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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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