By Ellen Smith, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna theater department is presenting Bram Stoker’s Dracula, adapted into a brilliant retelling of the classic vampire narrative by acclaimed Scottish playwright Liz Lochhead.
The show will take place in the Degenstein Center Theater from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 14 Senior Madison Niness, who plays Mina, talked about her thoughts on the play and her preparation. “This adaptation is a feminist look at the known story of Dracula so audiences should expect a faithful story telling with a more comprehensive eye on the women of the play: Mina and Lucy,” Niness said.
Niness also commented that in order to prepare for a play like this, she spends a lot of time with the script itself. “The stylized nature of it lends itself to melodramatic moments, which means that when I look at my script I really have to pick and choose where my big beat [or idea] changes are,” she said.
Rehearsals for this play occur five days a week from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. with more frequent rehearsals as they get closer to the tech week, which is a week out from the show.
Niness’ character is the older sister of the two main women. Mina is a proper English rose who watches her sister became the first victim of Dracula, and then becomes one herself.
Niness said she does not relate to her character and she saw herself in very little characteristics of Mina. She said Mina is a kind of a kiss-up and has a different face for everyone.
Another senior, Charlie Reisman, portrays a male lead in the adaptation of Dracula. Reisman discussed how the audience will see Dracula differently in Lochhead’s adaptation. “[The audience] will have their ideas of what Dracula is challenged and they will come away with a new understanding of the story,” Reisman said..
Reisman also spoke about how intense the rehearsal process is; it has been non-stop for a month for the cast and crew. Reisman spends a lot of his time working on his lines trying to understand the emotional complexities of his character.
“When we are working on a play, everyone involved has their lives consumed by the play because we are working every day on it,” he said.
He said his character is someone who wants to help everyone and when he fails it destroys him.
Charlie commented on the set as well and said that the audience may come away saying that the set was the coolest part or the show.
Like Niness, Reisman likes his character, but does not relate to him. He is able to get into character by finding his emotional complexities and find a way into them that are similar to his own.
Senior second assistant stage manager Rowen Mahoney gave a different perspective: “Any show presents its own unique set of challenges. Tons of prep goes into the creation and management of a show. As this is the twentieth production I’ve been a part of this department, I’ve learned that nothing is ever predictable and things are guaranteed to change,” she said.
Mahoney will be acting as second assistant stage manager to junior stage manager Emily Dellinger.
Mahoney’s position entails organizing the cast and crew, helping complete the designers vision and acting as a liaison for the director’s needs, as well as calling the cues for the performance.
Mahoney noted that the set and props are inspired by a photo from a German expressionist movie “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari” from the early 20th century. This means that the set and prop design contains no right angles.
Mahoney said this will give the show a warped and interesting dimension through the light, sound and ambient noise, creating a rich atmosphere that pulls the audience into the melodrama of the play.
For this adaptation of Dracula, Mahoney will wear many hats including: the second assistant stage manager, master fly operator, as well as staff electrician and scenic artist.
Mahoney expressed that she is lucky to be given these opportunities.
“This gives me the chance to get down and dirty with the cast and crew instead of overlooking it all from the lofty production stage manager’s booth. I will be stationed stage left assisting with scene changes and the movement of set pieces from the rail. It is always so amazing to get to help bring a piece of art to life. It may be a lot of hard work but it always pays off in the end with incredible performances,” she said.
Mahoney will also help the actors and keep everyone safe during the run of show. Bram Stoker’s Dracula will open Nov. 14. Additional showings will be Nov. 15 and Nov. 16, both from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The final showing will be Nov. 17 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.