Line Notes

I got rhythm
I got music
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more? -song “I Got Rhythm” by Ethel Merman

“What I do has a lot to do with the words….Go over the words, over and over, do them different ways, different inflections and rhythms. For me, rhythm is very important. I think we express ourselves as much with rhythm as with the words. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. I think it’s very true. If you start to say your lines and it sounds right, usually I stick with that. If it sounds right, it probably is right.” -Christopher Walken

For the director (assuming it’s a great script)…

Before you give performance “notes”, does the actor actually know their lines? Not kinda knows them, but knows them exactly as written.

If not, start there. Get the lines right and you’ll get the rhythm right. That will probably fix at least 80 percent of everything you wrote down on your legal pad.