When I tell people that I’m an actor, one of the responses I often get is how do you memorize all that? Memorizing your lines is a necessary part of performing in theatre or film, but a deceptively difficult one that you usually won’t be taught how to do in acting courses or textbooks. The assumption is that actors already know how to memorize a script quickly: but if you’re just starting out, this can be a huge hurdle.

This article will examine how to memorize lines fast from a theoretical perspective and provide some practical tips and exercises to try. By the end, you should have all the tools you need to memorize a monologue, scene, or song, so you can find more success in rehearsal.

How Do Actors Learn Their Lines?

The short answer to this question is it varies, and there are as many different ways to memorize your lines as there are actors on planet earth.

The even shorter answer is just one word: repetition. But there are lots of different ways to practice repetition, so even this short answer requires much longer explanation!

If you’ve ever done community theater, or maybe participated in school theatre, then you know that much of the rehearsal process is spent learning and running (and re-running) show material, both to prepare and perfect it for the final performance and to help the actors remember everything. Repetition over the course of the rehearsal process helps actors keep track of lines and blocking.

But in professional theatre and film, actors are often expected (not always, but often) to have the full material memorized at the start of the process. Professional theatre rehearsal processes are usually only a few short weeks long, so quick memorization is key; TV and film actors often have rather minimal rehearsal before getting in front of a camera. In these cases, actors must get their repetition by practicing at home. (Practicing at home is also necessary in long rehearsal processes– don’t think you’re off the hook just because your school’s rehearsal process is 3 months long!)

Memorization is largely the process of making connections between neurons and strengthening those connections with repeated exposure to stimuli— hence the importance of repetition. Repeated exposure to lines, blocking, or music helps solidify the neural pathway in the brain, leading to faster and easier recall.

So that’s easy enough, right? Just repeat it a lot and you’re good to go?

In theory, yes, that’s all there is to it; but that’s easier said than done. Let’s look at some tips to help turn that theory into practice.

Memorization Tips for Actors

Here are some tried-and-true techniques for actor memorization:

• Getting very familiar with the script is a necessary step one. Reading and re-reading the script isn’t a super efficient technique for memorization, but plan to do it at least a few times on your own outside of rehearsal.
• Running lines with a partner is a classic option. Try this with and without your script in hand to quiz yourself. Speaking the lines aloud with someone else can be more helpful for memorization than just reading them alone.
• Learn a little bit at a time. Don’t try to memorize the whole show in one sitting. Pick a page or two per day, or more if your rehearsal period is short. The next day, review the previous section, then go on to the next. Periodically review in larger chunks (like all of act one, or the first 20 pages, etc).
• If you don’t have anyone to run lines with you, you can make an audio recording of your lines. Try making two copies: one where you say your lines out loud, along with other people’s cue lines, and one where you only say the cue lines. This way, you can listen to the “full” copy when you need to remind yourself of the lines, or the copy with only the cue lines when you want to test your recall.
• Some actors like to make line flashcards with the cue line on the front and their line in response on the back. If you make these flashcards with pen and paper, you get the added benefit of writing the lines out longhand, which can also be helpful for memory.
• As you get further into the rehearsal process and get your blocking or choreography, practice your lines and your blocking (or your lyrics and your choreography) together. Connecting the motions to the words can help both stick in your mind.
• Space out your line-study sessions. Information sticks better in your memory when you practice it over time, rather than trying to cram it all in one big chunk. This can be as simple as studying for 30 mins, eating dinner, and then coming back to study for another 30 mins– a little distance where you start to forget, but then jog your memory soon after, can be beneficial.
• The human brain loves variety, so trying it many different ways can help information stick. For instance, try reading or reciting lines very fast, or very slow. Try reading them as you plan to on stage, and then try reading them as much unlike how you plan to read them on stage as possible. Study in different places and using different methods.

Experiment with these and see what works best for you. Now that we’ve taken a look at the basic memorization methods actors use, let’s look at how you can use them in specific situations.

How to Memorize a Monologue

Figuring out how to memorize a monologue is a real challenge. Whether you’re preparing for an audition, or have a lengthy chunk of text to remember for a performance, monologues are difficult because you don’t have anyone else to work off of.

To memorize a monologue, make sure you have a good sense of how the whole thing flows. Since it’s much shorter than a full play, there’s no reason not to read the full text several times. Then, break it down into sections. It may help to paraphrase or quickly summarize each section to cement them in your head: “First, my character arrives at the house and opens the door. Then she talks to the person who opened the door. Then she realizes the person behind the door isn’t who she expected. Then…”

It may also be helpful to look for landmarks in the text to help you keep track of what’s next. For instance, if your character is telling a story about her birthday party, where she got a pet cat, but her mom didn’t want her to have the cat, so her mom drove it to the shelter, but then her dad brought it back, you might remember just a few key words: party-cat-mom-shelter-dad. This way, even if you forget a few words here or there, you’ll remember the general direction you need to go in.

Spaced repetitions are especially useful for memorizing monologues. Read the whole thing, then set a timer for 15 minutes. Do something else, and when the timer goes off, recite the whole thing again. Rinse and repeat. By getting busy with something else and almost forgetting what you’ve worked on, then reminding yourself just as you memory is starting to flag, you strengthen your memory much more than repeated recitations over a shorter window of time would.

It’s important not to underestimate a monologue. Don’t try to cram and learn it all the night before your audition: it won’t go well!

How to Memorize a Scene

It’s easier in some ways to memorize a scene than a monologue, since you have other people in the scene with you to help you stay on track. Of course, there’s always the possibility that they might mess their lines up, so it’s critical to make sure you know yours even if they don’t know theirs.

It’s very important to memorize the cue lines that come before your lines. You may know all your lines, but if you don’t know when to say them, you’ll be lost. Line flashcards can be helpful for this.

Practicing as a group or with a friend is great when working on scenes. Try running lines together before or after rehearsal, or whenever there’s downtime during rehearsal. The benefit of practicing with others is that you’ll start to pick up on their quirks of characterization or delivery, and those emotions can help your brain strengthen the memory of the lines.

If your friends are too busy to practice with you, you can try recording your lines on an audio recording app to practice them by yourself.

How to Memorize Song Lyrics

Memorizing song lyrics is usually easier than lines because you’ll have the music to keep you on track. If you’re struggling, though, or need to memorize song lyrics fast, there are a lot of little tricks you can try.

One technique for memorizing song lyrics is to write out the last word of each line, or the rhyming word of each line (these are usually one in the same, but not always). For instance, for the first stanza of the song “Safer” from First Date is as follows:

I know that I have issues,
I face them, I swear
Think I overcome them
then turn, they're still there
Wish that I was different
I'd like to let go
But when I try to change
There's my past saying "no"

If you’re having a hard time remembering these, you might write out, issues/swear, them/there, different/go, change/no. Listening for the rhymes can help you remember what comes next: if you know the next line has to end in a word that rhymes with go, you might be closer to remembering “no.”

Another tip for memorizing song lyrics is to listen to the music behind the words. You may find little musical flourishes that help you remember what the words are. When performing the song, you’ll also have an easier time following the accompanist or orchestra (or pre-recorded track) if you’ve been paying attention to exactly how the music sounds at each line.

How To Memorize a Script Fast

If you need to memorize a whole script quickly, you’ll want to work in sections to make the full text more approachable. Work on a chunk of a page or two at a time, and only add more pages when you feel decently confident about what you did before. Work your way through the script section by section, periodically going back to review the section before your current section. Don’t try to start from the beginning every single time– you’ll find that the start will be really solid, but you’ll forget everything else!

Much like I suggested in the how to memorize a monologue section, it might be helpful to paraphrase or summarize each section of the script. If you know “on this page, I tell him off for talking to my girlfriend” and “on the next, I punch him for it,” then you’ll be able to follow the general flow of the plot even if you misremember a line or two.

Making an audio recording of your lines is really helpful for rapid memorization, because 1) you can listen and rehearse hands-free while cooking, driving, or applying makeup, and 2) you can physically speed up the recording to go play more quickly if time is short.

Ultimately, though, the best way to memorize a script is to take it slow and steady: practice a little every day, and review regularly. Cramming a script at the last minute isn’t very effective.

Famous Actor Memorization Techniques

Everyone learns differently, so examining different techniques for memorizing lines can be helpful. What works for one person may not work for you, and that memorization tool you use for every single production might be useless to a friend. I have my own personal methods I like to use. Trying out a lot of ideas and seeing which ones stick can be very useful.

Here are some techniques famous actors use to memorize their lines:

• Robert Downey Jr. writes out the first letter of every word he has to memorize. In an interview with Today, he gave the example T-N-S-I-M-G, which he says stands for, “there’s no shame in my game.”
• Terry Crews uses a method I suggested earlier in this article: he records his lines using a voice recording app and listens to them on a loop. This way, he can work on memorizing lines even while exercising. Michael Barra similarly records lines so he can work on them without asking a friend or family member to read the scene with him.
• Anthony Hopkins said he read his scripts over 200 times in order to memorize them. Like I said before, this probably isn’t the most time-effective option, but who am I to argue with Anthony Hopkins? Repetition is a necessity for learning any new material.
• Tom Holland says he waits to learn his lines until the day of filming, which probably isn’t the best advice for new actors– but he claims it helps him stay flexible and take direction in the moment. He says that all lines fall into three categories: “asking a question,” “answering a question,” or “telling a story,” and that remembering when your character is doing which can help you remember what you’re supposed to say.
• John C McGinley writes out his lines longhand and annotates the page with actionable verbs. He also practices his lines while juggling (yes, literally, that’s not a metaphor) to test his knowledge and ensure he’s ready.
• Sarah Paulson also writes out her lines, and sometimes records them, and also suggests getting up and moving around while practicing. Like McGinley, she likes to test herself: “If you can do all your lines while making dinner, you probably know them pretty well.”
• Brittany Snow also advocates getting up and moving, saying she’ll pace around her apartment while running lines with her husband.

This really illustrates that everyone is unique when it comes to memorization. Experiment and try lots of different methods so you can figure out the ones you like best!

Final Thoughts

Learning how to memorize lines is only a small part of learning to act, but it’s an extremely crucial one. There are a million ways to answer the question how do actors learn their lines?, which is both reassuring and frightening. On the one hand, it means there really is no wrong way to do it. On the other, it means there are many ways to try it, and that requires experimentation.

If you have any favorite methods of memorization for acting, drop them in the comments so we can try them out!