About
Do you struggle with memorizing lines?
Are you tired of spending endless hours repeating lines over and over by rote?
Do you find memorizing lines boring and tedious?
Are you constantly getting scripts last-minute with almost no time to prepare?
Is poor line memorization holding you back from acting freely and spontaneously?Are you embarrassed by how often you call for "line?"
If so, then you're in the right place!
Off Book It is dedicated to teaching actors how to memorize lines fast and make them stick! Our motto is: Just Say No To Rote. Because rote memorization is boring. And things that are boring are not memorable.
Off Book It will teach you tips and methods that make line memorization fast, fun, and creative.
Imagine simply reacting and listening to your scene partner, rather than worrying about your next line.
Imagine being totally in the moment on stage, acting spontaneously, without panicking you might draw a blank.
Imagine never feeling embarrassed or ashamed about lines ever again.
Off Book It makes that possible.
Meet Joyce
Hi, I'm Joyce Hshieh, and I'm the creator of Off Book It. I'm a trained actor and a graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University.
Throughout my time as an actor, I always assumed getting off book was simply a matter of putting in enough hours. Repeat those words over and over and eventually they'll stick in your brain. It was always a struggle for me, but I put up with the pain and made it work.
Fast-forward several years. A group of friends and I became avid bar trivia-goers. I became a contestant on the game show Jeopardy and was lucky enough to become a 3-day champion!
Before and after my time on the show, I did a lot of research into different methods to improve learning and memory. I discovered a plethora of simple strategies and techniques to improve retention and recall of information. I started to wonder why these techniques were not more widely known. I could easily see how useful they would be, especially to actors when it came to the memorization of dramatic text.
I realized how absurd it was that actors are never taught techniques specifically to improve their ability to memorize lines. It's a crucial part of the actor's job, and it's never a part of any actor training!
I created Off Book It to fill that gap.
I've done talks and Q&As with Actors Breakfast Club, DaJuan Johnson’s Self-tapes That Book, Ajarae Coleman’s The Table, Blythe Howard’s commercial workshop, Anastasia Edwards’s Actor’s Biz, Actor Playbook, Working Actor Pro, Limelight, Film Festival Live, the Actor Problems Podcast, and the Why I’ll Never Make It Podcast.