Hey everyone,
So because I am trying to memorize Launce's first giant speech (about his dog...of course), I thought I would ask everyone about what they do to memorize. I'm having quite a difficult time memorizing this because it's not verse so I don't have a set rhythm to rely on. The speech does, however, have A LOT of repetition.
The other thing that's daunting about this speech, for me at least, is the huge amount of audience contact it contains. I'm not super familiar with audience contact moments and how to do it. My only knowledge about it is watching lots of ASC productions and the one day we spent on it in Dr. Cohen's class. So I think it will be interesting to see how the audience contact moments work out.
Steph
Hey. So, my normal technique for memorizing prose is to first create sections of text separated by "beats." A beat, if you're unfamiliar, is any time in the monologue when you change the tactics you use to achieve whatever goal it is that the monologue is trying to do. An example would be if you were trying to get sympathy from an audience and you first tried to plead your case (but it doesn't work) then you try to associate with the audience (and that doesn't work) then you bad mouth the person who wronged you, and so on. After I figure out where the beats are I try to figure out the logical connections between them. Usually by then the general ideas and shape of the monologue are pretty engrained in my head so then it's just repetition to get the exact wording.
ReplyDeleteFlash cards aren't a bad idea either. Actually write out your lines on an index card on one side, and your cue line on the other. It helps you get the lines into your head, and then allows you to quiz yourself without a scene partner. This has the added advantage of teaching you your cues.
ReplyDeleteRepetition, repetition, repetition. I repeat sections over and over again until they are in. With Launce, I've been breaking it down into the actual sentences presented by the punctuation we have. Then I start repeating the entire beat together until that's cemented for me.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm a physical person so the only way I can memorize is to be up on my feet and moving around. Doing the wishes, taking a shower, etc.