Dracula

WRKE and Theatre Roanoke College have once again to bring Orson Welles Halloween classic “Dracula”

“Dracula”, based on the 1897 novel was the first episode of the CBS Radio series The Mercury Theatre on the Air, which drew critical acclaim, and let to the original airing of the show WRKE/TRC remade last year, The War of the Worlds. Dracula aired in 1938 and featured stars such as Orson Welles (War of the Worlds) and Agnes Morehead (Sorry, Wrong Number).

The RC version is directed by Lisa Warren and produced by Elijah Wilhelm and features Theatre Roanoke College and WRKE students playing the classic roles.

Meet the Cast (in order of appearance)

Ryan Haden (Seward) is a junior at Roanoke College who’s base love for the arts goes beyond human comprehension. Ryan hails from New Kent VA, where he spends most of his time acting, writing, and hanging out with his wondrous friends and family. He would like to thank WRKE for another fantastic opportunity to appear on the air, and urges you to come out and see TRC’s fall production of Our Town Nov. 14-17th.

Bella Moritz (Harker)  is a freshman at Roanoke College. Originally from Virginia Beach, VA, she has been an active member of the theatrical community for five years now. When not in the theater, Bella has passion for music, visual arts, and the outdoors. Though presently undeclared, she hopes to pursue Communications, Anthropology, Music, and Visual Arts during her time at Roanoke. She’d like to offer thanks to WRKE and Dr. Lisa Warren for casting her in the broadcast of Dracula.

Sebastian Schnurman-Crook (Driver/Captain/C.C. Captain) is a freshman at Roanoke college, he has been involved in theatre since middle school and has done a number of local productions with Mill mountain. He majors in Buisness and minors in theatre. He is also involved in Theatre Roanoke college’s production of “Our Town”. He’d like to say that he’s thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this production of “Dracula” done by WRKE and Lisa C. Warren.

Kerensa McElrath (Dracula’s Driver/Hand 1) is a junior at Roanoke College. As she is a transfer, this is her first year at Roanoke and she’s happy to have the chance to continue participating in theatre here and to work on a radio play for the first time. She is from Pasadena, California, and her other hobbies include writing, playing video games, and drawing in her spare time. She thanks the WRKE staff and Dr. Lisa Warren for the opportunity to be a part of Dracula.

Joesph Swift (Dracula) is a junior from Atlanta, Georgia and is excited to be participating in Dracula. He has had experience acting professionally in Atlanta as well as having participated in TRC productions of The Spoon River Project, Circle Mirror Transformation, and Becky Shaw and WRKE’s War of the Worlds last fall. When not on stage, Joseph enjoys hiking, drawing, and making props. He thanks the cast and production team for their hard work and dedication to such a classic and yet timeless project.

Christa Waterwiese (Mate /News Voice Over) is a senior studying International Relations and History, originally from Saint Louis, MO. Christa has been in one Theatre Roanoke College production, Sense and Sensibility, and played Grumio in the Erin Keating’s Fair Verona. Christa is excited to combine her love of radio and acting in this year’s WRKE / TRC radio play.

Lynn Kreppert (Hand 2/News Vendor/Old Woman) is a freshman who loves theatre and is excited to join the theater at Roanoke. Lynn is originally from St. Louis, MO. Besides theatre, she enjoys hiking, camping, and reading. She thanks Dr. Lisa Warren and all of those involved for casting her in RC’s Dracula.

Abby Linkous (Van Helsing) is a senior at Roanoke College and is excited to be participating in her third WRKE-Theatre Roanoke College radio play. Abby is a Creative Writing major with a minor in Theatre Arts and a concentration in Linguistic Anthropology. She’d like to thank Lisa Warren along with the cast and crew for their hard work on this project.

Kim Dalton (Mina) is a junior creative writing and lit studies major at Roanoke College. At TRC, she has most recently played Jenny in The Shape of Things, and looks forwards to playing Mrs. Soames in the upcoming production of Our Town. Outside of theater, she enjoys illustration and spending time with animals. She’s excited to be a part of the talented cast of Dracula

Tess Weidenkopf (Lucy) is a freshman at Roanoke College and has been involved in theatre since high school and is excited to persue theatre for a degree. Tess is originally from Springfield, VA and outside of theatre Tess loves to play hockey, participate in chemistry research and hang out with friends. She wants to thank the cast of WRKE’s Dracula and Lisa Warren for all the fun she had during the production!

Meet The Director

Dr. Lisa C. Warren is a professor of Theatre Arts in the Roanoke College Fine Arts Department.  Acting and directing are among the many classes she teaches. Last fall she collaborated with WRKE to produce The War of the Worlds, the first radio show she had been involved with since her undergraduate days. In the spring of 2018, she again worked with Elijah and WRKE to bring listeners a live broadcast of Sorry, Wrong Number. Dracula is their third collaboration, and it has been a terrific experience for everyone involved.  This is the last show on which she will collaborate with Elijah Wilhelm, the student who spearheaded the entire project, and she cannot sing his praises loudly enough! Keep listening!