JACKSON BERKLEY

Spells of the Sea is a musical coming-of-age story geared towards young audiences that evolved out of a pandemic podcast project. The show rehearsed in NYC in September 2024, then shipped down to the Kennedy Center in October for its premiere in the Family Theater. While I did not travel with the show to D.C., I shipped out all the final hand props for the show following the rehearsal process.

Due to the nature of my contract, the timeline to develop final props for this show was somewhat abbreviated, but I had a great time collaborating with the creatives in coming up with prop concepts that would be easy to maintain in my absence. The play involved several large puppets, designed by Juanita Cardenas, and I took much of my aesthetic direction from her beautiful work.

I love the challenge of making quick, whimsical, durable props on a dime, and this show provided a perfect outlet.

Fun props projects included: designing and fabricating a UV-reactive treasure map; modifying all kinds of buckets and bottles for the nautical theme; casting jelly wax “potions”; ordering dozens and dozens of fake fish.