Dracula

spong8

Member
I know that someone in this forum has done the play Dracula. Our school is doing this play, and I was wondering how y'll did some of the things that the script calls for such as these:

Renfield's openning monologue when he starts to eat a rat.
Van Helsing drawing blood for lucy
and last but not least the sequences that the vixens are in. Such as the seen in which they eat the baby over harker.
Also what is a good recipe for a non staining blood. preferably one that can either chip off or one that is easilly cleaned off.


If Anyone has any pictures of Dracula scenery or anything else related to this play I would love it if you share.
 
Heh, my school is doing that too.

I didn't know any of that was in the play, though. Interesting O.O
 
If you have a Haunt House in the area it can be a good place to get theatrical blood donated. But in my working with blood it usually stains clothing however it is relativly easy to clean off your skin.

As far as the rat scene we cut that out of the show.

Have fun with it.
 
Here is a link to the pictures from when we did it: http://www.mhswelsh.com/dracula .

It was two years ago and I don't remember everything about it right off hand, but my main suggestion is that you don't have to make everything literal. The vixens didn't necessarily eat a baby in ours, but they were thrown a bundle that resembled a baby and they all swarmed around it and attacked it as if it was a baby, then the focus was redirected back to the actor in that scene (I don't remember who it was).

If you take that kind of attitude towards the other parts, it should work well for you. This show is way too graphic to do completely literal.

I know the reaction from the crowd was really good when we did it-we oversold all of the shows that we had. It has even become required viewing at a couple of the colleges in Pennsylvania. If you would like a copy of the DVD of it, our TV Studio taped it and sells them for $10 and I'll pick up the shipping if you want one, so let me know.

Hoped I've helped...let me know if you have any other questions. It's an awesome play to do.
 
I've never seen this production so I'm really not sure how this is going to work. But Eating the rat (I think) wouldn't be to difficult. Buy a fake rat and attach a fake blood packet onto the back side of it. When he bites it, it will bleed. It doesn't have to look "TO" reel because the audience will be far away.


Also, With the hole "Blood staining the clothing" thing. I really don't think this is a problem. As long as the costume is allowed to get blood on it, I say go ahead. I'm sure Dracula would have had blood stains on his clothes.
 
Never did nor saw that show. My first stop as prop master for it would be to study some prop-handbooks as it's a popular show and such concepts will probably have been covered.

Otherwise what I might advise upon first impressions:
First eating the Rat. Assuming it's a rubberized plastic or carved rat, what it's made of won't be healthy to really chomp down, much less if something to chomp down on in the fangs doing the work will cause problems with the fake teeth staying in place or getting stuck. Should probably be a fake chomping down on the meat and as above some blood pack. Instead, some form of outer rat shape with blood pack that can be squeezed and has a nozzle or hole in it that will upon squeezing release the blood. Some way also to fill the blood pack will than be needed for the next show. Perhaps hot-gluing the fill and even spray point of the blood pack so that if you squeeze the pack sufficiently the hot glue cap pops and sprays blood but when in place it's sealed. Something like this. Perhaps better than any especially hot melt glue cork which might damage the prop or even when popping, pop into the talent's mouth, just a prop that has a fill/release tube for the fake blood that is syrringe filled and in the case of some form of rubber bladder, squeezed to stream out. Perhaps if doing two to four points of streaming blood, just temporarially cork the other tubes while filling. Use of a fill tube around 1/16" ID should be sufficient in resistance to leaking out in handeling, that blood shouldn't just leak even without a cork on it's ends.


While I have not looked at a prop book, I might go to some rubber nickel and dime joke store's rubber rat and glue some fake hair on it. In it's center install a blood pack with fill and exit tubes.

Same often with other blood - this by way of small tubes of it that is activated by pressure or blood pack one probably buys.

As for blood, there is lots of recepies for it, in some cases I might just go with cranberry juice or perhaps some form of other red say Kool Aid. Perhaps thickening it where needed with corn syrup, starch or baking soda.
 
Heck, another way you could do it is just have a rubber bag-type-thing with a hole in it; when Dracula picks it up, he puts his finger over the hole; when he eats it, he releases.


Though, if you wanted to REALLY be cool, you could always use a black balloon for the head....sploosh....
 

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