Dracula swoops into UNM this weekend as a harbinger of the Halloween season.
“The Land Beyond the Forest: Dracula and Swoop,” produced by the UNM Theatre Department in conjunction with the Tricklock Theater Company, features the original adventure of everyone’s favorite vampire and a new tale set over the skies of Manhattan. Both plays are written by Mac Wellman and directed by Bill Walters.
“There are several versions of ‘Dracula,’ but this version is written by Mac Wellman, who is one of the most experimental and influential American playwrights,” Walters said. “He’s trying to do two things at the same time. On the one hand, he’s trying to stay faithful to the text, but on the other hand, he’s trying to add something new to that, and that’s our challenge, too.”
Wellman will also be coming from New York to see the show, adding more pressure to an already challenging production, Walters said.
The play will be performed in the Carlisle Performance Space rather than in a traditional theater. Walters said the gym has more space and provides an unconventional setting.
“Mac Wellman as well as myself find the conventional theater architecture a bit too confining, and we wanted to challenge people’s expectations,” he said.
Stage Manager Nicole Ouellette said this rendition of “Dracula” has a darker and more grotesque mood than previous productions, and the cast and crew strove to emphasize the difference.
“We had to find a way to make it different than the ‘Dracula’ we all know and love,” Ouellette said. “We wanted to add more obscure elements of blood and other bodily fluids. The actors will hopefully be in a few centimeters of blood by the end of the show.”
Student Serouj Bingham, who stars as Dracula, said he tried to break away from the traditional expectations for the character.
“In terms in coming up with a character, he’s a monster,” Bingham said. “The only thing about this production is he is not a monster. He’s not Frankenstein or the werewolf. He just happens to be a noble gentleman with a penchant for sucking blood.”
Bingham said Dracula is a great character because of his ability to transcend societal rules.
“He’s a person who just meets his needs,” he said. “All of my dialog is very direct. A lot of characters are struggling against a Victorian mold they have to operate within, but my character is completely free to step out of that.”
Walters said the second play, “Swoop,” is written as if Wellman compiled the outtakes from the first play.
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“Swoop,” a play about Dracula in New York, is performed between the first and second acts of “Dracula” to provide perspective, Walters said.
“I got the idea to put ‘Swoop’ in between act one and act two of ‘Dracula’ to create a counterpoint,” Walters said. “So we don’t just have the Dracula story, but also we have a more authentic version of Mac Wellman’s dramatic voice.”
The entire production runs over two hours with two intermissions, but the audience gets to see two plays, Ouellette said.
“It’s going to be a lengthy show,” she said. “But it’s all intertwined and it will continuously flow. Hopefully, it’ll keep everyone engaged and in depth with the story.”
Walters said that during intermissions, viewers can visit a model Victorian community constructed by the production crew in the Carlisle Courtyard.
“We’re going to have party lights and an environment out there,” he said. “People can come out during intermission and have a cup of tea.”
Walters said the audience will be entranced by this elaborate production.
“I think people who are familiar with the ‘Dracula’ story will see those characters, they’ll see that story happening,” he said. “At the same time, if you are a little more acquainted with what experimental theater is about, people will also find it challenging in that way. The whole idea is to keep people a little off-balance and opening their minds.”
*The Land Beyond the Forest: Dracula and Swoop
Carlisle Gym
Oct. 2 – 11
www.unmtickets.com
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