Dracula: Origins
Vlad, a prince of Transylvania, struggles to keep his poor, mountainous land free from the clutches of Bazajet, the cruel and conniving Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. When Vlad’s father, Drac (the Dragon) dies fighting in battle, Vlad becomes ruler of Transylvania. He is now known as Dracula (son of the dragon). Due to the clever intrigues of the Turkish Sultan, Vlad finds himself forced to accept single combat with Kudret ad-Hem, the great Turkish warrior who killed his father. Knowing he cannot defeat Kudret, he persuades his wife, Mircea, to lead him to a cave of witches. The witches grant him strength, supernatural abilities, and freedom from death, by transforming him into a nosferatu, an undead vampire. Armed with his newfound power, Vlad meets Kudret ad-Hem in combat. After Vlad wounds Kudret, his vampiric thirst for blood overpowers him and he bites open Kudret’s throat to drink his blood. Both Turks and Transylvanians flee in terror. Mircea rejects Vlad as a monster, and falls to her death when he tries to embrace her. As the play ends, Dracula is left isolated in the Transylvanian mountains, facing a lonely immortality, and the witches celebrate the evil they have let loose into the world.
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48 pgs. 4 female, 10 male +ensemble (Doubling is possible)
Originally produced at Seattle Children's Theatre
Run Time: 50 minutes (can be cut for competition)
Audience Recommendation: 13+
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This script was originally developed for Seattle Children’s Theatre Summer Season, an acclaimed program in which student actors and theatre professionals come together to produce polished play. The Summer Season inspired by classic works, were specifically written for students in grades 4 through 12 to develop acting and other theatrical skills.
Click »here for a PDF excerpt. (Adobe Acrobat is required)