Program - Krannert Center for the Performing Arts

ProfilesDracula insinuates himself into the lives of thedisenfranchised and the powerless. He encouragestheir desires and troubles their minds. As an ancientcreature who feeds off violent and oppressiveculture, Dracula fears the promise that the twentiethcentury offered many at the end of the nineteenthcentury as expressed by Jonathan Harker, “I hopewe are done with wars and bloodshed. Surely as thetwentieth century dawns, mankind will see sense.”Dracula scoffs at the “age of modernity,” having noplace in the twentieth century that Jonathan hopesfor. The potential of this future is overwhelmingfor those, like Dracula, who face the prospect oflosing power. The looming twentieth century of thenovel, with its threats and promises, has come andgone, but the anxieties that it prompted remain. Theviolence and conflict of the last 100 years suggeststhat our cultural vampires were not defeated. Thefact that we continue to struggle with issues ofgender and social status despite massive gains duringthe twentieth century is significant. We have notmoved entirely beyond tradition and old fears. Weremain fascinated by vampires and the violent oldworld they represent.—Rachel E. BennettChristopher Terrell Brown(Jonathan Harker) is so veryproud to be presenting BramStoker’s classic vampire mythwith the U of I Department ofTheatre. Currently pursuing aBFA in acting, Brown is veryactive in the community—as awriter, director, and teacher—all the while committed to lifelong learning in thearts and humanities. Previous productions includeThe Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Jesus), Dawn andthe King’s Decree (Teacher/Director), and Hairspray(Seaweed J. Stubbs).Lydia Cornejo (Mrs. Manners)is a junior in the BFA ActingProgram at the Universityof Illinois. Prior to studyingat the U of I, she attendedthe Illinois Mathematics andScience Academy. Lydia haspursued her love of theatre byattending workshops throughvarious groups including the Second City. Lydiahas performed in For Colored Girls Who HaveConsidered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf,Cigarettes and Chocolate, and Impulse 24/7 at theArmory Free Theatre. Her most recent KrannertCenter show was Battle of Angels. She has alsoworked behind the scenes for some of KrannertCenter’s productions including Rigoletto and AMidsummer Night’s Dream—It’s a Bacchanal! Lydia isvery excited to be part of both this production andthis acting program. Her greatest aspiration is to be acast member of Saturday Night Live.Maeve Devitt (Vampire Bride3) is a sophomore in the BFAActing Program at the U of I andis excited to make her KrannertCenter debut. Continuing herstudy of improv comedy, shemost recently trained at ImprovOlympic in Chicago followingyears of training with theSecond City in Chicago. Other stage credits includeHair (Crissy) with Stage Door Fine Arts in 2011, andshe was a writer, actor, and director at Sketchfestin 2010-2011. Maeve has also placed in many vocalcompetitions in the Chicagoland area with Stacey De& Co. Last year, she participated in Impulse 24/7 andother shows at the Armory Free Theatre and joinedthe campus improv team, The Titanic Players.Mark E. Fox (Drinkwater) is asophomore in the BFA ActingProgram at the University ofIllinois. Recent credits includeLegally Blonde (ProfessorCallahan) with the ChampaignUrbana Theatre Company andThe Diary of Anne Frank (Mr.Kraler) with Summer StudioTheatre at Krannert Center. Last year, he performedin An Evening of American Musical Theatre with theSchool of Music, as well as Armory Free Theatreproductions of Stop Kiss (Peter), Reefer Madness!(Chorus/Ensemble), and Impulse 24/7, and theStudent Playwrights Outreach Theatre (SPOT). Also,while serving overseas, he had the good fortune tojoin productions of Guys and Dolls (Nathan Detroit)with the Beijing Playhouse and Beauty and the Beast(Beast) as well as I Love You, You’re Perfect, NowChange (Man #2) with the Pacific Okinawa Players.10 11