The theatre department debuts its
second production of the 2007-2008
season Friday with a faithful rendition
of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.”
But why should people be excited
about a story that’s been twisted, rehashed
and crammed down our throats
more times than we care to count?
“It’s epic. It deals with love and death
and life and afterlife and the undead,”
said Joe Carlson, a senior who plays
Renfield, the dastardly condemned
servant of the Count himself.
The original gothic horror romance
was published in 1897 and has since
spawned countless adaptations, many
of which distort the legend.
Director Barry Bell and writer Steven
Dietz both acknowledge the importance
of staying true to the story that has rattled
the nerves of so many.
“What most people only know is the
movies and Buffy and that stuff. This goes
back to the legends and the superstitions
– the good stuff,” Bell said.
Contrary to popular belief, the count’s
powers are actually magnified in the
original rendition.
“Sunlight does not kill vampires. It
never has. Dracula appears in the book
many times in the sun. What happens
when they go into the sun is they lose
their powers. They no longer have the
strength of 20 men. They can’t hypnotize
you and turn into mist and fog and
wolves and things like that. Turning
into a bat is rare. Mostly he travels by
turning into a wolf,” Bell said.
These elements make for a remarkable
villain who requires a remarkable
production, Carlson said.
“It’s a monster of a show,” Bell said.
“There’s a lot of seniors and juniors and
some of the stronger underclassmen.
The ensemble work is top notch. They
did quite a job together and they take
risks.”
New costume designer and Broadway
veteran Toni-Leslie James also was
impressed with the abilities of the
students.
“My challenge was learning how to
work with students and delegate. I’m
used to working on Broadway with
professional unions. Even without the
unions, we’ve got a great student crew,
and they’ve really stepped up and it’s
been fantastic.”
Although it is not completely like the
limelight of Broadway, the constraints
of such a massive production are still
present.
“It’s always a time or money thing,
just like anything else, but the actors
have been great, and everyone has been
performing beautifully, so I’m really
pleased,” James said.
In the early stages of dress rehearsal,
the ensemble had nearly mastered the
conviction of body language. Attributed
to movement coach Vanessa Passini, the
choreography highlights sexual expression
and violent stage combat.
“With sex choreography, it’s always
a challenge because you have to make
sure that everybody is real comfortable
with one another, and then they have
to do intimate things in front of a room
full of people who are standing there
and judging them the entire time,”
Passini said.
Passini quickly realized that her
subjects were already remarkably comfortable
with each other, thus improving
the quality of the on-stage antics.
“The cast feels like everyone is family,
so it has been really nice to work with
them . especially from a violence and
sex perspective. All I have to do is say
‘Do you guys feel comfortable with each
other?’ and I have yet to hear a no,”
Passini said.
Among the few liberties Bell has taken
with the original play is a parting from
the traditional gothic church organs of
Eastern Europe. Bell instructed sound
designer Thomas Vecchione to use a
unique kind of music to capture the
intensity of the play.
“It’s a really metal show. We use
Italian death metal in it for some of
the underscoring. We’re trying to get
the vibe of the show but not wallow in
the melodrama and drag it
down,” Carlson said.
The Italian death metal
is a group called Goblin,
which has made a name
for itself working in film
scoring.
“They do a lot of
soundtracks for horror
movies. When I walked
into (Bell’s) office earlier
this year, and we had our
first meeting about it, he
told me that they were the
music that he wanted me to
use throughout the show,
so I’ve been making that
work,” Vecchione said.
Even with the music
already laid out, synching it
to live theater is no simple
task, he said.
“I’m over a thousand
(queues) or somewhere
near there,” Vecchione said.
“The largest challenge was
getting music that was written
to be synched to video
to work for live theater
which is very variable in
what happens.”
VCU TV/HD also is getting
in the mix by filming
cast readings, dress rehearsals
and performances for a
special two-part documentary
about how Theatre
VCU operates.
The majestic intents of
Stoker come through in
the interpretation, leaving
no stone unturned and
a tremendous amount of
quality theater to look
forward to, Carlson said.
“There’s a lot of really
great work. It’s on par
with all the other fantastic
art that goes on around
(Richmond), and it really
speaks to our generation.
It’s not your grandma and
grandpa’s theater,” Carlson
said. “There’s violence, sex,
blood, metal . we’re going
to show up to play.”
Dracula runs from
Nov. 8 to Nov. 30 with a
special midnight showing
on Dec. 1. Tickets are
$17 for students. Call the
VCU Theatre Box Office at
(804) 828-6026 for more
information.