Welcome to this edition of Script Insights! Below, you’ll find a downloadable blog post offering valuable insights directly from the author of Chickens. Inside, you’ll also discover supplemental classroom activities to help you connect the play’s themes and characters with your students. Be sure to download and explore these resources!
The Heart and Soul of Chickens
Mitch Emoff
Chickens explores deep themes of family and faith, particularly as they relate to individuals undergoing major life transitions. One of the subtler themes in the play is the relationship between people of different races and backgrounds. Many people think of the civil rights movement of the 1960s as the time when Black and white people began living together on equal terms. However, it wasn’t until forced busing in public schools during the mid-1970s that true integration of students happened, and this occurred practically overnight. Unfortunately, the transition was far from smooth. I experienced this firsthand as an eighth grader in Ohio in 1975. I remember the underlying tension between racial groups, which often led to students sticking exclusively to their own race. When tensions escalated, group fights would sometimes break out during lunch between Black and white students.
Fast forward nearly 50 years, and in many cases, Black and white people still often live and interact separately, as if they belong to different cultural worlds. Through Chickens, there is a hopeful message that these differences can be overcome through patience and selfless love. The characters Bryson, who is white, and Jamarius, who is Black, come from completely different backgrounds—geographically, culturally, and spiritually. Bryson, the fish-out-of-water uncle who moves to a rural farm, is very needy when Jamarius, a local lay-preacher and delivery driver, brings Bryson his first package from the 'civilized' world. Despite their differences, the two characters are forced to rely on each other for survival in this isolated rural setting. Unlike the students of the mid-1970s, Bryson and Jamarius depend on each other to make it through.
Bryson’s need is clear: he has no other connections to the outside world and must learn to adapt to Jamarius’ slower, more casual pace to get what he needs. On the other hand, Jamarius’ motivation is not as obvious. Why should he care about a 'city boy' who moved to a farm completely unprepared for how to survive? As the play unfolds, we learn that Jamarius’ purpose in life is simple—he lives to spread love and cheer. More than just being altruistic, Jamarius benefits from giving his heart to others, as it fills him with joy in return.
The first meeting between Bryson and Jamarius is rocky, much like that first day of school in 1975 when hundreds of students from different neighborhoods were thrust into classrooms together overnight. On day one, it wasn’t contentious; there was curiosity between groups that led to awkward exchanges. But, ultimately, students gave up trying to meet each other halfway, and few interracial friendships with any real depth developed. In Chickens, I aimed to recreate that kind of initial awkwardness, but this time, Jamarius patiently pushes through it because he believes there is someone behind Bryson’s mask who is worthy of God’s love—and therefore, his love.
If new relationships between people from different backgrounds always began with selfless love in mind and heart, imagine how unprejudiced and truly integrated our society could be.