Galileo Univ. of Southern Mississippi

Props Design, Fall 2018

Director: Lou Rackoff

Scenic Design: Stephen Judd

Lighting Design: Craig Dettman

Costume Design: Kelly James-Penot

1st Place, Allied Arts, KCACTF Region IV

Galileo is a story of truth and the burden of those who bear it. In my properties design, I sought to find truth in color and texture and bring a lens to the life and studies of Galileo Galilei.

At the beginning of the process, the scenic design leaned towards historic accuracy and natural wood, worn leather, and prismatic tapestries dominating the post-Renaissance environment. However, with design changes during the build period, the colors moved towards blue and cool, adding a modern, crisp feel to the antique finishes previously explored. To balance these two tones, I incorporated deep blue accents to both properties and furniture dressing to achieve visual cohesion while still embracing the soft brown leathers, golden accents, and crimson fabrics.

Much of the play explores the strained relationship between Galileo’s quest for truth and the Christian church’s determination to maintain the status quo. This dichotomy echoed in the set dressing and in color, with Galileo and his contingency leaning towards earth tones and natural textures and the representatives of the Church preferring bright, artificial colors. For example, Galileo’s books are worn and rough leather with yellowed parchment, while the Church’s Bibles are sleek and new with bright gold accents.

The one divergence from this idea is the creation of the telescopes. The telescopes are both bright and earthy because they bridge the gap between the naturalism of Galileo and the formality of the Church: they represent truth and the means to find it. In this vein, they are sleek, gold and otherworldly, but also grounded in reds and blues that reflect their creator.