Discovering Self in a Topsy Turvy World
Drawing inspiration from the play's bold reversal of roles—where the novel's 'brave and outgoing' Lucy and the 'restricted' Mina swap fates and fortunes—we crafted a world where the very definition of 'normal' was utterly challenged. Dracula is a character rigidly constrained by his own rules and traditions, but the dramatic core of the play is the other characters’ successful effort to challenge those constraints and claim their freedom. As Lucy realizes at the play's close,
"It's funny, that in order to truly learn how to live, we had to almost die."
Instead of adhering to the five-actor, multiple-role structure that defined the 2023 Off-Broadway premiere, we embraced the playwrights’ invitation for flexibility and expanded our cast to 11. This decision was strategic: while we keep the play’s core of campy comedy, pop culture references, and boundary-pushing challenges to gender norms, our larger ensemble allowed us to explore the sympathy and vulnerability of the characters more fully, presenting them as complex individuals rather than broad comic types.
Local Arts Critic Jill Lane wrote-
“I stole in for a sneak preview of the dress rehearsal of this production last evening as the entire cast perfectly spewed out the funny lines, dramatic theatricals, amidst the hauntingly appropriate music, lighting effects and stage set. Artfully done. Yes, it’s bloody good.
A uniquely dramatic approach to the count himself, Connie Salvini Thompson, stole the show with those oh so Dracula flaunting theatrics. And those ever present fangs searching for love in all the wrong places! well done portrayal and rich characterization of this dastardly evil-doer!
So for all you lovers out there of all things Halloween…..you don’t have to wait a bloody second longer…..it’s COUNTdown time for DRACULA!
Start the music maestro! MWA-ha-ha-haha……..!"
An important value that guides my work as a director, is the importance of theatre as a community art. Founded in 1949, the Brown County Playhouse was the state’s first summer stock theatre. Today, the venue hosts musical acts together with producing live theatre. One of the most popular acts each year is an Elvis impersonator. A signature of that show is Elvis handing out leis to the audience members. We copied this act when Dracula welcomes Harker (and the audience) to his castle. The ensemble dances to the YMCA in the background— getting the entire audience involved in the fun.
In a play that aims to challenge gender and sexual normativity, the character of Mina—often portrayed as the unfortunate butt of jokes regarding her appearance and unfulfilled sexual desires—can reinforce problematic standards of beauty and desire. I rejected this approach. I focused instead on making Mina a deeply sympathetic figure, reflecting the experience of many girls who unfairly belittle their own appearance and are teased or shamed for having sexual desire.
Mina complains about even “finding a gray hair down near my…” while her sister Lucy drags her fiance Jonathan into bed.
The three men who Mina hopes might be suitors complain they prefer Lucy, “the hot one.” We used two-dimensional puppets for these characters in order to dehumanize their view and emphasize how “flat” their sexist views were.