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Fourth Formers Bring History to Life in Galileo Trial

March 7th, 2019


Galileo Galilei was on trial once again at South Kent School on Wednesday, March 6th, and the entire Fourth Form participated in the project, embodying historical characters from 17th century Italy. The class was split into two consecutive trials, both with a modern courtroom twist. The first was based on the Decree of 1616 forbidding Galileo to spread his ideas supporting Copernican heliocentrism and the second modeled the subsequent 1633 trial of Galileo by the Roman Inquisition.

Students conducted much in-depth research to construct arguments and learn characters in advance. They worked to support their teams (defense, prosecution, judicial) for weeks leading up to the trial. In authentic period costume, many of the fourth formers amazed the audience (both in-person and on LIVE streaming video) with their eloquent arguments throughout the two trials. Viewers watched intense cross-examinations, heated objections, the charging of multiple witnesses for perjury, and the defrocking on high-ranking church officials.

With the judges ensuring fairness and order in the court, each team of lawyers and witnesses presented evidence and defended their position. Although it was a challenging task to decide Galileo’s fate, the judges ruled Galileo guilty in both trials and sentenced him to house arrest for the remainder of his life. This hands-on project is one of the preeminent events of the fourth form year and is a favorite among the students. It has become a tradition over the 20 years in which it has taken place.


Watch the videos on South Kent’s YouTube page below:

View the photos on South Kent School’s Facebook page!


Galileo Trial Cast & Crew

Heresy Trial

Judicial Roles

 

Defense

 

Prosecution

Judge

Raffone, Casey

 

Galileo

Morgan, Masen

 

Pope Urban VIII

King, Paul "Trey"

Judge

Chae, Eujin

 

Sister Maria Celeste

Mickanin, Alexander

 

Grand Duchess Christina Medici

Cataldo, Justin "JJ"

Judge

Gavars Felikss

 

Archbishop Piero Dini

Li, Zecheng "Eric"

 

Father Lorini

Bolma, Joshua

Bailiff

Wang, Nanfeng “Frank”

 

Cosimo Medici

Sartori, Landon

 

Father Ricciardi

Baptista, Dylan

   

Benedetto Castelli

MacDonald, Cameron

 

Cardinal Bellarmine

Dalton, John "Jack"

   

Caterina Niccolini

Ribera, Tyler

 

Prosecution Lawyer

Lauridsen, Gilbert

   

Sagredo

Greene, Ryan

 

Prosecution Lawyer

Bongo, Jake

   

Defense Lawyer

Ross, Charles

 

Expert Witness

He, Jinghao “Billy”

   

Defense Lawyer

Chen, Mingjie “Jemmy”

   
   

Expert Witness

Jiang, Bin

   
 
Decree of 1616 Trial

Judicial Roles

 

Defense

 

Prosecution

Judge

Bennett, Gabriel

 

Galileo

Pointer, Matthew

 

Pope Urban VIII

Tran, Triet

Judge

Kurrle, James "Jack"

 

Sister Maria Celeste

Yao, Bowen “Kevin”

 

Grand Duchess Christina Medici

Kulaszewski, Ryan

Judge

Jung, Bennett

 

Archbishop Piero Dini

Holczinger, Noah

 

Father Lorini

Scott, Kevin

Bailiff

Xue, Sheng “Tom”

 

Cosimo Medici

Plandowski, Oscar

 

Father Ricciardi

Bean, Jai

   

Benedetto Castelli

Barnett, Eli

 

Cardinal Bellarmine

DeSaro, Paul

   

Defense Lawyer

Ockman, Caleb

 

Prosecution Lawyer

Miranda, Cameron

   

Defense Lawyer

Massie, Brock

 

Prosecution Lawyer

Mulvihill, Sean

   

Expert Witness

Wu, Zhefan “Flex”

 

Expert Witness

Seidu, Mohammed


Teachers: Todd Gennings '05, Sarah Pfeffer, Rich Chavka

Costumes: Cheryl Moore, Allison Gennings

Video: South Kent’s Advanced Media Group, led by Anthony Camardi '08