Sense of Wonder: The Undead Metaphor, or Beyond Dracula Part 2

On Wednesay, May 21, I will step beyond the cinematic graveyard for a rare excursion onto the stage. No, I am not making my acting debut in a one-man version of Dracula; rather, I will be moderating a discussion panel after a performance of Courting Vampires, a new play making its debut in Pasadena, California.
On the panel will be author Davd J. Skal (V is for Vampire) and Del Howison (owner of Burbank’s gothic-themed book store, Dark Delicacies). The subject for the evening will be “The Undead Metaphor,” which will explore the way that vampires in film and literature have evolved from their ancient roots into more modern versions in the 20th- and 21st-centuries.. While some fundamental characteristics remain constant (or should that be “eternal”?), we will track how the evolution of vampires has paralleled the evolution of popular culture?”
This should be an interesting panel. I interviewed Skal on more or less the same subject fifteen years ago for “Beyond Dracula,” an issue of Imag-Movies (from the publisher of Cinefantasitque), which tied in with theatrical release of Neil Jordan’s film version of INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE by looking at how the popular image of vampires had changed since Bram Stoker’s Dracula nearly a hundred years before.
If you are interested and you live in the Los Angeles area, you can get full details at our sister website, Hollywood Gothique.

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