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Showing posts from September, 2018

Dracula- meet cast member Heather Benjamin!

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Tell us a little about yourself. I've been acting since high school in both community and professional theater, and also have a full-time job in the marketing field. I founded a small professional company, Perisphere Theater, a few years ago, and that's been an exciting journey. When I'm not doing those things, I'm out hiking in Shenandoah National Park or geeking out at the Smithsonian museums. What do you find appealing about this show? I have always loved the novel "Dracula" because Bram Stoker so perfectly captures Victorian psychology and its simultaneous attraction to, and repulsion by, eroticism and the supernatural. I like the character of Mina because she is intelligent and strong, but not encumbered by fear of showing her humanity. I think this show is ultimately about mercy and bringing it to those we love, and she understands the primacy of that. How does Dracula differ from other shows you have worked on? The characters are inc

Dracula-- Meet cast member Jeff Elmore!

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Tell us a little about yourself. I was born in Alexandria, but I’ve mostly lived in New York and Maryland since then.  I graduated with a film degree from American University in D.C., and I work at NOVA Community College. What do you find appealing about this show? The ambition behind it.  This adaptation is famously faithful to the novel, which most adaptations aren't.  The book is structured as a series of fictional journal entries and correspondences, and that is very difficult to convey well in a visual/auditory medium.  Most Dracula adaptations abandon that structure and rearrange it into a straightforward, linear narrative.  That can work well, but some of the pace and tension is often lost in translation.  This script keeps the non-linear structure of the novel and hopefully captures that suspense well.  I am very excited to be a part of bringing that to life for LTA. How does Dracula differ from other shows you have worked on? Dracula is easily the bigges

August: Osage County-- Meet director Susan Devine!

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Tell us a little bit about yourself. For more than twenty years I have been directing. I am the founding director of both a children’s theatre and the Providence Players of Fairfax. Other theatrical roles I have performed include set design, set decoration, and costuming. I have the honor of having been nominated for a WATCH award for directing three times and won for Chicago at The Little Theatre of Alexandria. How does the show differ from other shows you have worked on? August: Osage County deals with very serious problems that can destroy a family, including addiction and infidelity.   The show is very emotional and intense, much more dramatic than other shows I have directed. What made you get involved in theatre? How did you get involved with LTA? I’ve been involved with theatre since I was in my first play when I was ten years old.   I took theatre classes and worked on plays all through school and then at various theatres over the years. What advice would you give