I vant to suck your blood!

It is a cold, dark winter evening. The week has come to a close and the people of the city scurry from the clutches of their week-long captors who keep them in a perpetual state of stress and work. Many, congregate together in clandestine meetings with their fellow captives in support of one another and to contrive their plots to arise above their captors. Embraced by the libations served to them, they lose track of the hour...

I love gothic novels. The first one that really intrigued me was Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. But, that's a contemporary piece compared to the classic of Dracula, by Bram Stoker. I've yet to read Dracula (mostly because I have a fondness of social science as well) but I've seen the classic portrayed on the silver screen (1931, 1992 and even the 2000 version) and last night, I saw it through a production by the Brant Theatre Workshops.

The play was yet another adaptation of the original but with an interesting twist: the sets would remain stationary but the audience would not.

The play took place at Casa Loma and used various rooms throughout the mansion as settings for each scene. It is such an innovative concept! It really made the play more accessible--as if you were there watching the events unfold. But it isn't something for one who lacks imagination.

I haven't been to Casa Loma since I was a kid and the only thing I remember well is the library. I've forgotten how prominent and impressive the building was. This area is above the main entrance...

I used my prime 50 lens to take all the shots...

Some were taken with the manual setting and others with the aperture priority.

Lighting is an interesting (and challenging) thing to play with, at this location and time.

I also like to play with the field of depth with my lens since I can get an aperture as low as 1.8 (it's not the lowest available on the market but it's the lowest I've got).

This is the actor who portrayed Professor van Helsing.

All in all, I would say a really great play to experience. This is a community theatre group, I believe, but the innovation and creativity is genuinely superb.