Meet Darrell Portz, Director of Dracula!

What is your role on the production? Director. This is my directorial debut.

 

Why did you want to direct this show at Walterdale?  I was cast in the role of Dracula in 2005 when this show was performed in Yellowknife, NT by Lunch Pail Theatre.  I feel in love with the script and I have always wanted to do it again.  I first decided to try and get it into a Walterdale season about 2 years ago, and I was pleased Walterdale selected it to lead off this new season.

 

What is your background in theatre? When I moved to Edmonton in the summer of 2008 I wanted to stay involved in theatre and so I auditioned for the Melodrama, Blackhearts in the Green Room, and was cast as the villain, Barnaby Badlington.  Since then I performed in The Mail Order Bride and Wyrd Sisters.  In addition, I have done sound design for numerous other productions.

 

Favorite Vampire movie?  My favourite vampire move is Roman Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers.  I loved the comedic approach to the characters.

 

Favorite Halloween costume?  I don't normally dress up for Halloween.  Maybe because my birthday is October 31 and I am goulash enough.  One of my favourite costumes, when I was a kid, was when I dressed up as Frankenstein.  Complete with square shaped head, which I fashioned out of a cut down shoe box, that I painted green.

 

What are you most looking forward to about Dracula?  Seeing my vision of the play come to life. I have been so lucky to have such a talented cast and production crew.  The dedication each of them have brought to the process so far, is more than I could have ever hoped for.  Even though I intimately know the script, I expect to be drawn into the story and held captive.

 

Photo Credits:

Upper - Provided

Lower - Darrell in Wyrd Sisters, photo by Douglas Stewart

The Misanthrope - Media Call

We had an exciting Media Call tonight for The Misanthrope.  We shared sections from Acts 1, 3, and 4; took some photos; filmed a bit; and did some interviews. Here are some of the photos from the wonderful Douglas Stewart, who shares his talent with us for every show!  You can see the full set of photos at this link.

Brennan MacGregor as Alceste and Afton Rentz as Jennifer.

Bill Roberts as Covington and Brennan MacGregor as Alceste.

That show was so much fun! How do I get Copies of the Archive Photos to Remember it?

Anyone who has done a show at Walterdale in recent history knows that there are two occasions when photos are taken to help record and promote the show.  The first time is for Media Call.  Walterdale is fortunate to have Douglas Dollars Stewart come in and take photos that are used to promote the show.  Those photos can be found in the Theatre Gallery on Douglas' website Rad Grandpa.  He has been taking our media photos since the Fall of 2006. Thanks Douglas!

The second photo taking occasion happens at the archive photo shoot.  Over time the procedure for getting pictures has evolved.  In the past, Directors were given a set of photos and then they distributed them to their casts as requested.  This,however, was challenging if the Director moved or somehow became unreachable and someone wanted photos some time after the show. Now we are using a Drop Box system to help our membership access those precious photos in an easier way.

Our Archivist, Lance Dittrich, describes the evolution and present policy as follows:


"Once upon a time, Directors would receive a set of slides. Time passed and then Directors received a disk. In both situations, the Directors would make copies, as they deemed fit, for members of the show including cast and crew. Again time passed and we decided to implement the Dropbox application which would allow us to provide all qualifying members to download a copy of the Archive photos for the show in question. They would be required to email the archives (me) to declare their request and their qualifications. Qualified means "member of cast/crew/and paid membership". We also have a waiver (to protect Walterdale) stating that the material would not be used in any manner damaging to Walterdale or the photographer."


We are lucky to have Lance looking after our history in this way and providing this valuable service to our membership.  Thanks Lance!

* photo from Black Hearts in the Green Room by Douglas Dollars Stewart

Media Call - The Weir on deck at Walterdale!

Wednesday was our media call for The Weir.  Douglas Dollars Stewart came in and did another fabulous job capturing the spirit of the show in pictures.  You can check them out here.

Opening this week... The Love of the Nightingale

As always, the wonderful Douglas Dollars-Stewart came it to take some media photos for our upcoming show. The Love of the Nightingale opens this Wednesday (April 4th) at Walterdale. Please enjoy the sneak peek!

http://gallery.radgrandpa.com/Event-Photography/Theatre/Love-of-the-Nightingale/22163073_cLgJ6s#!i=1769728353&k=nbTK6ZG

Media Call for Village of Idiots - Fabulous Images!

http://gallery.radgrandpa.com/Event-Photography/Theatre/Village-of-Idiots/17811216_6h3Mmq#1361314286_DwxjPSQ

Fabulous Photos from our Media Call for Village of Idiots taken by the wonderful Douglas Stewart. A picture is worth a thousand words... these certainly say a lot!

Please enjoy a few Pictures from The Threepenny Opera

These are photos taken by Douglas Dollars Stewart at our Threepenny Opera media call.

http://gallery.radgrandpa.com/Event-Photography/Theatre/The-Threepenny-Opera/16413499_5Ven6#1234658445_FGrrQ

Another Perfect Moment from Perfect Pie

These are just such beautiful pictures. Thanks Douglas Stewart and the entire Perfect Pie team.

Media Photos - From Cradle to Stage

The other night Douglas Dollars-Stewart came in and took some shots for media. He got some great pics from Uncle Robert's Funeral and Kiss Within a Kiss. Great work Doug!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/douglasdollars/sets/72157624061963730/detail/

The Mail Order Bride - Media Call Photos

Last night was media call for The Mail Order Bride. We have a fabulous member named Douglas Stewart who comes in and takes photos for all our shows. He does a great job and takes as many pictures as we need and really demonstrates a lot of care in the shots. You can check out the rest of the pictures at his flickr site.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/douglasdollars/sets/72157623620494611/detail/

Media Photos

Douglas (Dollars) Stewart came in and took some wonderful media photos for Beautiful Thing. Here's one of my favorites. The rest can be seen at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=150794&id=192621036890&l=f87d12d3a0

Douglas Stewart has been doing our media call photos for a few years now. He's a great asset to Walterdale and does his best to serve the needs of each production. He also really appreciates the work of all our designers and will often take photos of just the set or detail photos of the costumes. His pictures are fabulous! Glad to have him around!