LA Theatre Works Searching for Galileo's Daughter Bonus Episode: Interview with Jessica Dickey
Sep 29, 2025
Jessica Dickey, playwright and performer known for Searching for Galileo's Daughter, shares her research-driven creative process. She discusses traveling to Italy for archival work. She explores Maria Celeste’s supportive role, the family bond revealed in letters, and why convent life suited her. Conversation touches on weaving personal life into plays and what audiences might take away.
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Research Trip Sparked The Play
- Jessica Dickey's play began from curiosity sparked while rehearsing David Auburn's Proof and reading David Sobel's Galileo's Daughter.
- She used a Sloan grant to travel to Italy and research, which launched the play's creative journey.
Letters Shaped Their Relationship
- The historical letters show a warm, respectful scientific bond between Galileo and Maria Celeste, which Dickey used as the play's emotional foundation.
- Dickey then imagined scenes to give texture to their intimacy while staying rooted in the correspondence.
Convent Life Included Scientific Work
- Maria Celeste exercised scientific skills inside the convent: she was apothecary, taught astronomy, copied Galileo's work, and lobbied on his behalf.
- Dickey emphasizes her leadership potential despite being confined by convent life.
