Valley Shakespeare Festival to stage 'Dracula' in Shelton, Fairfield

Tom Simonetti, VSF executive director

Drop in for a drink and a “bite” this month as Valley Shakespeare Festival presents its latest Shakespeare in the Bar offering, Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Valley Shakespeare Festival is Connecticut’s newest and most innovative nonprofit theater company and is dedicated to bringing classic works of literature to life in new ways, in unlikely places, and at reduced or no cost.   

This month it’s a script-in-hand dramatic reading of the classic gothic horror story, Dracula, in two of Fairfield County’s most popular eateries:  Shelton’s Caloroso and Fairfield’s Anna Liffey’s.  

Valley Shakespeare Festival’s focus has always been on “the word,” on keeping the integrity of the work intact by staying true to the writer’s original text.  
They believe that when the work is solid, all the traditional accoutrements associated with theatrical performances, like props and costumes, can be kept to a minimum while still creating an absorbing and entertaining production.  This is especially true of their “Shakespeare in the Bar” series where space and other limitations often make the use of these items challenging, if not impossible.

Dracula is no exception.  
VSF will be using the script made famous on the 1938 “Mercury Theater on the Air” radio presentation which starred Orson Welles, so the company will have some very big shoes to fill.

Because the story of Dracula is so profoundly “atmospheric," one of the biggest jobs in this production will be the handling of the sound effects and music.  

Tara Reuter

Tara Reuter will play the role of Lucy and had this to say:

“The radio broadcast was so much to listen to!  What made it work so well was the music. There were crescendos to increase the drama and silence to emphasize tension.  The sound effects were really effective as well because they made you feel like you were really on a boat or in a storm or in a crowd of people.  Having sound in VSF’s production will enhance an already creepy and suspenseful play and take it to the next level.”

Tom Simonetti, VSF’s Artistic and Executive Director, adds:

“Of course, the biggest challenge is making sure that sound and cues come on time.
"There are quite a few that will be extremely important to the telling of the story. But the real challenge will be to make sure that the audience is so swept up into the story and adventure that they do not realize that the lovely Kristen Kingsley (our sound engineer) is the one making all of these sounds happen. It becomes kind of like the wizard in The Wizard of Oz : “Pay no attention to the (wo)man behind the curtain…”    

Kristen Kingsley

Kingsley is a frequent and long-time performer with VSF who has also worked with the company as a stage manager on previous productions. She’ll again be doing double duty on DRACULA and feels that this time her biggest role will be the sound.

“The challenge is definitely getting everything together and played out perfectly. I will be balancing both pre-recorded sound effects as well as giving the audience the ‘real feel’ in the radio booth with live effects. For example, I have a special sheet of plastic that, as you shake it, will give us a thunder effect, and some coconuts for horse hoof beats.  I’m going to have so much fun!”

Sounds like the audience will, too!

Performances are Oct. 20 at Caloroso Eatery & Bar at 100 Center St., Shelton, and Oct. 21 at Anna Liffey’s Irish Pub at 1494 Post Road, Fairfield.  
Doors open at 6 p.m., performances begin at 7:30 p.m.  Food and bar service is available at both venues throughout the evening.

Admission is $20 in advance, $25 at the door; tickets are available for purchase online at www.vsfesival.org or by calling 203-513-9446.


This is a press release from Valley Shakespeare Festival.