The UW Oshkosh theatre program makes its final preparations for its rendition of the play “Dracula” by Steven Dietz, set to open Oct. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

A thriller play that has a plethora of supernatural aspects, “Dracula” follows the account of the iconic vampire Count Dracula and his reign of terror through London. While the production has elements of humor, it takes a much more mature turn with violent themes and horror.

This will be the program’s first production of the school year. It will be directed by UWO alumnus Ryan Schabach, alongside stage manager Shayne Steffen, a UWO junior.

Steffen described her interest as stemming from a technical standpoint.

“I was very interested in stage managing ‘Dracula’ because I knew it was going to be a tech-heavy show,” Steffen said. 

The antagonist of the play, Count Dracula, is known for his supernatural vampiric abilities that encompass the gothic tone of the play. Steffen said countless elements go into creating that atmosphere.

“There’s a lot of prop elements, there’s a lot of costume elements,” she said. “We are going to be using blood in some of the scenes and there are about 200 cues between lighting and sound for the show.”

Schabach said stage production is crucial to giving “Dracula” the haunting edge it needs.

“It’s about lights, it’s about scenic design, and then that other artist that comes — the audience,” Schabach said. “That’s what makes shows that are super complex like this really important to do because they talk about big themes.” 

Schabach said he hopes the audience will be engrossed in the performance to the point they forget the story is a work of fiction.

“I want the audience to feel that it’s real,” he said. “I mean, that’s the beauty of what theater can do.”

Tickets for the show are on sale on the theatre department website and can be bought at the box office the day of the show. Performances will take place on Oct. 12, 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m., followed by a matinee on Oct. 15 at 2 p.m.