Written by Steven Dietz Directed by Peter Amster - Geva Theatre

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9 A Symbol for the Ages? VAN HELSING: Can you tell me why men — in all ages and all places — have believed there are some few who live on always? That there are men and women who cannot die? “The Count has recently been crowded off the stage and screen by some of his wayward children. Anne Rice’s Lestat, Buffy and her friends, the kids from Twilight and True Blood have carried on the tradition of embodying our fears of the unknown, of the foreign, of our own passions and the consequences of infection and too much sun. But with the aid of Mr. Dietz’s thrilling adaption, I hope that a return to Mr. Stoker’s original will prove that the Count is still King.” — Director Peter Amster It’s undeniable that vampires continue to fascinate decade after decade, but why they do is a question for each new audience. Are we gluttons for the visceral thrill of terror, of hunters and prey? Is there something more to this story that speaks to each age? “No people, we are told, were more confident than the citizens of Victorian England. The sun never set on their empire. They were also masters of science and technology. Dracula is full of exciting modern machinery—the telegraph, the typewriter, the “Kodak”—and the novel has an obsession with railway trains, probably the nineteenth century’s most crucial invention. The new world held no terrors for these people. Nevertheless, they were bewildered by it, because of its challenge to religious faith, and to the emotions religion had taught: sweetness, comfort, reverence, resignation.” Critic Joan Acocella highlights a cultural environment where a tension between science and faith, technology and folklore, the modern and the traditional may have provided the background for Dracula; an ancient evil unfathomably thriving in a blind spot of his age’s progress. Do we feel any of these tensions today? DRACULA: The men of England live lives of order and reason. Not a ripple disturbs the still surface of their complacency. But standing water grows fetid, you see — giving rise to disease. The complacent man is my puppet. Critics have proposed many enduring concerns which may explain the impact of this narrative. A brief list might include: the threat of mortality, modernity, the pace and costs of progress, the role of intellect vs. instinct, social darwinism in conflict with the civilized values of community and compassion, sexuality, the roles of men and women, and the impact of empires, immigration, racial mixing and prejudice. While Dracula is not expressly about any of these topics, such resonances may, in part, explain audiences’ recurrent interest. How does an artist provide for the audience’s curiosity? Playwright Steven Dietz answers: “As I was writing, my friends kept asking what my ‘take’ on the story was. In my adaptation, they wondered, what did Dracula ‘represent’? And though I was tempted to join them in their esoteric aerobics, I realized that, for my purposes, to make Dracula a ‘metaphor’ was cheating. It was akin to putting a muzzle on the most terrifying aspect of the story. You can hide from a metaphor. A metaphor doesn’t wait outside your window under a full moon. A metaphor doesn’t turn into a bat and land on your bed. So, instead, I took Mr. Stoker at his word: although there are obviously many metaphorical dimensions to Count Dracula, the actual being is the most haunting. The question, then, is not what Dracula represents, but what he is: a brilliant, seductive, fanged beast waiting to suck the blood from your throat. Hide from that.” � Choose a more modern vampire mythology and compare and contrast with Dracula. What themes or issues do they have in common? Where do they diverge? Does the newer version of the myth seem specifically relevant to modern life in any way that Stoker’s story does not? How are technological advances and scientific progress changing the world today? How do people feel about these changes? Do doubts or fears result? Choose a topic of debate in today’s society. On which sides of the issue do you imagine each of the characters in Dracula would stand, and why? Do you agree with Dietz that it is not the author’s job to interpret the meaning of the work? Why or why not? “My thesis is this: I want you to believe. To believe in things you cannot. That is the essence of faith.” – Van Helsing
Resources Books Dracula by Bram Stoker, Norton Critical Edition, edited by Nina Auerbach and David J. Skal The New Annotated Dracula, by Bram Stoker, edited by Leslie S. Klinger with an introduction by Neil Gaiman The Everything Vampire Book by Barb Karg, Arjean Spaite, and Rick Sutherland Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen, revised edition, by David J. Skal In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires Completely Revised by Raymond T. McNally and Radu Florescu Three Vampire Tales: Dracula, Carmilla, and The Vampyre, edited by Anne Williams, published by New Riverside Editions On Film Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 1992, with Gary Oldman in the title role Dracula, 1931, with Bela Lugosi in the title role Dracula, 1979, with Frank Langella in the title role Dracula: Dead and Loving It, 1995, a Mel Brooks comedy Horror of Dracula, 1958,with Christopher Lee in the title role Let the Right One In, 2008, from Norway Nosferatu, 1922 with Max Schrek in the title role Nosferatu the Vampyre, 1979, by Werner Herzog Shadow of the Vampire, 2000 Van Helsing, 2004, with Hugh Jackman in the title role Websites http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/dracula/links.html PBS’s list of Dracula web resources, organized by a variety of great topics http://www.virtualsalt.com/gothic.htm Elements of the Gothic Novel http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2009/03/16/090316crat_atlarge_ acocella#ixzz1Zs0CdAge Joan Acocella’s article “In The Blood” (referenced in this guide) about the Dracula story http://thewebofnarcissism.blogspot.com/2010/11/thirteen-comparisons-by-patrickjohnson.html Patrick Johnson’s essay “Count Dracula and the Folkloric Vampire: Thirteen Comparisons”(referenced in this guide) “But, great men, like galaxies, end as dust.” – Dracula 10 Staff Skip Greer Director of Education/ Artist-in-Residence Kathryn Moroney Associate Director of Education Eric Evans Education Administrator Danny Hoskins & Jack Langerak Artist Educators Mark Cuddy Artistic Director Tom Parrish Executive Director
Page 1 and 2: D racula Written by Steven Dietz Di
Page 3 and 4: Fragments of a Story I write to you
Page 5 and 6: Most of the characters in Bram Stok
Page 7 and 8: Dracula is an unseen presence for m
Page 9: Fear of the Unknown Scenic designer

Written by Steven Dietz Directed by Peter Amster - Geva Theatre

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