Bram Stoker and Explore the possibilities in Second Life Storytelling
West of Ireland, Second Life – The talented West of Ireland Library staff is dedicated to promoting quality literary works from around the world with special emphasis on works from Irish and Celtic sources. When looking for a special reading to be part of West of Ireland’s Samhain Festival, the work of Irish author Bram Stoker came immediately to the forefront of possibilities.
The Library’s Storytellers will present an adapted reading of his novel Dracula at the West of Ireland Library and Cultural Center on October 26 at 11am SLT. The program will include selected short stories of the Halloween Season, as well as the centerpiece reading of Dracula involving six storytellers voicing fifteen characters from the classic tale. The cast includes:
Shandon Loring as Count Dracula, Dr. John Seward
Cunningham Docherty as Jonathan Harker
Aoife Lorefield as Lucy Westenra, Narrator and others
Derry McMahon as Vampiress, Narrator and others
Caledonia Skytower as Mina Murray/Harker, and others
Elder Priestman as Abraham Van Helsing
“Our goal is to challenge to boundaries of the storytelling format, without crossing the line into a full theatrical production” said Storyteller Caledonia Skytower, whose RL career experience is in theatre production. “To that end we are not emphasizing correct dialects or accents, not blocking the presentation.” Readers will appear in single costumes, and stand in one position in the simple setting planned for the library event. A sound effects board, developed by Storyteller Shandon Loring, will enable to cast to utilize a discrete number of sound and music effects to enhance their reading.
Bram Stoker (1847-1912), Irish theatre critic, theatrical manager and author wrote the Gothic horror novel Dracula (1897). Dracula is often referred to as the definitive vampire novel, but it is possible that Stoker was influenced by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu's Gothic vampire novella Carmilla (1872). Stoker wrote numerous novels and short stories including A Glimpse of America (1886), The Primrose Path (1875), The Snake's Pass (1890), and short stories collected in Under the Sunset (1881). Stoker also published the Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving (2 volumes, 1906) and Snowbound: The Record of a Theatrical Touring Party (190
which includes such theatre-based stories as "The Slim Syrens", "Mick the Devil", and "A Star Trap".In 1890 Stoker holidayed in the North-east coast fishing village of Whitby in Yorkshire, where it is said he gleaned much inspiration for his novel Dracula. Other works by Stoker include The Mystery of the Sea (1902), his Egyptian mummy-themed The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903), The Man (also titled The Gates of Life 1905), Lady Athlyne (190
, The Lady of the Shroud (1909), Famous Impostors (1910), and The Lair of the White Worm (1911) which also includes elements found in Dracula like unseen evil, strange creatures, inexplicable events, and supernatural horrors.Abraham "Bram" Stoker was born on 8 November 1847 in Clontarf, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, the third of seven children, and died in London, England on 20 April 1912.
The West of Ireland is a Second Life simulation (sim) created to support the programs of the South Texas Celtic Music Association (STCMA), a recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in the United States. Additionally, the West of Ireland has been approved by Linden Labs, the creators of Second Life, as a certified nonprofit.
The mission of the West of Ireland is to promote Irish and Celtic culture within Second Life and raise awareness of Project Children, while providing guests and community members with an entertaining and welcoming environment.
Project Children is an international organization that takes children from Northern Ireland on summer trips to stay with host families in the United States. Catholic and Protestant children are brought together in a calm and multi-cultural environment in an effort to overcome the stronghold of prejudices that have burdened Northern Ireland for so long. The STCMA raises funds for Project Children at its annual Celtic Music Festival and through the Second Life West of Ireland sim to pay the transportation costs for children participating in Project Children.
For information on the West of Ireland sim: www.irelandsl.org
For information on Project Children: www.projectchildren.org