Related Topic:
Last time, I spoke about Chunking and Multi-linking. Chapter 8 and 9 talks about contextual factors and varying the environment. I am returning to jotting down notes on paper as this book, and people I’ve met, instructed me to write down what I see or hear by hand because it supports the motor nerves.
This question continues to enter my mind: What does a theater/actor curriculum in college looks like? As a basis, going by a layout from UoM (University of Michigan)’s Bachelor of Fine Arts and Theater performance, split into Fall and Winter terms in 4 years:
And of course there are additional electives such as prison theatre, voiceover, contemporary and historical drama. It was curiosity when I see the education of greats like Gary Oldman and Toni Colette; the former in particular paid for his own studies in the U.K. Toni joined at a youth theatre in Australia. Studying engaging topics that are relatable makes it easier to memorize. Reading about Larry Moss, there is much emphasis on script analysis and entering/becoming the character (and below, I mention how the company of others help memory).
Did I digress? It’s possible, but as Ispas explains memorization, I seek the answer as to how people remember scripts and monologues, even in a short time. A strange “phenomenon” supports your memory depending on your location or who you see. In one study, according to the book, scuba divers were asked to remember words while underwater or on a boat. I may have misunderstood this part; either they remembered the most when they were underwater or they remember by changing their environment, meaning the water and the boat. Is it because they pritorized their work in or near the water as scuba divers? Which leads to the techniques of “mentally imagining a varying environment” and “varying physical activities”. Physical activities was mentioned in a previous chapter, to which Ispas suggests VARYING the activities as well. We don’t want a certain line or list to be connected to a certain “movement/activity” such as waving hands. “If you remember something with your eyes closed, make sure you remember with your eyes open”. In other words, don’t lock what you are remembering to a certain habit.
Can you remember walking into the kitchen, taking a mental note of what to shop for and then walking out of the kitchen just to forget? It happens to me a lot. To remedy this, I write down a list, but I feel like I am required to make a list. As I do that, it’ll feel like I must do a list for anything related to memory. There are times that I do remember everything (or I miss an item or two), which leads to believe that I should not highly depend on the written list. I know that I am a tea lover; I like milk and cereal, and I know I need towels, powered ginger, and trash bags. I found them, or I made them, to be fundamental. “If I don’t have these, daily life might be tough.” Don’t you just hate running out of toilet paper?
Ispas also mentions that the presence of others helps the memorization because you don’t want to exclusively to yourself. Fortunately, and understandably, this is a page called “Memorizing dialogue” that talks about the context of the lines from the actor OPPOSITE of you. On the first attempt, do your own lines; 2nd attempt, do lines of both you and the other person. This creates an interspersion in familiarity because of the lines’ setting/environment. Kind of like “cat and dog” or “dog and bones” (this is also important of Improv).
Chapter 9 is about scheduling and Chapter 10 is about the right mindset. I do believe that motivation and enthusiasm helps with memory. Ispas states that the motivation for actors for line memory is “fear”.
Which reminds me of two videos from Sakurai Masahiro: “Do do do!” Game Dev and Director Sakurai Masahiro’s advice on Motivation and Game Dev and Director Sakurai Masahiro explains the Power of Suggestion
Planes and Books and Games 