‘Star Wars’ comes to life at the Upcountry History Museum

It inspires goosebumps and cheers. Three generations have known the delight of the theater going dark, the explosion of the first notes of John Williams’ masterful score and the scrolling of yellow text – different, but familiar – as a new chapter of the “Star Wars” franchise unfolds on the big screen. And now, you can see the stuff of Empire and Rebellion in person.

Run, ride a tauntaun or take whatever piece of junk will get you there – but don’t miss the newest exhibition at the Upcountry History Museum. “Finding the Force…Awakening an Empire” brings the “Star Wars” universe to life, presenting franchise history, original costumes and set pieces and collectibles, some of which are on display for the first time ever.

Rick Lorentz, Senior Manager of Acquisitions and Loans for the Walt Disney Archives, was on hand to install the exhibition, which includes a wealth of items from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and the “Star Wars” franchise, including costumes for Leia, Han Solo, Kylo Ren and more.

An event takes shape

The exhibition is years in the making.

“We've worked with the upcountry History Museum before on a couple of other exhibits and provided things to help build out the stories they were telling,” Lorentz said. “When they first brought it up, we didn't have the ‘Star Wars’ acquisitions yet.”

Once the Walt Disney Archives acquired more of the enormous collection, plans began to take shape. And Lorentz had a lot of boxes to contend with.

“All of these costumes and props that we have here today were in England, where the films were shot,” he said. “They shipped to us in shipping containers and crates from London, and then we put them into our storage house.”

For this exhibition, the items had to be narrowed down to a manageable amount. With so many that have never been displayed, Lorentz said there was extra planning involved, with two people working to ensure the costumes are put together just as they were in the films. Reference photos help fill in the gaps.

“Watching a film you don't always get that – it goes by so quickly,” Lorentz said. “We thought it'd be best to have two people here, especially when you've got somebody the size of Chewbacca. He's a custom mannequin that we had made.”

Yes, Chewy has arrived in Greenville. And as it turns out, mannequin companies don’t routinely carry models that are 7? feet tall.

“They were able to take the actor's face and make a 3D scan of it so that it really fits the way it's meant to, and it helps us keep the shape of the head. We don't want to lose the natural shape,” Lorentz said.

The best stories are the ones we share

Sarah Wright, Education Coordinator for the Upcountry History Museum, said fans of all ages have been looking forward to the big reveal. Children’s events and Connections Café, a monthly event held in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, will be among the programs featuring the exhibition.

“One of the things we always say here is we want to build lifelong learners, lifelong museum goers,” Wright said. “With an exhibit like this, we're coming up on the 50th anniversary of the first ‘Star Wars’ film, and we'll have grandparents and parents and kids that all got to see their own ‘Star Wars’ films in theaters.”

For Lorentz and the Walt Disney Archives, this is an opportunity to share something new and powerful with those who love the franchise.

“Why bring it into the archives and take care of it if we don't have the opportunity to show it? This is the first time we've shown everything here except R2-D2 and BB-8,” Lorentz said. “We have to contribute in some way – better they be here than sitting in our warehouse.”

As he assembles and sorts and makes sure everything is picture perfect, Lorentz does often take a moment to appreciate it all.

“When stuff like this comes in, even we stand and go, ‘this is really it,’” he said. “When you start taking them apart and looking at them, a lot of these clothes have the actor's name sewn in the back. It's identified as theirs, and it will say ‘hero.’ This is the one the actor wore. This is the one you see on screen.”

You can go:

“Finding the Force…Awakening An Empire” is open June 15 – Nov. 3 at the Upcountry History Museum. The opening coincides with Family Fun Day, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. (doors are open until 5 p.m.) June 15, featuring a block party with games, craft stations, a museum-wide scavenger hunt and group story times with Curious George. Henry’s Smokehouse will be on hand with food available for purchase. For tickets and details, visit upcountryhistory.org.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Priceless and timeless, a new exhibition brings legendary ‘Star War’ elements to Greenville