 Actors were amateurs who frequently thought acting an odd activity; French reports that there were frequent conflicts during rehearsal, with actors quitting in tears of frustration, but that a significant number of actors considered their experience working on Lee's play to be life-changing.French traces the development of one particular scene to exemplify Lee's method.A first version of a scene was written on Lee's request by a former railroad engineer and mayor of Hinton, Sims Wicker; Hinton's economy had been based to an important degree on the maintenance of steam locomotives, and the transition of railroad engines to diesel in the 1950s practically destroyed the local economy.