Districts1999

    Every actors' worst nightmare is what happened to me at districts of 1999. I forgot my next line during a monologue. And in a monologue there is nobody there to help you. I knew I was in trouble.
      But, I also knew that I was doomed if I panicked. I managed to carry on with the monologuw without anyone being able to notice, and this is how.
      Firstly, I didn't forget my line from lack of preperation, but from the emotion. I could have done the lines in my sleep. What made me forget my line is all the emotion... it was Creon from Antigone, the last scene... had swelled up in me and made me unable to think of the line. How did I get out of this predicament? This is how and this is good advice to aspiring actors.
       I made sure that I stayed calm. That's the first step... you can't do anything if you're panicked. Just take a deep breath... well dont make it noticable... and dont get flustered. Once your, at least, somewhat calm, don't try to think of the line itself... you'll just get less and less able to think of the line if you do that.
      Try to let the line come naturally. Perhaps think of the lines that you just did, and lead up in sequence. This is another way that my memory technique on the previous page comes in handy. Hopefully you'll come up with the line fairly quick this way.
     Most importantly, not to figuring out the line, but keeping the monologue looking good, don't make it obvious that you can't remember the line. Cover it up as a dramatic pause, if at all possible. This is how I escaped this nightmare.
      To the observer, it looked just like a dramatic pause. It only took me 4 or 5 seconds, if that. The quicker that you keep yourself from panicking, the quicker you'll be able to recover the line. A dramatic pause wont look realistic if you hold it too long, so, without panicking or trying too hard, try to recover the line as quickly as possible. Now this may sound Ironic, but the trick to trying to recover a line quickly is not to try. If you truly know the piece, then it should just come quickly without too much effort, except the effort to stay calm and make it look like a dramatic pause.