Some months ago I started attending drama classes. Part of my training and skill development is to play the role of the infamous gangster Lady Montague – in a modern day version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet! One of it’s unique little twists, is to play the part with a cockney accent. No problem I thought – I used to be an avid fan of Eastenders (you may mock me but you can gedoudda mar Vic!) l’m a huge fan of East-end gangster movies and have been out with various cockney mates for a good ole ruby murray!
After the initial excitement, my next thought was…..arg how will I remember my lines word perfectly on the night! It would seem the repition of reading my piece over and over is an inefficient use of time. I have decided to apply a more strategic approach to this, using various methods and I hope my ongoing quest for memorisation may be of assistance to any other would-be actors out there.
Method
1: Repeating them outloud continuously like a drone
2: Writing the lines over and over and over…
3: Creating an mp3 audio clip of myself (and a helpful volunteer) reading the part aloud. Then listening to it repetatively untill I either no the lines off by heart, or want to fill my ears with cement!
3:Filming the rehearsals and them watching back to bring the play more alive, and make the lines more memorable!
4: Breaking the script into chunks and making cue cards to leave in strategic places around the house.
5: Self hypnosis!
I will keep you updated with my progress and findings to discover which seems to be the single most effective method/s.
If you have any helpful suggestions or questions please feel free to leave a comments.
Best wishes
Kaz
