Eddy is a seasoned trainer, actor, and author. For nearly two decades he has been helping aspiring actors develop a no nonsense approach to preparing for a life in the performing arts. He "hails" from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor with a BFA in Theatre Performance along with an MFA Wayne State University's Hilberry Theater in Detroit, Michigan. Jones has served as mentor for New Voices: Detroit, Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, Detroit Public Theatre, and The Detroit Repertory Theater.
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Remember what you memorized?
Published 10 months ago • 4 min read
mental downloadables
the quest log for to git gud in acting 'n stuff
"Most people don't need to be taught, they need only to be ...reminded."
C.S. Lewis · Writer of the Narnia World
The Main Event
Phew. You memorized your lines. Now what?
How to NOT Forget Your Lines as an Actor
You've been working really hard to get a monologue in your brains for you next audition. Good on you.
In fact you've remember at least 5 different scripts over the past six months. You're rocking it!
Tiny problem:
You can't remember them just a few weeks later.
no bueno
I mean you memorized them at some point, right?
They're in your brain somewhere. Somewhere.
But at that last audition they asked you if you had "something else" and you froze!
You thought:
"I think I remember that one monologue I did in high school?"
"Will they recognize this obscure pop song from an anime if I speak it like it's a monologue?"
"What was that poem I wrote for that poetry slam last summer?"
and then it hits you
You can't remember what you memorized!
Now you are gonna wonder for the rest of your life, if you had one more monologue prepared for that audition, would you have gotten cast?
Let's not let that happen.
Forever? ForEVER ... Ever ... Ever ... ever?
Here's how you can keep a library of monologues in your brain and essentially have something cool to say for every occasion. You'll be like your friend who can quote every single line in a Will Ferrell movie except you'll be able to do that with monologues.
It's time you've adopted the practice of Riding the F.L.O.E.W. of Review
but first
a side quest...
Quest Log for Monologues
A journal records a traveler's experiences during a journey.
Your acting career is a journey.
Every audition
Every monologue
Every rejection and redemption
is an epic quest to become the actor you know you were born to be.
That's why I recommend you keep a journal of all the monologues you memorize over the years in one place so that you can look at ... and have access to them any time you need 'em.
But, what exactly are we going to put in said journal???
From now on, you're gonna write the first letter of every word of every monologue you'll ever learn so that you won't completely forget them later.
So:
Go to a blank page in your Monologue Quest Log (Journal)
Get your script you are memorizing
Using your script (and making sure you do this correctly because we are depending on this document to be accurate), write the first letter of every word of the text that makes up your monologue. (Example: The line “O, had the gods done so…” would look like “O, h t g d s…"
When you are done your new verbatim ‘script’ may look something like:
The FLOEW worksheet from The "Off-Booked" Workbook
And on and on until you have the first letter of every word present in the continuous monologue on the opposite side of the same page.
Keep the punctuation when using this technique
Say each word out loud as you write its first letter to make sure that you are writing the correct word in the correct order (accuracy is important with this segment)
Attempt to go letter by letter and say the lines of the text (referring to your text if you get stumped on what to say next). This will reveal what part of the script you don’t know verbatim, and thus you know where to place your efforts with another imprinting.
Once you've got the F.L.O.E.W. written the only thing left to do is...
Review it!!!
Once a week
Before every audition
Waiting in line at the grocery store
Go over the first letter of every word of monologues you've already memorized and this should help you keep them in your brain long term.
in conclusion
You worked hard to memorize your monologues!
Don't forget them!
Remember (see what I did there):
Get a journal. A Monologue Quest Log
Write monologues down
Write the First Letter of Every Word of each monologue.
Review on a regular basis to keep the monologues stored in your long term memory.
With just 30 minutes a week you can keep your monologues fresh in your memory!
Time well spent
See you next week!
Need a Monologue Quest Log?
This workbook is designed to help you learn your lines with a systematic approach.
It shows you a simple 8 step process makes learning lines more like a meditation than a demoralizing mind melt.
Keep track of all your lines, audition monologues, and even speeches in one easy to access workbook.
Eddy is a seasoned trainer, actor, and author. For nearly two decades he has been helping aspiring actors develop a no nonsense approach to preparing for a life in the performing arts. He "hails" from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor with a BFA in Theatre Performance along with an MFA Wayne State University's Hilberry Theater in Detroit, Michigan. Jones has served as mentor for New Voices: Detroit, Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, Detroit Public Theatre, and The Detroit Repertory Theater.
mental downloadables one small email. one big acting idea. written just for you. "Monologues are kinda like credit, they're easier to come by when you don't need it!" Edmund Alyn Jones · Theatre Writer The Main Event Hey, I gotta a secret ... ... did you know you can "create" a monologue from scenes in a play? Well you can, homie-slice. You can! This is the super secret technique I use to make mo' betta' audition monologues. I call it ... The "Frankenstein" Monologue Method! (I know I missed...
mental downloadables one email. one big acting idea. written just for you. "No one can be you ... better than YOU!" Me · Acting Craft Writer The Main Event Your Acting Type Will Help You Find Type-Appropriate Monologues Listen to this email: Spotify Apple Audible Alright, we started talking about monologues last week, but I gotta confess, homie ... ... I kinda, sorta, skipped an important step. In order to find that perfect monologue ... ... you kinda, sorta gotta know who you are. It's good...
mental downloadables get memorized and perform under pressure "I like to think of monologue hunting like hygiene, it's best done everyday." Me · Memorization Junkie The Main Event "Read" this email with your ears: Spotify Apple Podcasts During a read through of my script with two of my colleagues (one still in college, another a veteran professional) they expressed their extreme frustration with finding audition monologues. It's been especially tough finding the perfect monologue for them....
