There's a time-honored acting tradition that Star Trek show comes with its own unique challenges that other television series might not face. While extensive prosthetic makeup doesn't come into play for Chong's human USS Enterprise security chief, Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh, Christina Chong does find that her lines in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds may not be the easiest to deliver at any given moment.

Dubbed "technobabble", the esoteric scientific language on Star Trek presents a challenge for actors. The science of the Star Trek future has been developed behind the scenes, so every line of technobabble in Star Trek is intentionally placed. Star Trek scripts don't allow for variation in the way that technical jargon is delivered, because each word actually means something. Get it wrong, and viewers will notice. Add to that the fact that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds shooting days are long, and there's even more incentive to make sure each line is delivered not just letter-perfect, but also on time.

Strange New Worlds' Christina Chong Solved Her Star Trek Acting Problem With 1 Simple Trick

The Tradition That Helps Strange New Worlds' Christina Chong Deal With "Science Schmience" Lines

At Creation's Trek to Chicago convention, Christina Chong explains that she makes delivering difficult lines easier for herself and her Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast mates by hiding snippets of the script on the USS Enterprise bridge console. Far from being unprofessional, Chong's method of keeping lines close at hand makes sense when Star Trek calls for an exact delivery, at an exact moment, to make the USS Enterprise bridge crew look like the highly competent team that it is.

Christina Chong: "I put my lines on the bridge. I cut them up really small. ... There's just some lines that are hard to , the science schmience.... When you've got only one or 2 lines through a 5 page scene, you've gotta stay focused, and make sure you come in on time. I have been known to not come in on time a few times. I've put the lines there for when I'm off in my mind. It's not for me, it's for them."

Christina Chong explains that placing lines on the bridge makes it easier for everyone on the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds set, not just herself, especially if Chong's La'an Noonien-Singh isn't necessarily the focus of the scene. Star Trek's technobabble is hard, even for actors who may have been fans of the franchise before being cast, or have some osmotic knowledge of how the technology of Star Trek works. Developing creative accommodations that make the job of being a Star Trek actor easier is a smart step — and Strange New Worlds' Christina Chong isn't alone.

Star Trek: Voyager Actors Also Hid Their Lines On The Set

Sneaking Technobabble Onto The Star Trek Set Is Practically A Tradition

At this point, sneaking technobabble onto the bridge set of a Star Trek show is practically a tradition. Star Trek: Voyager's Harry Kim actor, Garrett Wang, itted to writing his lines over black tape on the USS Voyager bridge console; other Star Trek: Voyager actors hid their lines on set after noting the genius of the idea. Because Star Trek bridge sets are constructed in such a way that memory aids for difficult lines can be crafted and hid out of sight, there's no reason not to take advantage of the opportunity to make sure filming goes smoothly.

Set designers' jokes made their way onto console screens in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager, because the resolution of standard definition television sets in the 1990s wasn't clear enough to make out specific details.

Today, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Christina Chong has to make the script-on-the-bridge trick even more unobtrusive than the Star Trek: Voyager cast did, because it's harder to hide anomalies from modern HD television screens. By using cut-up paper instead of writing lines out with marker, it's also a much less time-consuming chore, since the scripts are already printed. Strange New Worlds' Christina Chong participates in the continuing Star Trek acting tradition of having a guide to tricky technobabble lines close at hand, and ensures that smooth filming days are in store for the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast.