How are actors able to memorize so many lines?
"A Christmas Carol" at the Guthrie, "The Grinch" at Children's Theatre and "White Christmas" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre — whether a play with pros or a school production, it's peak time for performances.
But have you ever wondered how the actors memorize so many lines? A neurologist says everyone could strengthen their memories by taking cues from actors.
At Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, the lead characters in "White Christmas" are played by Ann Michels and Michael Gruber. The pair have been prepping for months, memorizing lines.
"I have to go bit by bit in microunits," Michels said.
"Every day, I give it a good hour," Gruber said.
That seems to be the consensus of how to get from pages to stages
Shanan Custer teaches acting at the University of St. Thomas and she teaches her students how to memorize.
"Taking the time to immerse yourself in those words on the daily, and that's what does it," Custer said.
Dr. Shauna Yuan teaches neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She says repetition is important.
"There's a part in our brain called the hippocampus. I call it the information center," Yuan said. "It goes there and the brain is able to group a group of cells together. And they now become connected and that becomes a memory. And that memory becomes consolidated over time as you practice over and over and over, and that memory becomes stronger and stronger and stronger."
She says repetition and context are key to memorization, which explains why the actors WCCO spoke with all said it's easy to remember lines when they are blocking scenes.
Yuan says science confirms rehearsal is where the magic happens. She says moving around and matching movement to word, "Evokes a lot of emotion, evokes your environment. All of that gets together to make a memory more special and more memorable, and your brain is able to process that so you won't forget."
Yuan says practice makes perfect and so does sleep.
"Sleep is a big part. It's being processed and being filed away, and the next time you need that memory, your brain says, 'Oh, it's right there.'"
"White Christmas" is playing at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre through Feb. 7. Tickets are still available and shows run 6 days a week.
