‘Tis The Season

Hello All:

Apologies for the lapse in time since Reinfield’s Blog.  Christmas is almost here and like that warm fuzzy feeling that coincides with Christmas, so is the season of Scrooge and Christmas Caroling:

Check out ATL’s run of A Christmas Carol (December 7-23) There’s even a magical twist, be sure to see it before Scrooge finds out you haven’t:

Photo by: Joe Geinert

31 Days of Renfield: Day 31

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I couldn’t decide which portrait to end the series on. I wanted something that encompassed everything about Renfield. Then I realized that was silly and not possible. I’ve included three portraits and you can choose whichever one you think is the final one for you. I think they are all appropriate in their own way. I’ve had a great time doing this portraiture project and could not have done it without the talents of Simon (Dr. Seward) who took all the photos and was always game for a portrait session in the men’s bathroom or the floor of the PB shop whenever we had some down time. Those are the best kinds of friends. It’s always sad to come to the end of the run of a show, especially one that is so much fun and has such a unique place in my heart. At the end of today I will have successfully completed 5 runs of Dracula. One as the monster and four as Renfield and despite the close to 250 performances of the show I’ve been a part of, it has never gotten old. Happy Halloween everybody! Until next time!”

31 Days of Renfield: Day 30

“Last night’s show felt like the twilight zone. There was a five month old baby in our audience, two cell phones went off, and the crowning achievement of other worldly dimensions, a woman from the audience walked across the stage. And when I say walked across the stage I mean walked across the stage. One more time, she walked across the stage! She literally walked into Dr. Seward’s study, walked by the chez, by the sherry table, by the desk, and then stepped over the old broken stone wall and left in the MIDDLE of the quietest moment of the show when only Miss Sullivan is onstage looking at the contents of the portfolio and Dracula is slowly coming up one of the traps. Oh yes. I forgot to mention the fact that she walked by an open trap. Havalah, who plays Miss Sullivan, was brilliant. She simply stared at the woman as she walked by, looked back at the portfolio, and basically did a double take back to where the woman had just walked off. Golden. Never a dull moment in live theater. Gotta love it.”

31 Days of Renfield: Day 29

 “We took this photo of Renfield and his wheel chair in the Pamela Brown shop. As you can see the floor is a wonderful Pollock like array of colors and splashes from the many sets that have been loaded in and built on the Pamela Brown stage over the years. The PB shop and the Bingham shop/backstage area are right next to each other. It is quite possible on a given night to walk from the Dracula and be onstage in Irma Vep in the Pamela Brown in like 30 seconds. Over the years of playing Renfield and being an apprentice for nine months back in 2004, I’ve learned all the secret passage ways from one theater to the other. It’s one big maze and I always feel accomplished when I manage to get to the Victor Jory theatre the back way up the spiral staircase from the basement. It’s the little things that make you feel like you’ve done something with your life.”

31 Days of Renfield: Day 28

“I just wanted to say thank you to the ladies who came to the show last night and gave roses at curtain call. They come every year and it’s still a treat to get those flowers. Nobody does that anymore so it’s always pretty exciting. I’m not encouraging roses at curtain call but you know I wouldn’t turn them away ;)”

31 Days of Renfield: Day 27

“Emily, one of the young actresses who plays the undead child, is seven years old and knows latin! During last night’s show we were backstage reviewing her latin flash cards. I learned a bunch. “Porto” means “I carry” and one of it’s derivatives is portable. “Unda” means “wave” and one of it’s derivatives is undulate. I was also informed that redundant comes from unda because it repeats like the waves crashing on the shore. This lesson was very helpful especially since Renfield speaks some latin in the show. I say “Mea Culpa, Mea culpa, Mea maxima culpa.” I didn’t need a seven year old to tell me what that means. But i did need her to tell me that “vale” is how you say goodbye”.

31 Days of Renfield:Day 26

“I decided to be a pumpkin along with Simon. I found some great orange hoodies and green winter hats at target that are perfect for turning into a pumpkin costume. I also think that going classic halloween is always funny. Last year I was Robert De Niro from Taxi Driver. A bit obscure for some folks. So I think it’s okay to go straight up pumpkin this year.”

31 Days of Renfield: Day 25

“Good news on the Halloween costume front. I’ve convinced Simon (Dr. Seward) to dress up as a pumpkin if I make him the costume. He said he would only do it if he could wear bright orange tights and I dressed up as an equally ridiculous food item with him.  I’ll keep you posted on what food item I pick. It’s my project for the day off.”

31 Days of Renfield: Day 24

“The third play I ever did was in 5th grade. It was called “Shaping Up Santa.” As you can imagine it was about Santa Claus’s attempt to lose weight before Christmas. I played Huie, his trusty overweight side kick elf who sneaks Twinkies into the fat farm where Santa is under surveillance and a strict jazzercize regimen. It wasn’t Checkov. But what really is?”