There’s something about our Spring Chicken song that just seems to land with teachers, children, parents, chickens – everyone really. There will be lots of people who know us as ‘the Spring Chicken company’, if that’s you, hi, hello – we’re Out of the Ark Music, proud producers of the infamous Spring Chicken song – and now musical! (And a fair few other exciting things too!) Believe it or not, this song was written over 30 years ago by our founders and is still sung up and down the country year in, year out, pretty much year-round, despite it being an Easter anthem! It’s super catchy, it’s super smiley, but it’s got some real goodness at its core – so much so that we couldn’t help but explore what it could look like as something even bigger, even more yellow and not at all small! The song is essentially about self-worth, positivity and the joy of being a real spring chicken and, of course, ‘having a ball’. Enter Spring Chicken The Musical!
Much like the song, this musical is of course vibrant, joyful and packed with feathers! However, at its heart are some really core values, particularly for KS2 and leavers.
Our little Chickalita (aka, the spring chicken!) wants nothing more than to leave her small-time farm and head to the big lights of the city, to fiercely chase down her dream of being a singer. This is a big dream for a small chicky. We really want to be encouraging dreams, big or small, and supporting children in their ability to be dreamers and go-getters. Personally, the encouragement I had from my teachers and family at that age to go and achieve whatever I could dream up, is something that will always stay with me. We’re all about dreams and ambition at Out of the Ark – so it was only right for us to serve up a big finale number...
Rise above ‘I just can’t do it’, rise above ‘I don’t belong’.
A scary thing, no matter your age! Teachers do an amazing job at helping Year 6 to prepare themselves for their next chapter in a new school, but it’s always going to be a bit of a daunting thing. For lots of people, just a change of year group, teacher or classroom can be a big adjustment. This musical allows for a great opportunity to talk about upcoming changes, especially walking an unfamiliar path. For Chickalita, that looks like travelling from a safe and cosy farm, attempting to negotiate the chicken vs road dilemma, and even being confronted with a thieving old granny. It’s nail-biting stuff, but well worth the adventure!
Just cross the road to a world of adventure, past what you know to the place of your dreams.
. . . whether you’re a confident singer, an ‘only-in-the-car-or-shower’ singer or not a singer at all! In true Out of the Ark fashion, Chickalita absolutely loves singing, the flamingoes are obsessed with dancing, and Bunn E. Bugs’ true calling is rapping (it is a musical of course!), but really we’re championing children understanding that their voice and feelings matter a whole lot. In fact, for Chickalita it’s singing that gets her out of a scary, unfamiliar alley and back in the company of those who support and understand her. Leaving primary school to embark on a new adventure can be a really exciting time, but it can also come with all sorts of anxieties and uncertainties for Year 6 (and parents!). We want to champion the power of choosing to be positive and confident in the face of everything scary, and we certainly believe in the power of a song.
I’m gonna sing through the sadness, a song to let the light come in.
Whether that looks like new friends at a new school, older or younger peers, or in Chickalita’s case, the gang back at the farm and the Scallywag Alley folk, community is SUCH an important thing! If it weren’t for the encouragement of her farm friends, or the save-the-day appearance of the unfamiliar faces in the big city, Chickalita would never have made it to the stage (spoiler alert!). There is so much to be said for teaching children the value of friendship, community and encouraging each other. You just never know when you’ll meet your own unexpected Scallywag Alley friends for life! Putting on a musical or working on a project as a team is a demonstration of the value of community and what we can do when we work together, rely on each other and show up for each other. Besides, who doesn’t want to take a big fat bow and celebrate an amazing performance together as a team?
Chickalita – you’ve got to meet her, you’re gonna love her a lot!
We can’t help but include them – this is a musical about a singing chicken after all! It feels VERY important to flag that as well as being chock-full of important values, this brand-new musical carries a whole lot of silliness – chickens and eggs in arguments around origin, a business-minded agent ready to negotiate at any time or place, and don’t even get me started on the cast-list names (yes, we do have a chicken called Princess Layer!).
This action-packed adventure of a musical is out now! Go and listen to the soundtrack, you may well find the very song that kicked this all off hiding in the track list somewhere!
Find out more about Spring Chicken The Musical today!
