Dracula

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Character Descriptions

DET. ABE VAN HELSING – A strong, robust private eye in his late 40s, with a distinctive, deep, gravelly, booming voice. Pragmatic but highly secretive of his past. A loner with lightning-quick reflexes and a dry wit. The archetypal hard-boiled detective reminiscent of Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe.

LUCY MURRAY – A late 20s/early 30s blonde movie starlet, à la Jean Harlow. Long hair, voluptuous, very glamorous, but still naïve at heart. Her career is just beginning: she is still overwhelmed by the Hollywood studio scene. She is a good actress trapped in bad typecasting.

JONATHAN HARKER – An attractive yet intensely egomaniacal Hollywood director in his mid-20s/early 30s. He has been driven to his wit’s end by the impossible working conditions at the Sanitarium and the financial difficulties his film is experiencing. A relentless name-dropper, he considers himself to be a young Orson Welles or Eric Von Stroheim, when in fact he is more akin to Ed Wood.

DR. JACK SEWARD – An intelligent, nervous psychiatrist in his late 30s, the chief administrator of the Whitby Hills Sanitarium. A fastidious dresser and very organized worker, but easily flustered, particularly when things do not go according to plan. Shy and bookish.

NURSE MARY WESTFALL – A very prim, powerful, no-nonsense redhead in her late 30s/early 40s. She is Seward’s chief aid and strikes fear in all of the patients but Renfield. Sarcastic and systematic, able to stop a person in his/her tracks with a single glance.

COUNT DRACULA – An ageless, sensual, dark, exotic man, played by an actor in his late 30s/early 40s. Very striking physically with a lithe, muscular build. Long, flowing black hair and piercing eyes. Full lips and angular facial features and bone structure. His attractiveness has a strong sense of danger behind it. Must have the ability to alternate from erotic to savage in an instant. He speaks with a deep British accent, colored with an occasional Romanian inflection. He wears the modern attire of mid-20th century Eastern European nobility.

RENFIELD – Emaciated, wild-eyed man in his late 30s/early 40s. Very jumpy and anxious, unpredictable, pathetic at times, much like Peter Lorre. His moods shift often, and he can be incredibly calm and endearing one moment and manic and violent the next. Has a severe persecution complex. He comes from a wealthy corporate family, but has not seen any of them since being admitted to the hospital because of his mental illness. The actor playing Renfield must have a good sense of humor (verbal and physical).

DEAN QUINCEY – Dean is a handsome Hollywood actor in his early 30s, with an overactive sense of humor. He is the class clown and every woman’s best friend.

FEMALE PATIENT/MINA HOLMWOOD – The Female Patient is a deaf mute who carries a ragged baby doll, she often weeps uncontrollably and must be sedated regularly. Mina is a brassy accountant in her mid-20s. Thin body frame, with short hair and a dark complexion. Soft brown eyes and sculpted, aquiline facial features. Very strong, independent, and professional. Very reminiscent of a young Ingrid Bergman or Barbara Stanwyck.

LORNA MILLS/JESSICA SHERIDAN/EMILY VAN HELSING – Lorna Mills is a Hollywood diva in her 40s who routinely plays roles ten years too young for her. She and Lucy share many similar physical attributes and could easily be mistaken for one another. Jessica Sheridan is a pushy, sharp-tongued gossip columnist in her late 40s who insists on being in the middle of everything. She has a cackling laugh that cuts through any amount of noise and a pocketful of insults suitable for any occasion. Emily Van Helsing is a demure, soft-spoken woman in her late 30s. Her spirit is trapped in Van Helsing’s memories by his sense of guilt and regret.

SIMMONS – Simmons is an orderly, in charge of the Sanitarium’s male patients; a tall, muscular hulk of a man in his 20s-30s. Very short hair, well-groomed, rarely smiles. Should be skilled with stage combat.

NURSE WALLACE – Non-speaking role. Nurse Wallace is an orderly, in charge of the Sanitarium’s female patients; a solid woman in her 30s, surprisingly strong for her size. Ideally, some stage combat experience would be preferable.

EXTRAS – Cast may supplemented with extras.

Dracula: The Case of the Silver Scream – Production Photos

Dracula – Audio Soundscapes and Effects