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H Noice

Publications and source records attributed to H Noice.

3 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Long-term retention of theatrical roles.

Two experiments tested both long-term retention of complex material by professional actors, and the contributions made by motoric codes to that retention. The first experiment indicated that, during performance, the actors rendered the written script with approximately 98% accuracy, making only very minor changes, primarily additions or deletions of verbal interjections. The second experiment assessed recall three months after the final performance, with the actors having learned and performed new roles in the interim. Retention was still extremely high with approximately 90% of the text being recalled verbatim or within very narrowly defined limits. A repeated trials paradigm (involving actors either sitting or moving about as they did in performance) indicated that motoric cues aided long-term verbal recall even when the movements did not constitute enactments of the literal words.

Drama↗
PubMed1996

Two approaches to learning a theatrical script.

Previous research has shown that actors recall text with word-for-word fidelity by using a type of meaning-based learning strategy that usually results only in retention of the gist (Noice, 1993). Six actors generated think-aloud protocols while studying a theatrical script. Analysis of these protocols indicated that the actors' application of their strategy required minute attention to the exact wording, punctuation, etc. in order to derive the deep meaning they require for interpretation and performance. A think-aloud protocol of the well-known mnemonist, Harry Lorayne, was collected for the same theatrical script. Although the strategies of the actors and the mnemonist were totally different, they appear to be dependent on the same underlying processes. An additional finding was that, although the mnemonist employed imagery-mediation (usually used for learning discrete items), he had devised an original variation capable of yielding verbatim retention. The reasons why mnemonic devices might be useful to actors in certain situations are discussed.

Association Learning↗