

Dracula
The quintessential vampire story, retold for the stage with a twist
Mina Harker tries to piece together what happened to her husband Jonathan on his business trip to Transylvania, where he'd stayed with a certain eccentric Count.
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"Dig Deeper" section!
What surprised you about the play?
What was a moment in the production that stood out to you, and why?
Who's your favourite Dracula character, and why?
Limited seating at live performances of this production is available as follows:
June 30, 7:30 pm
July 1, 12:30 pm and 7:30 pm
July 2, 7:30 pm
July 3, 12:30 pm and 7:30 pm
We are currently planning to have a limited, live, socially distanced audience at each of the performances. Please be advised that all performances are subject to possible cancellation in the event of AHS gathering restriction changes.
There will be no digital video recording of this production.
Tickets on sale June 23, 2021
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
All Seats: $10.00
Please contact the Timms Box Office for more information via email (uastudio@ualberta.ca) or phone (780-492-2495).
Director's Notes
Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions. -C.G. Jung.
Yet there is a mystery here and it is not one that I understand. Without this sting of otherness, of-even-the vicious, without the terrible energies of the underside of health, sanity, sense, then nothing works or can work. I tell you that goodness-what we in our ordinary daylight selves call goodness: the ordinary, the decent-these are nothing without the hidden powers that pour forth continually from their shadow sides. -Doris Lessing
I have always been fascinated by the mythology of the vampire. On a metaphoric level, the conceit that some beings live by “feeding” off the life force of others seems a genuine truth. I have encountered this in many plays that never even mention a literal vampire. I am also drawn to the idea of the unknown other that corresponds to the darkness that we harbor within us; the “shadow” as C. G. Jung defines it, which will sneak up on us and attack when we deny its existence.
I chose this particular adaptation by American playwright Mac Wellman because I was intrigued by his unconventional re-telling of the Dracula story, which merges Victorian repressions, contemporary angst, and archetypal obsessions. Mina and Lucy are central in his version of the classic horror tale (and I have made them even more so) which comments on the Dracula myth even as it plays out before us in all its mystery. The production explores both sexual obsession and sexual liberation as well as themes around love, friendship, science, superstition, and the monster within us all, looking to maintain the delicate balance between horror and wickedly dark humour.
I am a director who approaches a play as a site for creating images that go beyond the literal. This aesthetic results in a highly theatrical style with abundant physicality. Luckily, my cast, the graduating BFA Acting class of 2021, are exceptional movers with great training, inventiveness and dedication. Working with them has been a joyful experience.
In creating the evocative visual world of this Dracula, I have had amazing support from a brave band of very talented artists; set designer FengYi Jiang, costume designer Robert Shannon, lighting designer Even Gilchrist and sound designer Michael Caron. I also wish to acknowledge the great contribution made to the production by vocal coach Josh Meredith, who completes his MFA thesis in Voice Pedagogy with his work on this show.
One of the lovely gifts of this show is that we are able to return performing for a live audience. We are beyond thrilled to share our work with you in person.
--Kathleen Weiss
Dig Deeper
"A dramaturg is a member of the artistic team of a theatre production who is a specialist in the transformation of a dramatic script into a meaningful living performance."
(5) Michael Mark Chemers, Ghost Light: An Introductory Handbook for Dramaturgy, Southern Illinois University Press, 2010.
Featuring...
Playbill
THE CAST
Van Helsing — Lauren Brady
Lucy — Elizabeth Chamberlain
Dracula — Julia van Dam
Jonathan — Max Hanic
Mina — Sophie Healey
Seward — Thomas Kassian
Simmons — Dylan Maguire
Vampirette — Michelle Robb
Quincey — Zachary Strom
Vampirette — Hannah Wigglesworth
CREATIVE TEAM
Director — Kate Weiss
Set Designer — FengYi Jiang
Costume Designer — Robert Shannon
Costume Assistant — Rory Turner
Lighting Designer — Even Gilchrist
Lighting Assistant — Rebecca Cypher
Sound Designer — Michael Caron
Vocal and Accent Coach — Josh Meredith
Movement Coach — Lin Snelling
Stage Manager — Galen Hite
Assistant Stage Manager: Props — Courtney Bettanin
Assistant Stage Manager: Costumes — Charlotte Braid
ADMINISTRATION
Department Chair/Artistic Director — Melanie Dreyer-Lude
Administrative Chair — Julie Brown
EA/Grad Advisor — Liz Ludwig
Undergrad Advisor — Connie Golden
Theatre Administrator — David Prestley
Box Office Coordinator — Candice Stollery
Office Coordinator/Admin Assistant — Helen Baggaley
Marketing and Communications — Erik Einsiedel
PRODUCTION TEAM
Production Manager — Gerry van Hezewyk
Technical Director — Larry Clark
Assistant Technical Director — Emma Nokes
Head of Wardrobe — Joanna Johnston
Head of Carpentry — Darrell Cooksey
Stage Carpenter — Emma Nokes
Scenic Carpenter — Barb Hagensen
Head of Paint — Lieke den Bakker
Light and Sound Crew — Stuart Lindsay, Ian McClellan, Amy Dass, Anthony Hunchak, Curtis Gauthier
Properties Master — Jane Kline
Properties Assistant — Tiffany Martineau
Lighting Supervisor — Jeff Osterlin
Head of Lighting — Mic Herbold
Lighting Operator — Casey Irwin
Sound Supervisor — Matthew Skopyk
Head of Sound — Kenzie Bowes
Sound Operator — Curtis Gaulthier
ADVISORS
Stage Management —John Raymond
Stage Management —Izzy Bequest
Design Advisor — Robert Shannon
Paint Advisor — Cindy Zuby
Gallery
Check out behind-the-scenes content from some of our previous productions!