The Stagehands

08/21/2026

Fancy, marketing biz cards coming to a sweaty little hand near you very soon. Don’t they look spiffy?

08/20/2026

Just a couple of quick things as we go into the weekend:

- The audition sides have been added to the events made for the Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors auditions (as promised). Please do not publish, share, or otherwise misuse them.
- We have a website now!! It is in its infancy, but it is up and running. Check it out at http://www.thestagehands.org
- Similarly you can now buy tickets for our shows and/or become a member (or renew your membership) via our website!

08/15/2026

Whoa! We are offically under one month away from auditions! I can hardly believe it! I can barely contain my excitement thinking about seeing our lovely local talented folks coming to the theater to audition for this wonderful show.

With this post I will be finishing the introductions of the Actors who will embody the myriad crazy/fun characters in this farcical comedy. It is a five actor show, where each actor plays multiple roles (except for the one playing Dracula), and these roles can even have markedly different accents/dialects. At times these actors will be changing characters multiple times during a given scene. These quick changes from character to character and having actors playing opposite to type adds to the craziness and hilarity of the show. So far we’ve met Actor 5, Actor 1, Actor 3, and Actor 2. All we have left now is Actor 4.

Actor 4 is a male presenting actor who is in the 40-60 age range (at least in appearance). He will be another of our characters who are going to get to do the long held acting tradition (made famous by Shakespeare, Monty Python, and Loony Toons) of crossing the gender aisle and playing the other side. Much like the aforementioned examples, these roles will be played earnestly, not like a caricature (per se). He will be playing the following female characters:

MINA WESTFELDT
DR VAN HELSING
MAN-EATING WOLF

MINA WESTFELDT - RP British dialect. The less attractive, less intelligent Westfeldt daughter, she lives in her sister Lucy's shadow and is desperate for attention. She is immediately (pathetically) receptive to Dracula's charms.

DR. VAN HELSING - German dialect a la Mel Brooks. Brilliant and sturdy German vampire-hunting doctor from the University of Schmutz. Deadly serious in the way Germans can be, she is accustomed to people not believing she is a real doctor. Strong, shmart, unt bold, she is a woman of action.

MAN-EATING WOLF - Growling & howling wolf who threatens Harker on his way to Dracula’s castle.
The audition will be comprised of cold readings of selected scenes from the script (Intimidated by cold reads? I wil be making the sides available for pre-reading before the auditions, so don’t panic. There will be links within FB events for auditions) as well as some comedic exercises to see what type of timing and energy folks have. Auditions will be both Monday and Tuesday, and everyone is welcome to come to both nights but it is not required

08/09/2026

I’m beginning to hear a ticking clock in my mind’s ear, we are getting so close! Only 29 days left!! As the director of a community theatre production I’ve been busy working on this show for months, and now I can see the point on the virtual horizon where I get to collaborate with some actors and other creatives! Huzzah!

I am going to continue the introductions of the Actors who will embody the myriad crazy/fun characters in this farcical comedy. It is a five actor show, where each actor plays multiple roles (except for the one playing Dracula), and these roles can even have markedly different accents/dialects. At times these actors will be changing characters multiple times during a given scene. These quick changes from character to character and having actors playing opposite to type adds to the craziness and hilarity of the show. So far we’ve met Actor 5, Actor 1 , and Actor 3. But now this is where it gets even more fun/crazy/kooky!

Today I will be introducing Actor 2. Actor 2 is a female presenting actor who is in the 40-60 age range (at least in appearance). She will be the first of our characters who are going to get to do the long held acting tradition (made famous by Shakespeare, Monty Python, and Loony Toons) of crossing the gender aisle and playing the other side. Much like the aforementioned examples, these roles will be played earnestly, not like a caricature (per se).

She will be playing the following male characters:
DR. WALLACE WESTFELDT
RENFIELD
CAPTAIN
MAN-EATING WOLF

DR. WALLACE WESTFELDT - RP British dialect. Lucy & Mina’s father, a blowhard; self-important misogynist given to proclamations and postering with his pipe. A doctor caring for the. criminally insane, he has recently lost his wife to consumption.

RENFIELD - Cockney dialect and salivary issues. Insane patient of Dr. Westfeldt, who lives to serve and loves to eat bugs. In a word, the dude is nuts.

CAPTAIN - Sea Captain (i.e.Pirate) dialect. The salty captain of a doomed ship caught in a raging storm.
MAN-EATING WOLF - Growling & howling wolf who threatens Harker on his way to Dracula’s castle.

The audition will be comprised of cold readings of selected scenes from the script (intimidated by cold reads? I can make the sides available for pre-reading before the auditions, so don’t panic. Will be link within FB events for auditions) as well as some comedic exercises to see what type of timing and energy folks have. Auditions will be both Monday and Tuesday, and everyone is welcome to come to both nights but it is not required.
I will be introducing other characters played by the other actors as we move towards auditions. Mark your calendars for 9/7 & 9/8 for auditions, and the last two weekends in October to come see the show.

08/04/2026

Just barely more than a month until auditions! 😱 I am going to continue the introductions of the Actors who will embody the myriad crazy/fun characters in this farcical comedy. It is a five actor show, where each actor plays multiple roles (except for the one playing Dracula), and these roles can even have markedly different accents/dialects. At times these actors will be changing characters multiple times during a given scene. These quick changes from character to character and having actors playing opposite to type adds to the craziness and hilarity of the show. We’ve met Actor 5 and Actor 1.

Today I will be introducing Actor 3. Actor 3 is a female presenting actor who is in the 20-30 age range (at least in appearance). She will be playing the following characters: LUCY, KITTY, DRIVER, MAN-EATING WOLF.

LUCY WESTFELDT - RP British dialect. Brilliant, plucky earth scientist daughter of Dr. Westfeldt, she is full of energy and the spirit of adventure and often underestimated because of her beauty. Engaged to Jonathan, but when Dracula moves to Whitby, she is curious about his strange ways and impressed by their similar. interests

KITTY RUTHERFORD - Cockney dialect. A dotty kleptomaniac patient, she serves as a maid in his house. Think Mrs Lovett but servile and easily distracted.

DRIVER - Eastern European or Russian dialect. The male, Transylvanian driver of the carriage who takes Jonathan to Draculas’s castle, who tries to warn him. Borat meets Boris & Natasha

MAN-EATING WOLF - Growling & howling wolf who threatens Harker on his way to Dracula’s castle.

The audition will be comprised of cold readings of selected scenes from the script (intimidated by cold reads? I can make the sides available for pre-reading before the auditions, so don’t panic. Will be link within FB events for auditions) as well as some comedic exercises to see what type of timing and energy folks have. Auditions will be both Monday and Tuesday, and everyone is welcome to come to both nights but it is not required.

I will be introducing other characters played by the other actors as we move towards auditions. Mark your calendars for 9/7 & 9/8 for auditions, and the last two weekends in October to come see the show.

FB events for audition nights
https://facebook.com/events/s/auditions-night-1/2237194480449929/

https://facebook.com/events/s/auditions-night-2/2608167229643876/

07/30/2026

Oh boy, we are under 40 days until auditions! Are you getting excited? I might be as excited as a kid at Christmas! That being said, I am going to continue the introductions of the Actors who will embody the myriad crazy/fun characters in this farcical comedy. It is a five actor show, where each actor plays multiple roles (except for the one playing Dracula), and these roles can even have markedly different accents/dialects. At times these actors will be changing characters mutliple times during a given scene. These quick changes from character to character and having actors playing opposite to type adds to the craziness and hilarity of the show.

In my last post, I introduced Actor 5 who will be playing Dracula. Today I will be introducing Actor 1. Actor 1 is a male presenting actor who is in the 20-30 age range (at least in appearance). He will be playing the following characters: JONATHAN HARKER, LORD CAVENDISH, LORD WORTHINGTON, LORD HAVEMERCY, BOSUN, & GRAVEDIGGER.

-JONATHAN HARKER - RP British dialect. Prim and proper and obsesive-compubive real estate agent, frightened of his own shadow. Engaged to his childhood crush Lucy Westfeldt and enamored of her fearlessness. Once bitten he loosens up...a lot... and becomes a Tom Jones-style rock star in leather pants.
-LORD CAVENDISH - Scottish dialect. Lucy's suitor; a Scottish dolt.
-LORD WORTHINGTON - RP British dialect. Lucy's suitor; posh, British and petulant.
-LORD HAVEMERCY - Texas Accent. Lucy's arrogant suitor from Memphis, a la Yosemite Sam.
-BOSUN - Irish dialect. A scurvy seaman who goes down with the ship in a storm.
-GRAVEDIGGER - Cockney dialect. A drunk gravedigger with a secret.

The audition will be comprised of cold readings of selected scenes from the script (intimidated by cold reads? I can make the sides available for pre-reading before the auditions, so don’t panic) as well as some comedic exercises to see what type of timing and energy folks have. Auditions will be both Monday and Tuesday, and everyone is welcome to come to both nights but it is not required.

I will be introducing other characters played by the other actors as we move towards auditions. Mark your calendars for 9/7 & 9/8 for auditions, and the last two weekends in October to come see the show.

07/26/2026

With 44 days until auditions for “Dracula, a Comedy of Terrors,” I’d like to start introducing the cast of this crazy, funny, high energy show. It is a five actor show, where each actor plays multiple roles (except for the one playing Dracula), and these roles can even have markedly different accents/dialects. At times these actors will be changing characters mutliple times during a given scene. These quick changes from character to character and having actors playing opposite to type adds to the craziness and hilarity of the show.

Let me introduce to you, first of all, Actor 5, who plays our Count Dracula.

Our Count Dracula speaks with a commanding European dialect. He is hugely sexy, magnetically handsome, rock star presence with a killer body, he is a narcissist whose greatest love is himself - and his leather pants.

He is bored with women falling all over him, he becomes obsessed with Lucy when he hears of her strength and adventurousness. The less she needs him, the more interested he is. He travels to Whitby to find her and make her his bride for eternity.

I will be introducing other characters played by the other actors as we move towards auditions. Mark your calendars for 9/7 & 9/8 for auditions, and the last two weekends in October to come see the show.

07/21/2026

Do you love farcical comedy, like that of Mel Brooks and Monty Python? Do you enjoy the challenge of playing multiple roles with multiple dialects? Do you like being part of a small, tight cast who works together to make something truly special? Then “Dracula a Comedy of Terrors” might be right up your alley. It is a small ensemble cast of five actors who play all of the character in the Dracula story. Each actor has their main role(s), but also plays myriad small roles as well (well, except the actor who plays Dracula, they only play Dracula). The younger two actors (18-30) will be playing roles that match the gender that they present; e.g. a male presenting actor will play Jonathan Harker and a female presenting actor will play Lucy. The two older actors (40+) will do a Monty Pythonesque gender swap: the older male presenting actor will play Mina & a female version of Dr. Van Helsing, while the older female presenting actor will play Dr. Westfeldt and Renfield. Over the next 49 days left until auditions, I will give more info on the characters in the show and the process of auditions, plus the details of rehearsals and production. Mark your calendars for 9/7 & 9/8 for auditions, and the last two weekends in October to come see the show.

07/17/2026

Stagehands would like to thank everyone who came by to say hi and grab a bite last week at the concert in the park. We appreciate your support always and love to see you❤️! Boy was it hot but people still enjoyed the evening! A huge shout out to our great Lions Club who is always there for our community and Stagehands! They cook to perfection 👌.

07/14/2026