Theatre lovers should prepare themselves for a thrilling rendition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula at Ponoka Secondary Campus, which was adapted as a musical by drama teacher and director Kevin Ferguson.
Preparations for the play started about a year ago and has become a labour of love for the teacher.
He wanted to write it as a musical and he asked his son, Mark, to collaborate with him on the songs. Mark is a member of the rock group Bandolier and he was able to take melodies provided by his father to come up with the nine original songs in the play.
“About a week or two later, he’d come back with a song,” said Ferguson in reference to the cooperation with his son.
An interesting note on their collaboration is that they were only in the same room for about one hour. Much of the work was done over the phone.
Staying true to the story of Dracula
After reading the play, Ferguson decided to adapt it as a musical that tells the story of Count Dracula, who moves to London and falls in love with Wilhelmina (Mina) Murray, fiancé to Jonathan Harker.
The character of Renfield, a lawyer and mad servant of Dracula, is the only character not featured in the adapted version, said Ferguson, mainly to play up the love triangle between Harker, Dracula and Mina. He wanted to show the tension between the three protagonists.
“You’re going to get a love story that ultimately is going to knock your socks off . . . up to the very end, you’re not certain how this thing’s going to turn out,” explained Ferguson.
He said the cast of more than 20 actors are putting on such a strong performance that the audience won’t be able to help themselves but be drawn in. “We have an all-star cast.”
While the story of Dracula is somewhat dark, Ferguson says the young actors were eager to show their skills. He wanted to give them a creative channel.
Expect some chills, too. Ferguson says the young actresses who play the sisters will add a spooky sense to the story. “They’ll make the hair on the back of your neck stand up,” he said.
Being in the new theatre will also create a personal experience for playgoers. The stage is much like a Greek theatre with rising seating, allowing actors’ voices to reach farther. Ferguson says they are not using any microphones.
He says putting the play together involved collaboration with musical director Cameron Hinton, students in the drama classes helping with set decoration and with the Klaglahachie Fine Arts Society that provided costumes for the play.
Shows are set for two weekends starting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 16 to Saturday, April 18 and Thursday, April 23 to Saturday, April 25.
For the Friday night shows, if members of the audience come dressed as a character from the play they will get half off their tickets. For more information on tickets, contact PSC at 403-783-4411. Tickets can also be purchased at the door.