Silent Sky
Creative Team
Director: Tom Dugdale
Media Design: Alex Oliszewski
Scenic and Properties Design: Chad R. Mahan
Costume Design: Rebecca Turk
Lighting Design: Iz Nichols
Sound Design: Keya Myers-Alkire
Production Stage Manager: Maddie Green
Production Manager: Sherée Greco
Technical Director: Chad R. Mahan
Assistant Directors: Olivia Kroh, Victoria Smith
Dramaturg: Sarah Cole
Theatrical Intimacy Choreographer: Aviva Neff
Theatrical Intimacy Captain: Victoria Smith
External Relations and Publicity: J. Briggs Cormier
Ticketing and Audience Services: Julia Buttermore
Graphic Design: Formation Studio
OSU, Department of TFMA
Black Box Theatre
2023
Design Overview
Silent Sky tells the story of Henrietta Leavitt, a pioneering astronomer whose discoveries at the Harvard Observatory helped shape modern astrophysics. This production explored her pursuit of knowledge and recognition within the constraints of early twentieth-century gender norms, weaving together science, memory, and wonder.
My media design drew inspiration from early astronomical imaging practices, including glass plate photography and 19th-century magic lantern projection.
Research Focus
This project provided an opportunity to develop and implement a custom five-channel projection system using a specialized “T-Scope” blend to unify floor and wall projections into a single immersive field. I designed and prepared all content in a format tailored to the system and programmed original real-time GLSL shaders to produce layered textures that supported the magical moments of the place.
Approximately 90 minutes of projection content was developed, cued, and refined to accompany the live performance.
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![Measuring the universe.]()
Measuring the universe.
A large, blended image created with the “T Scope” integrates seamlessly into a multi-projector floor projection.
Photo by Alex Oliszewski
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![Traveling across the ocean.]()
Traveling across the ocean.
Photo by Alex Oliszewski
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![The sun sets. Silent Sky production photo. Photo by Jay LaPrete.]()
Sunset
Photo by Jay LaPrete
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![Performance image from Silent Sky.]()
Falling in love across time and space.
Photo by Alex Oliszewski
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![Production photo from Silent Sky.]()
Messages across the ocean.
Photo by Alex Oliszewski
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![Alex's 3D image of projection calculations for projector placement and rigging.]()
3D previz of projector placement and blended floor section.
By Alex Oliszewski
Previsualization video showing content area for projection system and exploring the blended texture of the painted floor and wall backdrop with added projections. Exploring texture and quality of movement.
Projection and lighting test for a “messages are sent across the ocean” cue.
Previsualization video showing a field of stars twinkling against the painted sky backdrop and dark brown the floor.
Cue writing session with lighting. Exploring crossfades and color.
Archival slides are layered with contemporary and animated stars.
Previz video exploring different qualities of motion.
Pre-blend rough projection setup focus grid tests.
Used a “T Scope” blend for the back wall.