Excerpt From My Play, Dracula: Annotated

Not your typical blog, I know. But we are coming upon Halloween, and they just released a new Dracula movie. I had to put my two cents in.

I finished this play a couple of years ago and have been wanting to do a staged reading. Maybe, one day. Of course, seeing it produced would be even better.

So here is an excerpt from Dracula: Annotated.

DRACULA: Annotated

© Lee Rennick 2006

A play in two acts.

Setting

The action of the play begins in early May1888 and ends in early November, traveling between Transylvania and areas in and around London, England. The stage has a multiple level set so the scenes flow into each other seamlessly.

                                                                        ACT I

                                                            Scene 1

(An eerie fog rolls in as a lone wolf howls, followed by another, and then another. Dressed as ancient maenads in wolf skins, ILONA and ELIZABETA hunt a PEASANT GIRL who runs up a staircase, which dominates the center of a multi-level set, into the arms of the just entering DRACULA. His pale white skin, wild barbaric looks, and above-average height are imposing. He is dressed in the Slavic style with a coat of blood-red Oriental silk embroidered with golden dragons and gathered at the waist by a thick black leather belt. His untamed white hair falls below his shoulders, yet his moustache is neatly trimmed. At his entrance the wolf-call ceases.)

ILONA

                        (Nodding to the GIRL)           

My Lord, I have brought you the innocent you desire.

(DRACULA holds the GIRL in his arms like a lover, looking deep into her eyes. She cannot escape his iron grip.)

                                                DRACULA

You have watched her movements to make sure she is pure?

(He runs a hand down the front of the terrified girl’s body.)

                                                ELIZABETA

(Vying for DRACULA’s attention)

I did as you told me to do. I watched her for months. No man has touched her.

                                                                        ILONA

We all watched her.

                                                                       

                                                                        DRACULA

Excellent!

(DRACULA attacks the GIRL viciously, plunging his fangs (which the audience doesn’t see) into her throat and drinking deeply. He stops suddenly, his mouth covered in blood.)

           

                                                ELIZABETA

(Frightened he is not happy with the GIRL)

Is it not good?

(He discards the GIRL at the top of the stairs in a heap. He moves towards ELIZABETA. Pulling her to him, he kisses her passionately. She licks some of the blood off of her lips and is sent into ecstasy. She goes to drink from the GIRL.)

                                                ILONA

(Petulant)

I want some!

(He goes to ILONA and kisses her with even more ardor. She joins ELIZABETA.)

                                                                        DRACULA

                        (Thinking out loud)                                                    

Even innocent blood does not affect me like….What a world I saw when I drank of….

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                        ELIZABETA

Of what do you speak, my Lord?

                                                                        DRACULA

I wish new blood! Modern conveyances have opened our mountains to Western travelers; soon they will deposit me in Europe’s heart – London.

                                                                        ILONA

                        (Her mouth bloody)

We will go with you? Taste this new blood?

                        (DRACULA ignores the questions, but responds to the far off sound of wolves.)

                                                                        DRACULA

Your sister, Kathrina, brings a visitor from the Borgo Pass.                                     

(Pointing to the GIRL.)

Remove her.

                        (He wipes the last of the blood from his mouth with his hand.)                     

Then, go make our new guest feel…

                        (He smiles cruelly.)

wanted.

To be continued…

“Un-Sucking” the No Salt, No Sugar Diet: ‘Awiwi Marinade

For the last eight years my husband has been stuck with a virtually no salt, no sugar diet. And he says, “it sucks.” With type II diabetes and congestive heart failure, too much of either of these foods can cause blindness, pain, an inability to breath, and even death.

In our world today, massive quantities of both salt and sugar are used copiously in restaurants, frozen food and even the preservation of fresh meats. They are flavor enhancers. So, we have to keep experimenting with recipes that have flavor and still fall in his boundaries.

Below is a meat marinade that is flavorful, in a feisty way, and smeets the requirements for anyone watching these food restrictions. Not too bad for ladies fighting post-menopause water-weight gain either. The sauce has a sweet and spicy taste.

Today at Rotary a lady from the Tennessee Pork Producers’Association spoke, so, in her honor, I suggest using the marinade on pork steaks made from the tenderloin. It has all the values of a good chicken breast, that other white meat. The following recipe will work for two good- sized chicken breasts or four pork steaks. You will need to double it for a whole pork tenderloin.

‘Awiwi Marinade

1 cup Mrs. Dash Sweet Teriyaki Marinade

1 Tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tsp. Red Wine Vinegar

1 Tsp. The Blue Porch Hot Sauce (I used their cinnamon cumin from last year)

Blend the four ingredients above in a bowl. Cover meat on both sides well with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. I broil mine in the oven. You may want to put it on a gas or charcoal grill.

May your opu (Hawaiian for tummy) be satisfied and your tongue do a happy dance.

Lee Rennick is a freelance writer, former Vice-President of Marketing and non-profit executive. She shares her interests and knowledge about working, learning and living at http://www.sidelinemusings.com.

Photo thanks to MorgueFiles.