Come If You Dare

By JACQUELINE DEVINE

September 10, 2009

Once upon a midnight dreary (October 26 30), Terrace Hill will celebrate the 200th birthday of Edgar Allan Poe and acknowledge the current popular fascination with vampires at the second annual Thriller at Terrace Hill professional theater event.
The Foundation has commissioned Repertory Theater of Iowa (RTI) and Subjective Theatre Company of Des Moines (STC) to create a psychological thriller that will be performed inside a Gothic transformation of Terrace Hill. RTIs Mark Gruber co-playwright for the 2009 Victorian Voices: Shaw by Starlight is writing the script with creative direction from Joseph Leonardi, the founder of RTI, and Matthew McIver, the co-artistic director for STC. McIver will also direct the play.
This will be the first creative collaboration between the two theater companies, which are critically acclaimed for their professional talent and creativity. RTI has its roots in the
San Francisco theater scene; the principals of STC have theirs
in New York. Both are resident Iowa companies now, contributing to the cultural enrichment of the state.
The working title for the 2009 Halloween seasons original play is Blood-Read Poe Becoming Dracula. The script will draw largely on the works of Poe and Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, first published in 1897.
Fans of the macabre and who isnt at Halloween? and collectors of Hollywood trivia may find it of interest that since 1930, Count Dracula has been filmed more than any other fictional character except for Sherlock Holmes.* The Twilight saga, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and numerous other TV programs sustain immortal interest in the subject.
Last years Thriller at Terrace Hill performed to sold-out houses. This year, visibility and staging will be enhanced for even greater audience enjoyment. Guests are encouraged to make reservations early by calling 515-280-3450. Tickets are $50 per person and include a ghoulishly good dessert reception with the cast after each performance. Come if you dare!
Thriller at Terrace Hill: Blood-Read Poe Becoming Dracula is made possible, in part, by grants from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and BRAVO Greater Des Moines.

• Brooke Allens Introduction to Dracula, printed by Barnes & Noble Classics in 2003.

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