposed to just passively listening. You could do the same while writing out lines by hand.

This is a science-backed method that has been proven to be effective. It is likely more cognitively demanding than some of the other options on this list– but that’s because it is likely more valuable for long-term memory, too.

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There are as many other strategies for rehearsing lines as there are actors in the world. Ultimately, it would be impossible to try to make an exhaustive guide. Actors must take it upon themselves to find the strategy that works for them! Experiment with these and other strategies to see what works best.

If you have any personal strategies you’d like to share, please include them in the comments!