Two for you--have the students say their lines quickly while throwing a ball back and forth--it gets them out of their heads. If they mess up, they have to start again.
I also personally use an app called Script Rehearser (Android) to help me learn lines. There is something similar for I phones available as well. You can download or type in your lines, and the app will run through them for you, beeping and holding for you to practice saying your lines first if you put it in the settings. I can run lines while walking, rather than always having to have the script in front of me. Very helpful!
------------------------------
Ruthie Tutterow
Director of Fine and Performing Arts
Greensboro Day School
Greensboro NC
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 10-09-2017 09:47
From: Heather Cribbs
Subject: Theatre Games or Techniques for Memorization
Following for my own reference. My theatre 1s are going to start memorizing monologues this week and I'll take all the help I can get!
------------------------------
Heather Cribbs
Theatre Director
New Smyrna Beach High School
New Smyrna Beach, FL
Original Message:
Sent: 10-06-2017 18:15
From: Ryan Moore
Subject: Theatre Games or Techniques for Memorization
This may or may not be the proper forum for this question, but the archives of the EdTA publications were mentioned in this strain, so consider me triggered (humor intended). Am I the only one who finds accessing back issues of our two EdTA journals very glitchy? I regularly get a message that says "you're not logged in, you are viewing the public preview" or something like that. But....I am logged in. I see my picture in the upper right corner and everything. I am often frustrated by this because, obviously, access to Teaching Theatre and Dramatics are perks of our paid membership in the organization.
------------------------------
Ryan Moore
Theatre Teacher and Forensics Coach
Royal Oak MI
Original Message:
Sent: 10-06-2017 11:56
From: Cassy Maxton-Whitacre
Subject: Theatre Games or Techniques for Memorization
There's a great article ("Memory Play") in the Spring 2015 Teaching Theatre. It has a lot of exercises, several of which I've used in class. I think you can search the EdTA database to find it.
------------------------------
Cassy Maxton-Whitacre
Theatre Department Coordinator
Fishersville VA
Original Message:
Sent: 10-05-2017 11:59
From: Keith Burns
Subject: Theatre Games or Techniques for Memorization
Word Association circle - Students speak a word somehow associated with the previous word spoken by whoever is next to them. This continues around the circle many times. (Example: Leaf > tree > wood > fire > camp > tent > zipper > jeans > pants --- etc. I emphasize that students are hyper aware of the mental associations between each word (not only their own, but around the entire circle.) Eventually, we start over and repeat the same words in the same order. (I do not forewarn them we will do this.) After we recreate the circle of associations spoken one person at a time, we then recreate it in the same order with every person saying every word. The point is that the words have not been memorized, but connected to a train of thought, which is what I emphasize in line "memorization". Then in scene rehearsals, I emphasize that they pay particular attention to why their character says what they say when they say it (with scripts in hand) for an initial rehearsal of a scene. Then they put scripts down and recreate the scene focusing on why they say what they say (from "memorization"). The scenes are mostly "off book" by the third run.
------------------------------
Keith Burns
Theatre Arts Director
Paradise Valley AZ
Original Message:
Sent: 10-04-2017 11:22
From: Sarah Wahlen
Subject: Theatre Games or Techniques for Memorization
Hello friends,
Does anyone have any great theatre games or activities that you employ during rehearsals to help with memorization?
Thank you!
Sarah
------------------------------
Sarah Aanderud Wahlen
Director of Theatre & Film
Holy Names Academy
Seattle, WA
------------------------------