July 6, 2022

In this video, you will learn how to learn never memorize a monologue quickly. In the last video, we talked about how to choose a monologue for an audition and this is seemingly counterintuitive. But in choosing the material don't read the whole script first it's really important. You need to page through and look at a chunk of words. Does it have a beginning, a middle, and an end, without references to other characters and other parts of the play or the film script. That's really really important. Then later once you deem it this is a good choice for you and you love it. Don't do anything you don't love, okay? Play the love, it's all you need, play the love. You love it, we're gonna love it. So, then of course, you're going to read the whole script and you're going to highlight what other characters say about the character you're playing, be sure you do that. There are clues in how to play the role. If it's an audition and you have very brief preparation time I would not read the whole script. I put all my time into learning the material you've been asked to play and go through it and look at all the other scenes your character has so you have an idea of the ark or the architecture of it. How to learn a monologue quickly? Never memorize. You know when you're in the school playing people are like, "Oh my gosh, Tom, how do you learn those words so quickly?", right, "How do you...memorize all those words?", I go, "Well, it's not the hardest part. Here's how to rehearse anything folks. We all speak monologues every day. We don't think about it. Because it's not a monologue until you look at it in hindsight. It's not a monologue, it's a series of now moments. So, how to learn never memorize quickly. Because memorization implies the left lobe of your brain only. Learning is from the top of your head to the tip of your toes, okay. So, here's how to learn or how to rehearse or re-hear like this. Never work on a line for less than five minutes and walk around your home, sit on the couch, sit in a chair, go lie by the pool if you have a friend with one if you don't have one yourself, do push-ups, doing those words, and get them in your body, and make sure you have a reason to say these words. Because if you memorize the words disconnected from your emotional self.

If you get when you get because you need to get emotional. You have to have an emotional connection to this material. You will suddenly not remember the words because they only were in one part of your brain not in your own person. So, a word to write down justify, justify everything. Why am I saying what I'm saying? Why am I doing what I'm doing? It's critical that you justify every word you speak and every move you make. Got that again? Justify every word you speak and every move you make otherwise, it's just wrote memorization. Now, do another line. Now, do another line. I guarantee, you will never forget a line again because it's in your body and you made an emotional connection to it, right? So, and before you know it you will have learned a monologue. Now, actors are scared of monologues just like they're scared of Shakespeare. They see a chunk of words and go, "Oh my God, how do I do that?", well, you're not going to do that you're going to do this and then you're going to do this and then you can do this... and then you're going to go down a line this... The architecture of moving down the page is much like the contractor building but it goes up and in past videos we talked about different techniques of acting. The technique that I've cultivated is born of the film and television set which is very fast. Because you need to make very strong choices very quickly and feel great about them. Once again craft plus commitment equal confidence and career. Write it down, nobody can argue with it. Craft plus commitment equal confidence in career. Okay, so, why do we memorize? Why does the word memorization even happen? Well, because in the school play we all got such positive reinforcement from our ability to memorize words and as I said that was my Uncle Jack Oh Thomas how do you remember all those words. Going ,that's not what it's about it's about your personalization. So, write down the word personalization. We need to get to know you through these words. So, the first, the most important thing with any speech is to personalize it. When you personalize it we are compelled to hire your person. But remember, the school play you were not paid to be in. Actually, your parents probably paid school taxes or if you were blessed to go to a private school which I did not. They paid money for you to be in this play. Now, you're saying that my craft and my commitment to this craft is so profound you ought to pay me and take a night of your life and dedicate it to watching this program. Because again, the monologue that we talked about in other videos the importance of the monologue you'll never meet a violinist or a Pianist or a dancer that says, "Yeah, you know I don't rehearse, I'm a natural", right, actors say stuff like this, can you believe it? Believe it, it happens. Like when I lived on west 67th street, when I was at Juilliard the building, was like fame. Because there were violinists there were opera singers when you were waiting for the elevator all you heard were people practicing their craft. I found that in the building that I lived in there was a storage room and I got the super to give me a key when I had an audition or well actually I did it dail.y I got the super to give me a key daily and I would go to the basement where I could yell and make big sounds etc... So, the importance of the monologue you need to make big sounds every day and not be afraid of your own voice. Don't be afraid of your own voice, right. Working your voice is a daily choice. So, do you like this video? Please like it. So, love this video, subscribe to this channel and learn two monologues every three months. Well, you know, we talk a lot about love because any piece any story if it doesn't have every story as an actor is about you engaged in a love relationship with something. It can be a dog. It could be your mom. It can be a partner. It can be botany but it's got to be about love. Because love is the greatest universal and that's what got us all here in the first place. So, when you work daily on a monologue, you will find you can learn never memorize. You can learn them very quickly because you've created a connection between what you're thinking and what you're feeling. So, something else to write down, this is how we're all wired up.  We have a feeling which produces a thought and then we take action. So, write down feeling, thought, action. Danger is feeling thought no action, feeling thought anxious, feeling thought, feeling thought, feeling thought. This is why it's important for you daily to take action for your craft. Because whether you realize it or not we are always transmitting and receiving in life right and when you are not in action, you are not open to receiving. I think of it as divine guidance and a future video so talk about. There are so many things in my life being from Buffalo New York that don't make logical sense but they make spiritual sense. Feeling thought action, feeling thought action. Mr. Hamlet has forced soliloquies one of them you may have heard of begins to be or not to be but how It ends is and lose the name of action. So, I invite you to take action come to our Saturday class and take action. See you then.