Whose Line is it Anyway?

:
A Correlational Study of the Effect of Sleep on the Memorization of a Role in a Show
Michelle Zink

Introduction
Performing in shows can be one of the most fun, yet stressful, experiences for
a person. When an individual is stressed out there is typically a correlation between
stress and memory. I have hypothesized that a lack of sleep has a direct negative
correlation with how well an individual remembers his or her lines. Being that I
always find it difficult to remember my lines after having maybe an hour of sleep the
night before, I wanted to see if I was the only person this occurred to. Its important
to know the effects of sleep on the memorization of lines because if someone wants
to go into show business as a career, they would need to manage their time
depending on how much sleep they really needed to remember their lines for
rehearsal/performance.
Method
My sample was of actors and actresses between the ages of 10-60 in order to
have more reliable results. I sampled 20 performers who have been performing for
many years, some almost their entire lives. In order to get my results, I created a
survey of questions using a scalar method that would help me figure out if sleep
really affects ones memory. I also included extra questions that were not related to
my study to make sure that the participants would not know what my study was
about until after. The questions I asked include:
1. How difficult is it for you to memorize lines?
2. How often do you get sick?
3. How often do you perform in shows?

4. How stressed do you feel at this moment?

5. On average, how much sleep do you get?

Chart
Hours of Sleep
Person 1
Person 2
Person 3
Person 4
Person 5
Person 6
Person 7
Person 8
Person 9
Person 10
Person 11
Person 12
Person 13
Person 14
Person 15
Person 16
Person 17
Person 18
Person 19
Person 20

Difficulty Level of
Memorization
3
2
4
5
4
5
2
3
1
4
5
3
2
1
3
4
4
2
1
2

7
6
2
3
5
3
8
8
9
1
4
7
4
9
5
3
5
10
10
7

Difficulty of Memorization
6
5
4
3

Difficulty of Memorization

2
1
0
0

CORRELATION CONEFFICIENT: -1/2

10

12

Conclusion and Discussion

My hypothesis was proven to be correct according to my results. The
correlation is generally strong with very few outliers. However, this correlation does
have a few confounding variables. For instance, an individual may have only played
ensemble roles and therefore did not have to memorize as many lines as someone
who plays a leading role. Another confounding variable would be if an individual has
been acting longer than another individual, they may have become accustomed to
memorizing lines on less sleep than actors who are new to performing.
As I read the answers to some of the other questions on my survey, I am
starting to believe that stress and how often an individual gets sick may be
correlated to the difficulty of memorizing lines.

Experiment
If I were to do an experiment on this subject, I would first use the same
sample I used for my correlation study. I would require all of them to do a seated
read thru of the show Meet Me In St. Louis (the show they are currently
performing) in the same time a few years after performing the show this year.
However, this would be a read thru without the scripts. All actors would sit on
stage in a circle and just recite their lines. Before the seated speak thru, I would
then have them sleepover at the theatre. Ten of the actors would be sleeping in the
theatre and would be allowed 10 hours of sleep. The other ten actors would sleep

backstage and only be allowed 3 hours of sleep. The experimental group would be
the one that is only allowed 3 hours of sleep.