Best Rehearsal Apps for Actors Needing to Learn Their Lines

The first step in achieving great results when it comes to knowing your lines is being familiar with the schedule. A rehearsal schedule for a play or film can differ depending on the project, but knowing how long you have before you have to be off book or perform is essential. You should make sure to mark out all the key dates on your calendar app so you can keep on track. As you prepare for a play, this will help you to break up your memorization routine into smaller sections so you can do a little bit at a time without having to cram everything last minute. Or if you're shooting a few different scenes for multiple film projects, you can know which dialogue to prioritize learning. Keep in mind that your rehearsals are a good chance to memorize too. Especially for the theatre rehearsal process, every single rehearsal from scene analysis and table work to blocking and polishing is a chance to understand what your character is saying and see how your lines are connected to the full story.

Whether you've booked a job acting on stage or screen, or you're enjoying the art as a hobby for school or community theatre, at some point you're going to need to just buckle down and study your lines. There are many different techniques and ways to memorize dialogue, so you can find a way for memorizing lines that works best for you and the way your brain operates. If you're a visual learner, you should make sure to have your script readily accessible as a PDF on your phone or loaded into an app so you can be productive and study a scene or learn a monologue while you wait in line at the cafe. Or if you're more of an auditory learner, you can get a learning lines app that allows you to voice record your lines or record your cue lines to test your knowledge as you study for a play. Some people even find it best to write their lines out, so you could message back and forth with your scene partner or call them to run lines. With the right tools, you'll find that memorization isn't so hard. You could even learn lines in a day if you had to.

The last step in locking in your lines is  getting them in your body. It might sound a bit odd, but even just saying each word as you do certain warm ups and stretches will help you with your memorization. If you have a voice recorder app that you can play back your lines, it will help in this lock-up process. It's also a really good idea to incorporate your lines into your 7 Minute Vocal Warm Up as well. You can also search through acting group networks and blogs for theatre rehearsal techniques or rehearsal games that involve memorizing techniques for the cast, such as doing super fast "Italian Runs" in a reading rehearsal or guided meditation and visualization for each section of dialogue. By the time opening night rolls around, you'll have rehearsed in so many different ways that you'll be more confident than ever and won't have to worry about going up on a line.