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Author: Hannah Hacker

Dracula's bat-like cape taking center stage
Oct 24 2016

Edward Gorey’s Reawakening of Dracula

Posted on October 24, 2016January 14, 2019 by Hannah Hacker

By Hannah Hacker

Gif of Dracula transforming into a bat

Dracula has been a name that has instilled fear and fascination in the imaginations of readers and viewers since its original publication by Bram Stoker in 1897. There have been many adaptations and remakes of the novel since then, including F.W. Murnau’s silent film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Graunens, the 1931 Universal Studios version of Dracula starring Bela Lugosi, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula starring Gary Oldman and directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1992.

There was even a play adaptation about the captivating vampire. In 1924, Hamilton Deane adapted Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula into a stage play with the permission of Stoker’s widow. The play toured in England and was brought to Broadway in 1927.

Dracula was revived in 1977 under the direction of Dennis Rosa. Sets and costumes were designed by Edward Gorey, who is well-known for his quirky cat drawings on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and other Gothic illustrations that have graced the covers of numerous classics, poetry books, and various other publications. With the set and costume design for Dracula, Gorey channeled his obsession with bats. Bats can be found in the walls, in the cobblestone, in the furniture – there are even bats incorporated into the characters’ clothing, like Renfield’s bat-buttoned pajamas.

img_9972

 

The set and costumes were so enthralling that the play soon became known as “Edward Gorey’s production of Dracula,” instead of being fully credited to the director. Gorey’s designs were nominated for Tony Awards, and the production received a Tony in 1977 for the best revival of a play.

Dracula closed in 1980 after a strong run of 925 performances.

Edward Gorey’s vision of Dracula did not die with the close of the play. The designs rose once again in 1979 when Scribner’s published them as a spiral-bound book called Dracula: A Toy Theatre. The book contains Gorey’s original designs of the sets and characters, as well as a synopsis of the characters, scenes, and acts. The images of the characters, furniture, and set could be cut out from the pages and taped together so the reader could create their own interactive version of the original stage.

More recently, Pomegranate Communications picked up the book and made it into a box set of the toy theater with loose leaves of die-cut fold-ups and fold-outs. Once the theatre is constructed, the reader can have a full 3-D model of all three acts of the play.

Dracula Toy Theatre Act 1
Dracula Toy Theatre Act 1
Dracula Toy Theatre Act 2
Dracula Toy Theatre Act 2
Dracula Toy Theatre Act 3
Dracula Toy Theatre Act 3

Here at the University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections, we not only have a copy of Scribner’s publication of Dracula: A Toy Theatre, but two copies of the Pomegranate publication as well.

If you want to see them in person, you can swing on by to the Special Collections on the third floor of the Main Library. Otherwise, on October 28th, 11:00am – 3:00pm, we will be hosting a Halloween Pop-Up Exhibit on the first floor of the Main Library, where the complete construction of Dracula: A Toy Theatre will be the star of the exhibit, along with a showcase of some of our spookiest comics and fanzines.

Read more about the event at the link below, and we hope to see you there!

Halloween Pop-Up Exibit

 

A ‘Gorey’ Good Time: Pop Up Exhibit

 

 

Works Cited

“Dracula (1924 Play).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

“Dracula (1977 Play).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

“Dracula.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.

Miller, Patrice. “Bat Ambassador: Edward Gorey.” The Edward Gorey House. Edward Gorey House, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

Popova, Maria. “When Edward Gorey Illustrated Dracula: Two Masters of the Macabre, Together.” Brain Pickings. Brain Pickings, 17 Sept. 2015. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.

Posted in Collection Connection, ExhibitionsTagged Bram Stoker, Broadway, Dracula, Dracula A Toy Theatre, Edward Gorey, exhibit, halloween, Halloween Pop-Up Exhibit, Pomegranate, Scribners, special collections, University of Iowa Libraries
Peter Balestrieri sitting on the Iron Throne at World Con
Sep 14 2016

UI Special Collections claims the Iron Throne at World Con

Posted on September 14, 2016January 14, 2019 by Hannah Hacker

By Hannah Hacker

Last month on August 17-21, two of our very own, Peter Balestrieri and Laura Hampton, went to represent the University of Iowa Libraries at the 74th World Science Fiction Convention, Mid AmeriCon II, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Peter Balestrieri sitting on the Iron Throne at World Con
Peter Balestrieri sitting on the Iron Throne at World Con

 

Laura Hampton sitting on the Iron Throne at World Con
Laura Hampton sitting on the Iron Throne at World Con

Some may wonder what a couple of Special Collections librarians were doing at a Science Fiction convention. Well, they weren’t just there to recline on the Iron Throne. In fact, this will be the University of Iowa Special Collection’s second consecutive year at World Con, promoting the UI Libraries, the Hevelin Collection, the Hevelin Digitization Project, and other science fiction holdings here at the library.

Balestrieri and Hampton had a UI Libraries fan table, decorated and branded with the University logo and colors, at the entrance to the dealer’s room full of fan groups, art displays, interactive activities, an enormous astronaut, and, of course, dealers.

Astronaut inside the dealer's room at World Con

Peter and Higgins at the UI libraries table at World Con

There, they chatted with attendees, gave away over 500 free branded flying saucer stress toys (see below), pencils, and badge ribbons, as well as handouts on the Special Collections science fiction holdings and projects. They got attendees to sign up to volunteer as transcribers for the Hevelin Digitization Project, collected hundreds of emails, and spoke to passersby about the UI Special Collection’s current ventures. “We were met with overwhelming praise and support for our efforts,” Balestrieri said. Special Collections may even be receiving new donations from some prominent fans and figures in science fiction and fandom in the future.

Hevelin Flying Saucer Stress toy that was given away at World Con

However, their time at the World Con wasn’t all work and no play. Hampton was able to attend the exclusive George R.R. Martin Alfie Awards celebration. Check out some pictures and read more about this event on the Hevelin Tumblr. Some of the photos feature George R.R. Martin himself!

“I see our attendance at the convention as a genuine success,” Balestrieri said, “not only because of the contacts made and the donations that resulted or were promised, but in the greater sense of establishing UI Libraries and Special Collections as one of the recognized leaders in this collection area and a trusted and respected friend to science fiction and the preservation of its history.”

Posted in News, Science Fiction and Popular Culture, Staff NewsTagged george r r martin, hevelin collection, hevelin fanzine digitization, iron throne, sci fi, sci fi convention, science fiction, special collection, UI Libraries, World Con 2016
People performing on the Festival Stage at City Park for the Shakespeare parade in 1916
Aug 24 2016

Shakespeare Invades Iowa City Once Again – 100 Years Later

Posted on August 24, 2016January 14, 2019 by Hannah Hacker

By Hannah Hacker

On August 29 through September 25, the University of Iowa Libraries’ Main Gallery will be featuring the Folger Shakespeare Library’s traveling exhibit First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare. This exhibition will mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

This exhibition will also be marking another anniversary more pertinent to the history of Iowa City and the University. One hundred years ago, on May 12, 1916, the University and the city hosted a Shakespeare parade in honor of the Bard’s 300th death anniversary. A procession of people walked from campus to the City Park, roughly a mile away, to present portions of Shakespeare’s plays under the guidance of the Iowa City Center of the Drama League of America. There were roughly 5,000 participants, with three hundred and fifty Shakespearean characters represented.

Parade commemorating Shakespeare 300th anniversary marching from the University of Iowa to the City Park

Pictures of this event can be found at the University Libraries’ Frederick W. Kent Collection of Photographs, as well as digitized online through the Iowa Digital Library.

People performing on the Festival Stage at City Park for the Shakespeare parade in 1916

The University of Iowa Libraries will be hosting a similar event at the City Park. This event is not only meant to highlight the Folger exhibition and anniversary, but will also serve as a throwback to the parade held 100 years ago.

Shakespeare at IowaDost Thou Speak Masterly?: Iowa Reads Shakespeare, the Shakespeare public reading will be held at the Festival Stage in Lower City Park on Saturday, September 24. All are welcome to participate in, and watch, the performances.  (See on the events calendar). The event will also include a costume contest.

Interested in reading? Gather your troupe, choose your scene from Shakespeare’s plays, and register to deliver your lines on the Riverside Festival Stage at City Park in Iowa City. Pick a 5 minute section of your favorite play, and get assigned a time to jump up onstage and practice your elocution in memory of Shakespeare, and how Iowa City has celebrated his legacy through time. SIGN UP here for a five minute slot HERE.

Don’t forget to VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE PLAY and professional actors will perform a scene of the winning play at the event.

There will also be a variety of other events in honor of the First Folio!, so keep an eye on the University of Iowa Libraries website http://shakespeare.lib.uiowa.edu for all the details.

 

References

Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Iowa), 13 May 1916. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86061215/1916-05-13/ed-1/seq-5/

The Monthly Bulletin of the St. Louis Public Library. New Series, Volume XIV, Saint Louis Library, 1916. Pg. 92. Google Books, Aug. 23, 2016.

 

Posted in Collection Connection, ExhibitionsTagged city park, folger shakespeare library, hannah hacker, history, iowa city, parades, shakespeare

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