For actors

How to memorize lines fast

Say them out loud, against the cue, with less and less help. That is the whole method. The drill below does the "less help" part: your lines go from full text to first letters to blank, and the other parts stay in, so you always know your cue.

Free line drill

Paste your scene, pick your part, then work down the three steps. Everything stays in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

Put each name before its line, like JULIET: line, or put the name in capitals on its own line above the speech. In steps 2 and 3, tap your line to check it. Print gives you a cue sheet at the step you are on.

LineHarbor

Want the other parts read out loud? A scene partner on your iPhone that waits for your cue. Free to start.

Get it on the App Store

The method, step by step

1. Learn the cue with the line. Your line starts when the other person's ends. Drill them as a pair, never your lines alone.
2. Read, then first letters, then nothing. Each step makes you pull the words from memory instead of reading them. Pulling from memory builds it far better than rereading.
3. Say it out loud. At the volume and pace you will play it. Mouthing the words in your head does not stick the same way.
4. Work in chunks. One speech or a short run of lines at a time. Add the next chunk only when the first one holds at step 3.
5. Move while you run it. If you know the blocking, walk it. Lines tied to a move come back with the move.
6. Sleep on it. Run the scene before bed and again in the morning. Sleep is when memory settles.
7. Run it with a reader. A friend, a recording of the other parts, or an app. You need to hear the cue, not read it.

Memorizing lines in one night

Go straight to the cues and the first words of each of your lines. Those are what you blank on. Run the scene at step 2 a few times out loud, then step 3, then sleep, even for a few hours, and run it once more in the morning.

Questions

Is the drill free?

Yes. No account, no limit. Your scene is saved in this browser so it is still there next time.

Is my script uploaded?

No. The drill runs in your browser and never sends the script anywhere.

Can it read a PDF script?

The drill takes pasted text. LineHarbor on iPhone imports PDF scripts, scanned ones too, and finds the characters and cues for you.

What does LineHarbor add?

A reader that speaks every other part with the voices on your iPhone, listening that waits until you have said your line, loops for hard passages and hidden lines when you are ready. It works offline. Free with one imported scene, and LineHarbor Pro removes the limit.

LineHarbor is made by Karolis Valatka, who wrote this page. Questions: info@kv-software.com.