ACTORS - Tips on memorizing lines?

Question:I'm taking an acting class. I have a really hard time memorizing lines.
I know there just MUST be some tricks, other than just reading it over and over to myself.
Any tips?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I'm taking an acting class. I have a really hard time memorizing lines.
I know there just MUST be some tricks, other than just reading it over and over to myself.
Any tips?

First of all, never, ever, ever, "Memorize" your lines. LEARN your lines. yes there is a difference. Read them over and over. Dont watch tv or listen to the radio while you learn your lines. Try getting a tape recorder and reading your lines onto them. Then you can listen to them. Break A Leg!!!

It depends on how you learn but I find it a little easier once I'm fairly familiar with the lines to write them down. Writing them really helps me remember them easier.

keep reading it and try to memorize,it by covering it up and trying to figure out what it is

-read them a few times right before bed, you remember stuff in your sleep.
-walk around as you are reading them outloud.

Several things help me. One of them is simply taking the script with me whereever i am. Riding in the car? Read your lines. Waiting in the lunch line? Read some lines. In the stands at a basketball game? Pull them out. When you do this, try not to be physically trying to memorize them. When i try to do that, my brain gets kind of blocked up. Just read them. Soon the repetition will become familiar and without realizing it you'll have a good portion of them down. Another thing that hepls me is singing them. It sounds stupid i know, but when you stomp out a rhythem or hum it in the shower, there's kind of a mental connection that goes on there. You've just got to find something that works for you. Writing them, singing them, running lines with other people (which is important), whatever works for you.

When you read the lines to yourself, do you read them aloud?
I find that if I both read and hear them at the same time, the lines stay in my memory more easily. I also really agree with what the others have said. Good Luck :)

SING them. The girl that said that before me is not stupid! :) It WORKS! :) Other than that, just try to read your lines as MUCH as you can, even if it's at the dinner table, or when you're using the bathroom. Hahaha, that's horrible, but it really works!

Good luck! :)

put them to a rhythm or make them into a song, or just keep on practicing

INSTEAD OF JUST READING THEM BY YOURSELF - MAKE AN EXTRA COPY AND HAVE A FRIEND/RELATIVE READ WITH YOU. TRY TO CONCENTRATE ON LISTENING TO THEM AND DO NOT READ ALONG WITH THEIR LINES. AFTER YOU DO IT A FEW TIMES - PUT THE SCRIPT DOWN AND HAVE YOUR FRIEND "PROMPT" YOU BY HELPING YOU WITH THE FIRST FEW WORDS OF EACH LINE IF YOU FORGET. YOU WILL LEARN MUCH FASTER BY NOT LOOKING DOWN.
AND IN ADDITION TO THIS - READ YOUR LINES RIGHT BEFORE YOU GO TO SLEEP - THE MIND RETAINS THEM MUCH BETTER WHILE YOUR SLEEPING - HONEST!

I've been acting for a while now and teaching for about 2 years. The girl above me suggested exactly what I was going to type. Taping yourself and listening to your lines really works. That's what I usually do at first. That and she's 100% right about learning your lines versus memorizing. You'll be setting yourself up to freeze up on stage if you memorize them.