Playwrights West

Providing Platforms for Playwrights in the Pacific Northwest.

“My inspiration for Robert’s playlist was really looking for music that felt like secular hymns, that reflected the way he sees God in the world everywhere.  So they’re not all necessarily religious songs but he finds spiritual meaning in them.  ‘Daughter’ by Loudon Wainwright III and ‘Father and Daughter’ by Paul Simon were on constant rotation when I was working on Robert and Haley’s scenes."


"The moment the story really clicked into place and began to come together was when I discovered that the Vatican Observatory has a U.S. outpost in the tiny town of Swift Trail Junction, Arizona, home of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope. I kept thinking about this posse of Italian Jesuit astrophysicists in this one-horse Arizona town, and I realized I had the beginnings of a story."

Photo Slideshow

Which Dear Galileo character would you most want to be friends with in real life?  "Haley. I was that kid in catechism too, always asking 'too many' questions and being frustrated when I wouldn’t get answers that made sense to me."

Meet the Cast & Production Team

WALTER PETRYK as Robert Snow

WALTER PETRYK as Robert Snow

AGATHA DAY OLSON as Haley Snow

AGATHA DAY OLSON as Haley Snow

CHRIS PORTER as Galileo Galilei

CHRIS PORTER as Galileo Galilei

KATE MURA as Celeste Galilei

KATE MURA as Celeste Galilei

NENA SALAZAR as Cassie Willows

NENA SALAZAR as Cassie Willows

NATHAN DUNKIN as Gabriel Vaughn

NATHAN DUNKIN as Gabriel Vaughn

CLAIRE WILLETT, Playwright

CLAIRE WILLETT, Playwright

GARY POWELL as Jasper Willows

GARY POWELL as Jasper Willows

STEPHANIE MULLIGAN, Director

STEPHANIE MULLIGAN, Director

NICOLE GLADWIN, Stage Manager
SARAH KINDLER, Scenic/Properties Designer
ASHTON GRACE HULL, Costume Designer
J.D. SANDIFER, Lighting Designer
ANNALISE ALBRIGHT WOODS, Sound Designer