Hi Folks,
To make things easier for everyone and myself, I'm just going to put updates in this post.
I have some exciting news for you! With additions of Eanya Dalek and SeXXXy Bliss, a virtual Collinwood is not far off! Tuna and I have been toying with the idea of a Collinwood sim for awhile now, and I know that it's going to happen sometime!
Our theater adventures will take place in two different buildings which SeXXXy Bliss is still building! It would be interesting to have not only a written document of our episodes, but little movies of them as well.
Present-day roles taken:
Barnabas (Tuna Oddfellow)
Cursed as a vampire by vengeful mistress Angelique Bouchard, Barnabas Collins is a character marked by his duality. At once callous and compassionate, lonely and furtive, his greatest conflict is with the darker forces his curse unleashes, and the struggle to maintain his personality in spite of them. Released from eternal imprisonment in 1967, he acquaints himself with the present day Collins family, beginning a journey towards personal freedom and redemption. He remains fiercely protective of his surrogate family and haunted by the shadow his curse casts over the lives of all who live at Collinwood.
Victoria Winters (Victoria Wilson)
"Her name is Victoria. I cannot take care of her…" It was these words, scrawled on a scrap of paper, which provided Victoria Winters with the only link with her past. Abandoned outside a New York foundling home on a cold night, Victoria was named winters for the season she was left during. Life within the foundling home, both as a resident and later as a worker, has taught Victoria the values of compassion and modesty, which mask a desperate yearning to learn the true identities of her parents, and link her past to her future. When Elizabeth Collins Stoddard makes her curious, unsolicited proposal that Victoria comes to Collinwood to work as governess to David Collins that the girl realizes that her destiny lies in the dark mansion on the crest of Widows' Hill…
Willie Loomis (Travis Bjornson)
A hopeless drifter on the wrong side of the law, Willie Loomis first comes to Collinsport as a friend of blackmailer Jason McGuire, the pair of them having travelled and extorted together. With his salacious ways and callous disregard for those around him, he wastes no time in making himself an enemy of the local population, including Burke Devlin. Ironically, it is his most abhorrent act that triggers his partial reform, when he embarks on a grave-robbing spree at the Collins family mausoleum. Unwittingly releasing vampire Barnabas Collins back into the world. Newly enlisted as the vampire's slave, Willie gradually learns the value of compassion and respect.
Professor Elliot Stokes (Puck Goodliffe)
The direct descendant of the 18th Century Collins servant Ben Stokes, Professor Timothy Elliot Stokes is drawn almost by destiny to the supernatural intrigue surrounding Collinwood. A lecturer at the local university, and a devoted and learned spiritualist, Stokes possesses knowledge of the arcane with a naturally inquisitive nature, and keen senses of deduction. A valued member of the Collins family social circle, he forms close ties with Barnabas and Julia, though remains ignorant of the dark secrets the pair harbor between them.
Carolyn Stoddard (Mia Nolan)
The daughter of Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, Carolyn is a vivacious young lady, seemingly on a quest to fill the darkened hallways of Collinwood with a light so tragically denied by her mother. At once filled with the air of teenage rebellion and a desire to enjoy life, in spite of its disappointments, she is both an inspiration and source of worry for her mother. Capable of stubborn and selfish acts, it is here that Carolyn's true character is revealed, that of an emotional, sensitive young woman more easily hurt than she might otherwise suggest.
Sarah Collins (Chelsea Bardeen)
The innocent child Sarah Collins is the daughter of Naomi and Joshua and lives on Collinwood estate with her older brother Barnabas in 1795. She becomes the precious pawn of the vengeful witch Angelique during her attempts to manipulate Barnabas into marrying her. Just prior to her 10th birthday, Sarah's fate was the first of many to be sealed by the shadow of the vampire's curse, leading her to spectral eternity that crosses two centuries, where she will be the catalyst for Barnabas' redemption in the present day...
Mrs. Johnson (SeXXXy Bliss)
The prim and practical Mrs. Johnson assumed the position of housekeeper at Collinwood to spy on behalf of Burke Devlin and out of loyalty to her former employee Bill Malloy, for whose murder Roger was a strong suspect. Once the truth behind Malloy's murder surfaced, she continued to serve the Collins family and developed a loyal rapport and respect greater than that for her estranged son, Harry. However, the frightening and supernatural occurrences both inside and outside the mansion walls tested Mrs. Johnson's loyalty and dedication...
Roles that need we need now:
Elizabeth Collins Stoddard
The staunch matriarch of the present day Collins family, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard is a dour widow, tormented by guilt over the disappearance of her husband Paul Stoddard over 18 years previously. Reclusive and headstrong, she refused to leave the grounds of the Collinwood mansion for years. Fiercely protective of her family and an astute businesswoman, Elizabeth's composed visage masks an altogether more vulnerable woman, who lives in fear that the shadows of her past will return to haunt her.
Roger Collins
Acerbic and vain, the dapper Roger Collins displays both snobbery and selfishness, demonstrated in his remote relationship with his son David. An uneasy long-term guest at Collinwood, engaged in strained relations with his sister Elizabeth, he works within the Collins family businesses. Capable of manipulation and blackmail, his involvement in Burke Devlin's manslaughter charge remains shrouded in mystery, along with the mysterious hold he exerts over Sam Evans. Neither villain nor hero, Roger's is a flawed character driven by personal desire, greed, and a misplaced desire to maintain the virtues of the Collins family…
David Collins
Young David Collins is the son of Roger and Laura, and the effects of their troubled marriage are plainly evident in the young boy's character. Growing up in a household filled with hatred and tension, David is a reserved, introverted child, whose obvious intelligence can manifest itself as spite or malice. Damaged by a tense relationship with a distant father, and confused by the loss of his mother, David is isolated and restricted by the world of Collinwood…
Maggie Evans
Before becoming Collinwood's resident governess, Maggie Evans was the cynical waitress of the local Collinsport Inn. Protecting herself from the hardship of the world, and the grim realities of her life with a rich vein of humour, Maggie is a survivor. Filled with pity for her alcoholic, widowed father, Sam Evans, it is Maggie that supports the Evans household, ever aware of the shadow Collinwood and the Collins family casts over their lives…
Sam Evans
Originally from Connecticut, widower Sam Evans is an artist, who lives with his daughter Maggie in a cottage in Collinsport. After mysteriously receiving a large sum of money from an unnamed benefactor ten years earlier, Sam suddenly became a withdrawn alcoholic, spending his windfall with reckless abandon. Deep down, however, Sam's worthier qualities endure. Articulate and cultured, Sam is a great believer in self-education and an idealist, perhaps wryly amused by his youthful belief that Collinsport would be the Provincetown of the future. In the meantime, he is content to paint while Maggie supports the household, ever aware of the shadow Collinwood casts over both their lives...
Joe Haskell
At 21 years of age, the humble and handsome fisherman, Joe Haskell, is a resident of Collinsport and employed at the Collins' Cannery. Joe's father was a local firsherman who died at sea seven years earlier, forcing him to leave school to support the family. Joe dreams one day of owning a boat of his own. He is first attracted to Carolyn Stoddard but soon finds more of a common bond with unassuming local waitress, Maggie Evans. Suddenly, due to sinister supernatural interference, Joe's behaviour becomes irrational, as dark forces conspire to manipulate Joe and Maggie's present, ultimately leading to the destruction of their future...
Burke Devlin
Now at 33 years of age, wealthy and successful, Burke Devlin finally seems to be escaping the ghosts of his past. With his vendetta against the Collins family ended with Roger's confession of his crime, Burke finds himself liberated from an all-consuming mission to gain revenge, and perhaps for this reason seems more peaceful and careworn than in the recent past. A newfound respect for Elizabeth and a growing relationship with Victoria Winters conversely finds Burke newly welcomed into the ranks of the Collinwood household, with only the spectre of the newly arrived Barnabas Collins and the growing rivallry he presents left to darken Burke's horizons...
Dr. Julia Hoffman
Inquisitive and intelligent, Dr. Julia Hoffman's demure and distant visage masks a woman of loyalty and passion. Driven by an insatiable desire for discovery, and a covert love for Barnabas Collins, she remains a loyal confidante. Faced with a choice between loyalty to her profession or Barnabas, she frequently forced to pledge allegiance to her friend, with sometimes-fatal consequences for those around her. Not beyond manipulation to achieve her ends, Julia's is a complex character truly understood by few around her, including Barnabas.
Laura Collins
The estranged wife of Roger Collins, Laura arrives at Collinsport seeking to reclaim her son David. However, Laura's apparently serene, beautiful visage, masks a darker past. Having suffered a mental breakdown following the collapse of her marriage, she has spent time in a mental institution and has been left with an obsessive compulsion to reclaim David, convinced that he holds the key to the stability she seeks. However, her interest in him may be guided by darker forces, which lurk in the flames of her mysterious mythical phoenix she is seemingly in thrall to...
Jason McGuire
Once a trusted friend of the Collins family, the calculating Jason McGuire returns to Collinwood after 18 years with a scheme to blackmail its tormented matron, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. Using a shared secret from the past concerning the murder of Paul Stoddard and his shrouded assistance to Elizabeth, he arrives as a barely-tolerated guest on a campaign of extortion and blackmail. With a shady past of criminal exploits, Jason relies on his quick tongue and charisma to win over the sceptical residents of Collinwood, not realising the fatal consequences his efforts will result in...
Sheriff George Patterson
Competent and pragmatic, Sheriff George Patterson is the head lawman in Collinsport and inevitably his path crosses with the residents of the Collinwood estate and the increasingly bizarre occurrences that beset them. As the world of the supernatural intrudes into Collinwood, Sheriff Patterson finds himself increasingly at a loss to provide rational explanations and solutions for events around him...
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1795 roles taken:
Millicent Collins (Mia Nolan)
Josette du Pres (Josette Sullivan)
Reverend Trask (Puck Goodliffe)
Angelique Bouchard (Loxtrisa Ray)
Peter Bradford (Travis Bjornson)
Sarah Collins (Chelsea Bardeen)
Ruby Tate (Calla Cela)
1897 roles taken:
Rachel Drummand (Josette du Pres)
Lady Kitty Hampshire (Josette du Pres)
Quentin Collins (SeXXXy Bliss)
Charity Trask/Pansy Faye (Mia Nolan)
1840 roles taken:
Daphne Harridge (Josette Sullivan)
Quentin Collins (SeXXXy Bliss)
Present-day parallel time roles taken:
Victoria Winters (Josette Sullivan)
*Note* We may not always follow the exact plotline of Dark Shadows in order to allow everyone to get creative. That's what this whole project is about: to share our love of Dark Shadows by re-creating the roles that we love so dearly.
If you are interested in this project in any way, please IM me in-world or leave a message in this thread. No made-up characters will be permitted at this time until we get established with the regular characters and figure out a schedule. As more people become involved, we will need understudies. If you would like to understudy any of the roles above, let me know.
As soon as the whole group has a meeting and sets up more guidelines, I will include them here.
~Josette Sullivan~