Production Tips for
Chicken. Road.

When you first begin work on the show, there'll definitely be some throwing around of "ooh, lines will be difficult, won't they?" "Yeah, probably, but we'll work on it a lot." "I'm sure they won't be that big of a deal." For many young performers, the amount of lines and cues will be the most overwhelming part of this process and will require a lot of focus - the most beneficial thing we rehearsed was checkpointing a spot and pushing the rhythm and tempo until we had a break, hitting that spot once or twice, and then returning to the checkpoint and starting again. I'd also recommend "breaking the scenes" up in your mind between the different "1,2,3,4..." counting parts in order to help the actors comprehend the show in smaller chunks. From our experience, this show is a beautiful piece of work that can really touch people as we know it touched and affected members of our audience - the greatest thing you can do is help your cast keep their eyes on the prize of telling the story. It's very easy to get caught up in "lines, blocking, emotion," rinse repeat. This story is powerful because it is real and talks about real experiences. Don't let them forget that - it gives them not only direction and focus, but a sense of purpose and appreciation for the show. It's much easier to rehearse and learn a show you have a connection to and a reason to tell than one you don't feel in your soul. Help them feel it.