In honor of Halloween, Odessa College will stage the play Dracula at the Globe Theatre.
Show dates are Oct. 28 and 29 at 7 p.m., a 10 p.m. Halloween show Oct. 31, 7 p.m. Nov. 4 and 2 p.m. Nov. 5. There have been many versions of Dracula over the years, but Director of Theatre Josh Rapp said this one is very true to the novel.
“There are, there are some variations to it. I would say that it’s really a lovely adaptation because the people who don’t know Dracula will see it play for the first time and really enjoy it,” Rapp said.
He added that those who have read the novel will see their favorite moments highlighted in “really nice ways.”
“It follows Bram Stoker’s Dracula pretty closely and it’s the same plot and it highlights some of the same heightened points, but it also progresses and moves differently,” Rapp said.
The play has a cast of 15. The way it is structured is there is a principal cast and then an ensemble cast that plays all the other parts.
“It’s an ensemble based show,” Rapp said.
He added that there’s been a lot of hype about people seeing the show.
“A lot of my actors, some of them are really excited about it; the production staff were excited. And then some of my younger cast were like, oh, this is cool. What’s it about?” Rapp said.
He added that if this was their first experience with Dracula, what better way to experience it.
“We did a lot of script work. We did a lot of like vampire mythology where I had to research some of Bram’s life. I had them watch some weird films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Once they started to get a handle on it, they seem to really enjoy it which was exciting for me because I remember the MGM films and all the monster films of the period, and I remember how much excitement it was when I first discovered them,” Rapp said.
“It was kind of fun to watch my cast navigate the same experience; to watch them look through Dracula, experience Bram Stoker’s writing for the first time; kind of start to learn the mythos” and realize it was a neat sub-genre, but also a classic.
“I think what is really great about this play, it’s very accessible to a classic that’s been out for a long time. It still tells the same story; still has the same integrity, but is modernized in a way that makes it way more accessible,” Rapp said.
The play is still set in 1897 in the same setting.
“It hops between London and Transylvania, but the dialogue is modern English; it’s modernized. That was the thing that appealed to me about this script a lot is that previous iterations of the script they stick more traditionally to the writing. They’re a little more thrillers, whereas this production is way more visceral. So I’ll say that it’s a more accessible and exciting and visually stimulating production,” Rapp said.
Theatre Technical Director Amanda Klipsch Fuquay said it was difficult to put together the costumes and sets.
“It’s not like it’s just 15 costumes. It’s like 30 to 45 costumes that she’s having to build and make work for the period and the non-periodness. And then scenically it was tough because it jumps back and forth between Transylvania and London and multiple places in both locations very quickly,” Klipsch Fuquay said. “You have flashes between those locations.”
“And sometimes at the same time,” Rapp added.
“So we had to make a set that would accommodate them being in multiple locations at the same time, as well as different times, being able to isolate them and include everyone,” Klipsch Fuquay said.
When interviewed, they were in week four of rehearsals.
“I would say something that’s really amazing about this cast is there are a lot of risk takers. There’s a certain level of weirdness when you say, okay, there’s going to be vampires and you’re going to be in these costumes,” Rapp said.
He added that he often has to ask the cast to imagine there are lights, sound, stage blood and you’re in costume.
“You have to get the right amount of people that can go, okay, cool, and then start playing with things that aren’t really there until they’re there. This cast has been really good about being fearless in that way, which is the best gift any director could ask for,” Rapp said.
Klipsch Fuquay said there is a big shift at intermission where they change over two of their main playing spaces to be different.
“We have it to where with each act, there are about six playing spaces on the stage any of which can be used at a time. Then we have a lot of scenery on wheels that comes in and out and a lot of lighting effects to help isolate and change different rooms to look like different things,” Klipsch Fuquay added.
Their last production of The Glass Menagerie was a good starting point. Rapp said they were able to get a better handle on the talent pool and he added that the support they have received from OC has helped as well.
“Our ambition is to keep growing and do bigger things. We’re just learning every day that we can do more because of the support system behind us,” Rapp said.
He added that there are returning players cast in Dracula that people who saw Glass Menagerie will recognize. There also is OC staff, new students, high school students and alumni, among others.
This semester, Rapp said, he has a full run. They like to have their shows designed and ready to go so that they can build it early, which creates less stress.
Klipsch Fuquay was pregnant and due about mid-October.
Rapp said that was a very important consideration, so he wanted to give a shout out to the assistant technical director Nathaniel Jordan.
“He’s been absolutely incredible,” Rapp said.
The show is free for faculty and students. Those students don’t have to be OC students. General admission tickets are $15 and there is a pay what you can option.
“If $15 is standing in between you and seeing the shows just pay what you can; $1 is fine. You do have to have a ticket,” Rapp said. “You have to go to Eventbrite and get a ticket. You can go to Eventbrite searches; you can go to the OC website on the main page on the banner, you can find it. You can find a poster and scan a QR code. It’s on our Facebook, but you do have to have a ticket that can get scanned at the door just because of the number of seatings. We’re anticipating a pretty good house.”
If you go
- What: Dracula.
- When: 7 p.m. Oct. 28 & Oct. 29, 10 p.m. Oct. 31, 7 p.m. Nov. 4, 2 p.m. Nov. 5.
- Where: Globe Theatre.
- Where to purchase tickets: tinyurl.com/yrw2cz2y
