SEE THE LINES AS “IDEAS”

I cannot stress enough the importance of seeing your character’s lines as IDEAS, and not just as a series of words in a certain order.

You must make sure to understand the idea of the line, for it is the only way to truly connect to the material. Only then will you be able to think the character’s thoughts.

Good news! This is much easier than it sounds, because the “idea” of the line is the same words as the line.

Take, for instance, the line:

“I have always loved you.”

The IDEA of the line is:

“I have always loved you.”

See, I told you it was easy!

It is merely a simple and subtle difference in the way you look at and perceive the line.

Instead of seeing the above line as five words strung together in a particular mathematical order, you now see that line as an idea.

When I say “the idea of the line” I’m not talking about some deep psychological meaning that you need to work hard at to figure out.

Instead I am talking about the most shallow, literal and obvious meaning of the line - which equals the idea of the line.

It’s as simple as pushing yourself, when memorizing, to put the bulk of your focus not on the words, but on their literal and obvious meaning. In other words, the “idea” of what you are saying.

If you are having difficulty with understanding the difference between seeing a line as “just a series of words” vs. an idea, then let me describe it another way:

When memorizing, simply ask yourself, “What does this line mean? Or, what do I mean when I say it?”

If, for instance, the line is:

“Please sit down, Mary.”

Then another way to state the idea of the line could be:

“I am asking her to sit down.”

Once you understand the idea of that line, you can see how, in the moment of performance, it will be fun to have a thought which creates in you an impulse to share the idea that you want someone to sit down, and then choose the words-

“Please, sit down, Mary.”

That’s all the audience craves to see - a real person, putting thoughts together and communicating.

The writer does the work to make it interesting.

The same simplicity can be applied to a seemingly emotionally complex line-

If, for instance, the line is: “You make me so angry.”

Then the idea of the line is: “You make me so angry.”

They sound alike, except that the first is just a series of 6 words strung together, while the second is the idea your character is sharing.

Once you understand that difference, you can enjoy having a thought surprise you, which then creates in you the impulse to share with someone the idea that they make you feel angry, and then choose the words-

“You make me so angry.”

Now, you may be thinking, “But I do need to have some emotion when I say a line like that.”

Don’t worry, you will! There’s no need to plan or attach an emotion to it. That will happen in the moment of performance.

Trust that you understand the situation, and have faith that the emotion will happen naturally and spontaneously in the performance.

Don’t build the acting into the memorization. That’s how you come up with controlled line-readings. That’s being result-oriented.

The last thing you want to do is practice saying the line in an angry way. You’ll just end up with the same cliché “yelling” that most everyone else will do. Be original and real.

Maybe you’ll end up yelling the line, who knows, but at least your performance will happen organically in the moment.

Another great thing about seeing the lines as “ideas” is that this will make memorizing MUCH easier. Trust me! You will feel as though you are absorbing the lines, versus memorizing them. You will own them.

And, you will no longer feel the pressure of saying every line word-perfect. Because now you understand the line, and are not involved in simply “getting the words right”.

There’s nothing wrong with paraphrasing a little at an audition - this ain’t Shakespeare! If anything, paraphrasing can show that you understand the idea of the line, and haven’t just memorized a sequence of words.