Staff Spotlight: Connor Perry
Connor Perry is part of the Exhibits Team.
At the Museum and Theatre we count on our awesome Exhibits Team, to make sure everything is running smoothly. They are constantly innovating, experimenting and designing to make the exhibits the best they can be. Lately, for Exhibit Assistant Connor Perry, this has meant modifying Ramp Up and Go with the Flow, adding scenery to the Dress Up Theatre, and building a puppet stage to complement MakerSpace activities. Connor’s technical and artistic skills have had a tremendous impact on the Museum & Theatre.
Connor has always been fascinated with the intersection of art and engineering. Growing up, he went through what he calls “an intense science phase” where he was especially interested in noise makers, speakers, and wires. Thanks to encouragement from his parents, many trips to the dump, and a dedicated workbench, Connor loved to tinker and experiment (MakerSpace, anyone?). Deconstructing and reconstructing old computers sparked a lifelong interest in antennas, circuits, and electric components, leading him to The Cooper Union for college. Cooper Union is divided into schools of Art, Engineering, and Architecture. There, Connor leaned into his artistic side, studying sculpture and focusing on electronic noise maker projects, while being inspired by the architecture and engineering around him.
From wood, to metal, to plastic, Connor experimented with lots of materials in his sculpture, often incorporating elements of surprise or magic into his pieces. “I love doing pieces that have moving parts or electric circuits,” he explains. He describes one assignment where the students had to find a way to simply remove a pineapple from where it was sitting on a shelf: Going for an element of whimsy, Connor hid a bass shaker audio component in the wall, successfully vibrating the pineapple off the shelf with no apparent interference.
Visitors might recognize Connor’s magic innovation and technical skills in the Air Traffic Control Station exhibit in Our Neighborhood. Connor coded the buttons with audio triggers in the station to make varying sounds when pressed, enhancing the interactivity of the exhibit. And, Connor promises, there are more surprising features to come; make sure to check out the Air Traffic Control Station when you visit, and maybe you will discover a new feature!
Connor’s skills come in handy for a Go with the Flow modification.
Since graduating, Connor has grown his technical and craft skills through diverse jobs like making surfboards out of defunct water tower materials, building shipping crates for high end art, and most recently working in the exhibits at a children’s museum in Philadelphia. With a diverse repertoire of skills and experiences, Connor matches our STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) interdisciplinary education philosophy that drives programming.
For the production Mouse on the Move, Connor's set design drew inspiration from Prop Designer Emilia McCrath. The color palette Emilia chose for six-foot tall flower props inspired Connor's choice for the set palette. Of course, carrying the giant flowers down the aisle of the paint store in order to match their color left a lot of amused smiles in his wake!
Connor designed and build the Puppet Theatre, located across from the MakerSpace.
The backdrops in the Dress Up Theatre are painted by Connor.
The Mouse on the Move transports audiences into a human sized mouse hole. Connor reflects on how designing a set differs from working with exhibits: “I’m not used to making something that only has to look good from about 10 feet away instead of having people come up close and really use it.” In the exhibits, Connor has to consider all angles and predict all the possible ways visitors might use a prop, but on stage the set and props have to look believable from a distance and sometimes from only one side. Connor credits Reba Askari (Artistic Director of Maddy’s Theatre) and Emily Dixon (Theatre Technical Coordinator) with challenging him to build the set on a large scale - big enough for two human size mice to play in. “It's been a fun challenge to work this way. I painted the stage floor this week and had to figure out how to convey ocean and meadow scenery on a huge surface, needing to figure out what kind of marks are just enough to convey the feeling of those spaces without doing too much. Working on something and having to stand way back where the audience will be to see how it looks is kind of new to me and I’m really enjoying it!”
There is no doubt that Connor’s contributions have enhanced visitors' explorations, imagination and play throughout the building. “I’m excited to work in a place with exhibits that are beautifully crafted. It’s an awesome place to dream up new features for the exhibits - there is a lot of potential.”
Check out Connor’s painting in the Dress Up Theatre, woodworking skills with the Puppet Theatre, and his coding modifications in the Air Traffic Control Tower. Come see his sets in Mouse on the Move, playing now until November 14th in Maddy’s Theatre. And make sure to say hi if you see Connor on the floors around the Museum & Theatre!