Is there some special method to remembering an entire play or movie without having to refer to your lines? I can barely remember one paragraph of lines to the tee, let alone hundreds of pages of lines. Thanks!
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I’ve only taken an intro to acting class so take this with a grain of salt.
It’s mostly repetition. You break it down into pieces. Sometimes you need to improvise — you know roughly what your lines are but have forgotten the exact words, just try to get it as close to the heart of what the character says. Pay attention to your acting partner and their lines and cues. Some people have an easier time remembering lines if there’s choreography to go with it (i.e. I know when I say this speech that I start pacing around the room, and when I say this line, I stop pacing and face the stage).
I think most actors start small with short simple lines when they’re learning, and they work up to longer lines and monologues as they get more experience and work out methods of memorizing their scenes.
My acting class had three main assignments — a scene with no words where I’d work with two or more other people to put together a “music video” (so it’s mostly choreography. Mine was a boxing match), a two person scene with really basic lines that we can’t alter but we can alter tone and delivery to tell different stories (mine was an interrogation scene, and I was the criminal), and a two person scene from an actual play (we did Becky Shaw as a class). Each assignment had more skills and was a bit harder, but it got a little easier to do each time too. Just took practice, rehearsal, and good scene partners
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