Sinclair Theatre
Dracula Rises Again
Sinclair Theatre presents a wickedly theatrical picture of Bram Stoker’s famous vampire, DRACULA, October 21-29, in Blair Hall Theatre, building 2, on Sinclair’s Downtown Dayton campus.
This version, written by Steven Dietz, is directed by Kimberly Borst who wanted to create a production that stayed true to the novel. “The legend of Dracula has been so diluted and mocked throughout the last one hundred years, that there is very little fear left in the original story. My goal was to evoke the same fear and horror that readers felt when the book was first published in 1897,” says Borst.
Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, one Sunday matinee at 2 pm on October 23, and a Throwback Thursday performance at 7 pm on Oct. 27th. Sunday and Thursday performances are American Sign Language interpreted.
Adult tickets cost $18 with student/senior tickets at $15. All Throwback Thursday tickets cost $10. Tickets are available online NOW at www.sinclair.edu/tickets. Like Sinclair Theatre on Facebook and watch for upcoming Wicked Wednesday promotions!
“Not for the sensitive or squeamish audience, this production contains a lot of gore, blood, and erotic scenes aimed to shock, while telling the story that Bram Stoker told in the pages of his novel,” Borst continued.
A “blood and special effects” artist, Kaoime E. Malloy, has been added to the technical staff as well as a fight choreographer Gary Minyard and flying director William G.L. Courson (Sinclair alumnus).
Cast includes: Leo Santucci as Dracula, Maximillian Santucci as Van Helsing with Sydney Baker, Thomas Puckett, Jonathan Kelly, Tristan Rivera, Gabriella Neuerer, Nick Baver, André Tomlinson, Chelsey Hall and Erin McGee.
Award-winning designers include: Chris Harmon (scenic), Kathleen Hotmer (costumes), Dan Brunk (lighting) and Sarah Gomes (props). Student designers include Brooke Watson (wigs & makeup) and Isaiah Parnell (sound).
A Charlie Brown Christmas at Sinclair
A Charlie Brown Christmas
By Charles M. Schulz
Based on the television special by Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson
Stage Adaptation by Eric Schaeffer
By Special Arrangement with Arthur Whitelaw and Ruby Persson
Directed by Gina Kleesattel
Music Direction by Katherine Frauman
This classic holiday show is LIVE ON STAGE and back by popular demand due to last year’s sold out performances. First shown as an animated television special based on Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts characters in 1965, this faithful stage adaptation features Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the gang as they grapple with the meaning of Christmas. With colorful costumes and scenery, this 40-minute production is quickly becoming a family holiday tradition and offers a perfect introduction for young children to LIVE theatre.
Performances are:
Wed.: Dec. 17 – Noon
Thurs.: Dec. 18 – 10AM — ASL Shadow Interpreted — SOLD OUT
Thurs.: Dec. 18 — Noon — ASL Shadow Interpreted
Fri.: Dec. 19 – Noon
Fri.: Dec. 19 7PM — ASL Shadow Interpreted — SOLD OUT
Sat.: Dec. 20 – 2PM – SOLD OUT
Sat.: Dec. 20 — 4 PM
Sat.: Dec. 20 — 7PM – SOLD OUT
For more information or to order tickets: www.sinclair.edu/tickets.
All tickets $8
Sinclair Students Are ‘Theatre Practitioners of the Future’
One of the greatest strengths of the Theatre program at Sinclair Community College is its focus on the individual student, according to Steven Skiles, chair of Sinclair’s Theatre and Dance Department.
“We want to get to know our students,” Skiles says. “We want to get to know what their goals are. Do you want to go on to a four-year institution? Do you want to go straight to New York? Is it your dream to be an American actor living in London?”
“We try to engage students in those conversations,” he continues, “so that when they’re going through the program here, they also have a larger goal in mind that keeps them moving forward.”
Students in Sinclair’s Theatre program have a choice between three major tracks: performance, technical theatre, and a double major incorporating both. Even students who choose a single emphasis are required to take some courses in the other discipline, however.
“We like to give our students the opportunity to learn about as many different aspects of the theatre as they can,” Skiles says, “so that when they go out into the workforce, they have many different capacities in which they can fill positions.”
Hands-on experience is another major component of the Theatre program, according to Skiles.
“We’re a very practically-oriented program,” he says. “We want our students doing things; we want them involved in productions. On the stage, behind the stage, designing for the stage; we want them to be a very large part of our production season.”
Before graduating, students in both programs must complete a capstone: a portfolio showcasing their work in the case of technical students, and an auditions class for performance majors, which covers such topics as putting together a resume, cultivating and maintaining contacts in the theatre industry, and the various skills needed to put together a good audition.
But the most important responsibility of the program, according to Skiles, is in shaping and educating the theatre professionals of tomorrow.
“We’re not a program that says ‘This is what you have to do’ or ‘This is the approach you have to have as an actor,’” Skiles says. “I don’t want ten million actors out there approaching a role the same way I would. These are the theatre practitioners of the future, man, and we want to create proactive, engaging students who will move the theatre forward in ways that we can’t even imagine.”
The Theatre Department won raves for its production of “Women of Lockerbie” last spring and “The Crucible” this past fall. Upcoming productions include “Almost, Maine,” a romantic comedy by Tony Award-winning actor and playwright John Cariani, and “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged),” currently the longest-running comedy on the London stage. Performances of “Almost, Maine” begin at Sinclair’s Blair Hall Theatre on February 24.