Technical Dialogue.

Learning technical dialogue can be difficult.

Legal, medical, military, scientific.

Try separating it from the playing part of the scene. Usually most of the scene is playable – then there’s the technical language, so you could lift it out, learn it separately and then put it back in.

The playing part of the scene you can learn and the technical part memorize. You won’t get cast because you pronounced the terminology correctly – you get cast based on your acting. You won’t be examined on your knowledge of the terms. You have to act them believably.

Looking up the definition of the terms helps put things in context and makes learning the word easier.

Breaking the words down into parts may help. How many syllables? What is the root of the word – Greek, Latin? The prefixes, the suffixes. Do the words have similar endings such as: -isms, -otic, -tional, -acti, etc.?

Look for the music of the words and the phrases. You can learn to sing it.

Find the correct syllable to be stressed. Google it via an Audio link for pronunciation.

In an audition you can read the technical language portion from the sides.

You know the situation - you play and play and then when it comes to the difficult text you lift up the sides and read it - then go back to playing and playing. This prevents you from getting diverted by worrying about the technical language. 

Don’t try to act as if you know the terms cold because you’ll probably stumble, speak too fast, and embarrass yourself.

Speaking the terms a little slower and enunciating a little more can help. It’s a way of keeping your mind in control over the difficult words and stops you from capitulating.

Visualizing an image you associate with the word can assist as the brain sees the image easier and can retrieve the word. The mental images you create act as reminders for the actual facts in your memory.

Even regulars on shows find it difficult.  Michaela Conlin, playing Angela Montenegro on Bones says, ‘By the end of the season our brains start to turn to mush and it becomes harder to remember everything.’