Learning lines as an actor of a certain age
PRIME’s Co-Artistic Director Alison Edwards finds learning lines at her current age is a more of a challenge than learning Shakespeare in her 30s.
Is it harder to memorize lines as we age? We asked four actors for their take on eliminating the need to constantly repeat, “Line, please.”
By Nancy Monroe
PRIME’s Co-artistic Director Alison Edwards’ technique for learning lines has changed over the years, but she still starts by repeating a phrase from her first line, adding on additional phrases until she has memorized the entire line and then the entire passage and then the entire play.
For Angie Timberman, who did two one-woman shows in 2024, including ANN for PRIME, learning lines is especially challenging because there’s no scene partner to pass the ball to.
For Bob Malos, who played one of the brothers in PRIME’s For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday, the trick is to highlight passages and read them over and over, sometimes right before bed, sometimes repeating them as he drives.
And for Kurt Schulz, also one of the brothers in the latest PRIME production, his favorite thing to do is to literally take the script for a walk, reading or reciting out loud.
While everyone’s technique is different, all four actors agreed that getting older has made learning lines more difficult than earlier in their careers.
“I never used to learn lines until we went into rehearsals,” Alison said. “There used to be five to six weeks of full days (of rehearsals), and that’s easier than sitting in your living room trying to learn the lines.” The difference, she explained, is that when you learn lines at a rehearsal you can hold the script in your hand while moving. So in essence, you’re learning blocking and the lines at the same time.
Ironically, memorizing Shakespeare is easier than many contemporary plays, Alison said, because “the rhythm tells you what the words should be. It’s like learning music, you’ve got the rhythm that tells you where you’re going. And your ear can tell when the word is wrong.”
What’s not helpful, she adds, is a too helpful cohort. “An actor helping you with your lines is annoying,” she said. Who can’t relate! It’s like rubbing your face in the fact that they know your lines and you don’t.
And learning two of three different plays or parts at the same time is akin to playing basketball, baseball and football all in the same season.
“I'm so glad I gave my brain the workout I got from memorizing some 70 pages of text for those plays, all in the same year, but it nearly killed me,” Angie said about her one-woman shows. “And yes, your brain doesn't retain the lines like it used to. I'm finding as I age, when I'm challenged or asked to do something that scares me, I try to talk myself into doing it. I'm hoping it keeps me nimble.”
And while there’s tricks, such as writing down the lines, using an app designed to read lines back to you or enlisting your mother to read the other parts, there’s only one thing that’s tried and true.
“When I was a younger actor I was pretty good at learning lines during the rehearsal process. It takes a lot more now,” Kurt said. “I can’t say there is any one thing other than repetition, repetition and repetition.”
And when all else fails, Alison said, laughing, “I found taking Lions Mane (a mushroom supplement) helps immensely.”