Glad to have this topic going, thanks to all posters now and in the future. Some great ideas coming through.  Some thoughts in reply:

Jayzerh: “If you have them (the lines) so firmly in mind…” – and that’s key.  If not, I don’t think this is a good technique for line memorization. If lines are down cold, then I can see some benefit from the occasional or one-time use of the speed read.

Also “an actor stops *acting* and just says the lines and it is actually much better than what they've been doing.”  This is true, and can come out of such approach.  I’ll also have them run the moment emotionally polar, a dramatic moment for laughs, a comedic moment for tears. Find a different way to say it once, and a breakthrough can occur, but then you work that back into doing it the “right way.”

Topper: “it forces one to listen for cues and say the words as written.”  Actually I think most actors (I say most but I may be wrong) aren’t listening to the other actor but are waiting for what they believe is the end of the other actor’s line no matter what he says, preparing to spit out what they think is their next line whether it's on-script or not.  I’d like to experiment and have one actor deliberately switch the last cue word at the end of sentence, or drop or add words within the sentence, and see if the other actors gets appropriately befuddled or just regurgitates what they are prepared to say regardless.

I do agree it tends to get actors to drop all those annoying “uhs” and “ers” and “well”s that aren’t in the script, the little characterizations they so often add in because they’re “acting”. And it's funny how they never hear themselves saying those otherwise.

MartyW: “many people or kinesthetic learners and must actually be doing the actions and business.”  Truth be told, I often work on my lines while driving to work or to rehearsal, and I nail them.  Trouble is, the play does not take place in my car.  I often tell the cast to set up their living rooms as best they can to reflect the stage, sets and props included, and run their lines moving around in the space using their hands with props, because if you just learn your lines by sitting at a table staring at the script, once you have to stand up, walk around, and pick up something, it’s like someone gave you a big wad of gum and you choke.  You see this a lot with the first off book rehearsal when the actors have no idea what to do with their hands anymore, and can’t remember where they’re supposed to move because except for the rehearsal time they’ve only “thought” it when working on their lines at home. And I always caution them prior to NOT use the script as a prop, because it doesn’t exist in the show.

I also see it a lot when we’ve got props that need to be dealt with on a certain line, and at the first few off-book rehearsals where props are now brought heavily into the mix they often forget to pick them up.  Too many times while holding a script, picking up a prop with the “page-turning” hand now creates more problems, as well.  So even if you’re using props while on-book, they aren’t handled correctly because the actor's focus is on the script, and their “prop hand” is used to turn pages.

JoeMc: “when they are off book & having difficulties, because of rapid cross over dialogue.”  Yes, I have used the speed technique here to get the actors to get that cross over timing.  But if I make them run it a half dozen times, the first time is fast as can be, the second a little slower, and we work our way to performance speed at the last time, so they get to “feel” it as it should be, tight but not faster than it should play.

Thanks to everyone, I just may start using it a little to see if I notice any improvements. 

Marty - I agree there is a difference there.  I don't use rehearsal as an opportunity to work with actors on their line memorization skills.  We can discuss some techniques for it, but that is the actor's job at home or wherever.  Rehearsal is for putting the big picture together, including blocking and scene flow among others.

As for the taping, I know it is helpful for some, and I have had actors tape the first read through for that purpose. But I always tell them to use it only to learn the words, not the "how" of saying them, because the other actors' lines are "frozen in time" on the tape, and will never sound like that again.

I also read somewhere recently that the whole purpose of the rehearsal was to work on the mechanics of saying the words in the right order and so forth.  The "how" of saying them (emotional context, inflection, etc) is to be reserved for the performance, that is what the "acting" part of live theatre is all about.  I'm not fully on-board with that theory, but I like the concept that if you don't commit yourself to saying a line a certain way (angry, sarcastic, etc) that you can deliver it a little differently depending on how the other actor feeds you, and the performance becomes much more alive.

Originally posted by jayzehr Originally posted by theactordavid I also read somewhere recently that the whole purpose of the rehearsal was to work on the mechanics of saying the words in the right order and so forth.  The "how" of saying them (emotional context, inflection, etc) is to be reserved for the performance, Do you remember where you read that? I'd be interested in taking a look at that.

Top of my head, no.  But it was fairly recently so I might be able to put my finger on the source in the near future.  I'd almost suspect it to be Mamet's "True and False", but I'll find it and post back in a couple days. We've got closing weekend for our show, so with that, the cast party, and strike, I'll be a wee tad pre-occupied.  Stay tuned....

More or less, it comes down to (and I paraphrase him here) Stanislavski's ultimate comment:  If it works for you, it's right.  And that is a truth. 

Oddly, I've read of directors from both ends of the spectrum.  This one who won't begin blocking until the cast is off-book, so the script does not become an impediment, that one who won't hand out scripts until the blocking is done, so the words flow "organically" from the movement.

There's a lot of room in between for everyone. :) 

interesting.  How do you go about learning or recording your blocking without a script?  Or is it such generic blocking (wander aimlessly, pace with agitation) that you don't need to write it down?  Or if you are only writing down key words with the blocking, how does that help the words to flow organically from the movement?  I'm pretty sure I'm missing something here.