What is it that enables actors to memorize such long lines?

Actors who appear in movies and plays have to memorize incredibly long lines. John Simon , a psychology researcher at Wesleyan University, summarizes why actors can memorize such long lines.

How Actors Remember Their Lines | The MIT Press Reader
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Simon stayed in the audience after watching a play and asked the actors directly while they were discussing their next performance, 'How do you remember long lines?' As a result, it became clear that the actors did not use the memorization method of 'reading the script repeatedly and memorizing the lines,' but rather 'focused on the meaning of the lines and associated them with information they already knew,' and 'understood the role they were playing and grasped the relationship between the lines and the role.'

A 2006 study showed that actors remember their lines not by simple memorization, but by associating them with the character's background and perspective. It also showed that actors deepen their understanding of their lines and use this knowledge to remember them by asking themselves questions such as, 'When I say this line, how does my character feel about the other character?'

Michael Caine , an actor who has appeared in many films including ' TENET ' and ' Kingsman ,' writes in his book ' Acting in Film ' about how to remember lines: 'You need to be there without thinking about the lines. You need to remove the lines from the other actor's face. If you don't, you won't hear the next line, and you won't be able to react naturally or act spontaneously.' In other words, Caine also argues that it is important to acquire the 'context to naturally remember the lines' through understanding the role and the lines, rather than simply memorizing the lines.

The mnemonic 'focusing on the meaning of lines rather than simple memorization' can be applied to everyday tasks. For example, a 1973 study showed that 'when memorizing words, it is easier to remember them if you focus on their meaning rather than their pronunciation.' Based on these research results and the opinions of actors, Simon recommends the 'meaning-focused mnemonic' as a mnemonic that anyone can use.