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written by Mara, March 16, 2010

I can relate SO MUCH to what you're going through! In my school, nobody really concentrates on memorizing their lines until the last minute, which drives me absolutely insane and completely stresses me out. It also really messes me up, because when people say the wrong cue than I've memorized, I can get totally lost. Maybe you can offer to go over the lines with the people who are in your scenes when you guys are offstage?

The next advice sounds bad, but it's really something I have to work on. I've complained to my voice teacher about people at my school being unprofessional sometimes, with focusing and lines, and he said that since I am so serious and driven and such a perfectionist about theatre, I can't expect people to be as serious as I am. I just have to concentrate on what I'm doing, not everyone else. It's really hard to do, I know, especially since plays are such a huge ensemble piece where everyone has to do their part, but it's something I keep reminding myself whenever I'm stressed out about a production coming together. More often than not, the play goes better than I think...and the lines might not be perfect, but they do get done