A touring exhibit of original artifacts from the films accompanies Star Wars: In Concert
Accompanying Star Wars In Concert is an exclusive exhibit of costumes, props, artifacts, production artwork, and specially created behind-the-scenes videos from the Lucasfilm Archives, many of which have left Skywalker Ranch for the first time. The exhibit includes full costumes for Jedi Masters Kit Fisto and Plo Koon; pages from John Williams’ personally notated score for Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace, exhibited to the public for the first time; and various never-before-seen props from the films, including blasters and helmets from the fictional planets of Coruscant and Tatooine, and other locations.
Many of the items posed challenges for the exhibit design team, including scenic designer Mike Rhoads and project manager Conway Allison from Atomic Design, which designed and constructed the display and touring cases. Due to the nature of the tour, the exhibits need to be setup and loaded out on a tight schedule while maintaining the security of the artifacts. The Atomic team devised a display case harness system that allows fully costumed mannequins to be secured in place within the display case for transport.
Another challenge was creating cases to fit in with the aesthetic of the Star Wars universe. The designers visited the Lucasfilm Archives, and the exhibit’s production team took up residence at Atomic in Lititz, PA during the first installation. Exhibit director Betsy Scott notes, “From the design team to the carpenters, electricians and soft goods departments, everyone was professional, enthusiastic, and extremely helpful no matter what we threw at them.”