How do you learn all those lines?

If you have ever been to a theatre talk-back, you have heard this question before. Apparently, the answer is sometimes you don't. The NY Times ran an article in today's edition on that very subject. Read it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/theater/29actors.html

Line memorization is a real problem for me as a director. We call it mule work because it is something that just has to be done. I remind student actors over and over again that memorization has to happen before the real work of a rehearsal process can get started. Some students learn their lines right away and others wait and wait. It's really not fair to the show or to the other actors to struggle with lines until the final moments of dress rehearsals. I know that there have been several shows under my direction that have suffered a great deal because of poor line memorization.

I myself am not immune to this criticism. I must admist that as an occassional actor I have had my share of problems with line memorization. It is one of the reasons I act so infrequently . . . and also why I usually am mostly interested in smaller onstage roles.

I certainly understand Angela Landsbury using an earpiece to get a few line prompts at her age. I saw her recent Broadway production of BLITHE SPIRIT from the front row and did not notice an ear piece on her. However, I did notice a place where I thought she might have gone up on her lines but my perception was that her fellow actors picked them up for her. It did not alter my enjoyment of the show or of her outstanding performance.

I would have been greatly disappointed to see one of the other, much younger, performers wearing an earpiece or receiving prompts from the front row (as is discussed in the NY Times article).

I have never dismissed an actor for not learning their lines but I have considered it. I can't imagine offering a student actor an earpiece or an offstage prompter but I guess all things are possible. If Broadway actors such as Matthew Broderick require a prompter, it might not be long before we all ask for one.