Learning lines?

i've been putting some of my theories to the test seperately as an actor and a director. I recently held a 'survival run' a week before books down. First i psyched the actors out...'oooh death run on sunday...' that sort of thing. When it came to it i ran a scene with scripts, then the same scene books down. Did this with the whole play and by the end they pretty much new their lines. I had also recorded the play, gone through and painfully worked through objectives for each line and done copious amounts of lines runs and blocking. All in all i'm quite pleased with the result. Of course it's not often you have the luxury to devote time during rehearsals to drilling lines, then again it's a lot easier to direct when your actors are books down.