Labs

At Chickenshed NYC, our Lab programs offer focused skills training in Dance, Vocal, and Acting alongside a series of one-off creative workshops exploring areas such as puppetry, set design, and stagecraft. Together, these experiences are designed to inspire creativity, build confidence, and deepen each young performer’s artistic toolkit. Each Lab draws on a range of techniques and genres to enrich Players’ creative journeys and expand their understanding of both performance and production. Labs are available exclusively to participants enrolled in Players 2, 3, or 4.‍

Dance Lab

Overview: Dance Lab invites Players to explore movement as a powerful form of storytelling through styles such as contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, and more. Each session encourages creativity, musicality, and expressive confidence.

Technique: Participants build strong technical foundations across genres while developing coordination, physical awareness, and performance presence.

Goals: Players strengthen versatility, confidence, and collaborative skills, gaining experience in ensemble choreography and expressive movement that supports both rehearsal and performance.

‍Vocal Lab

Overview: Vocal Lab develops healthy singing technique, musical expression, and confident performance across a range of styles, from musical theatre to contemporary pop.

Technique: Players learn breath control, vocal warm-ups, tone production, and projection, building the skills needed for both solo and ensemble singing.

Song Interpretation: Through lyric exploration and emotional connection, participants discover how to communicate story and character through song.

Goals: Players expand vocal range and control, grow in confidence as performers, and develop the expressive tools needed to connect meaningfully with an audience.
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‍Acting 

Overview: Acting Lab immerses Players in character creation, improvisation, and scene exploration, nurturing imagination, presence, and truthful performance.

Improvisation and Scene Work: Through dynamic exercises and selected scenes from classic and contemporary texts, participants develop spontaneity, emotional range, and collaborative storytelling skills.

Goals: By the end of the Acting Lab, participants will have developed their acting skills, a deeper understanding of character work, and gained the confidence to perform in various settings.

Professional Team: Players deepen their understanding of character and narrative, strengthen performance confidence, and gain practical acting tools that support both devised and scripted productions.
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‍One-off Creative Workshops

Overview: Our one-off creative workshops invite Players to explore the wider world of theatre-making beyond performance. Sessions may focus on puppetry, scenic design, prop-making, storytelling through objects, or other elements of stage production, offering hands-on insight into how theatrical magic is create

Experience: Participants collaborate, experiment with materials and ideas, and discover new ways to express imagination both onstage and behind the scenes.

Goals: These workshops broaden artistic awareness, encourage curiosity, and help Players develop a deeper appreciation of the many creative roles that bring a production to life.