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There is no magic way to learn lines that works for everyone. Some people have a natural talent for memorizing plain text easily and quickly, some don't. That's life. So in this article I won't be telling you "how to learn lines," because it's really up to you. What I can do is offer different tips I've picked up in my experience that may help you on your journey to getting off-book.

First, foremost, and perhaps most important: Speak the text. You will be speaking the lines onstage at some point so don't get used to how the lines feel or sound "in your head." Speak the text often. This way you'll develop some muscle memory in your articulator and you will be familiar with the words in both mind and body.

Write down the lines. When you're first learning you lines you can copy the words from the script onto a blank paper. Now you're getting some good kinesthetic learning done. Maybe speak the lines slowly as you write out the words and kill two birds with one stone. After you're more familiar with the lines, cover up your script and write out the lines from memory as best you can. Then check your work against your script, mark your mistakes, then try again.

Find mental images to go with the words. As you come across words for places, people, actions, and others, visualize what you're talking about. Those of you who are good visual learners will find this most helpful. If you're able to apply an image to a word or to a series of words you'll be able to recall the image most quickly and then the corresponding words. Connect personal images to the words and create some fictitious images that the character you are playing would have. This will lead to a more organic and interesting performance.

You can also create a physical action to go with certain words. Choreograph moves that will help you remember the words. It'll almost be like a dance but keep the movements simple. Your emphasis has to be on the words.

Record yourself speaking the lines. Listening to the words are a good way to get the words ingrained into your head. You can even speak along with the recording, and if you get something wrong you'll know right away. If you have a microphone on your computer, you can easily put your voice onto a CD or a file to transfer to an MP3 player. Don't "act" too much when you make this recording, you'll be more likely to get stuck saying the lines this way every time. You'll want to be able to try saying the words different ways, that's what rehearsal is for.

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