Catching Up with Timothy Anders

It is “Dracula: Dance on the Dark Side” tech week at CIB! For this small company tech week means class every day beginning at 10am with studio rehearsal till 4pm. Then, later on another warm up class at 5pm for the evening theater rehearsals till 9:30pm. In the midst of all the craziness, we got a chance to sit down with CIB’s company member Timothy Anders who will be playing the lead role of Jonathan in the upcoming production.

This will be your first time performing in the production of “Dracula”, what has been your favorite part so far?

It has a very diverse set of characters that my character gets to interact with, which has been a lot of fun. Depending on who I’m in a scene with, I might be rescuing someone, getting my stuff stolen, or getting thrown across the stage.

For those who are not familiar with the story, describe your character role to us.

I play an upstanding, puritan, English man from London named Jonathan Harker. He is in the business of real estate and has received a letter from a client looking to move to England. I have a fiancé to whom I am to be married soon, but series of events have occurred that has caused his life to turn in a dark direction that he never expected.

Have there been any challenges on the way to embody a character from a different time period and how have you prepared for this role mentally?

I think the biggest challenge has been understanding who Jonathan is at the beginning and how that changes through all his experiences throughout the show. He starts out being very closed, and he progressively reveals who he is as the story plays out.

In preparation for playing the part of Jonathan I’ve read the book a couple times, studied about what the culture of England was during that time, and I’ve also watched the movie. I’ve found the book the most helpful. Bram Stoker made it easier to connect with who I am as Jonathan by going into such depth about the character.

Central Illinois Ballet's production of "Dracula: Dance on the Dark Side" premieres this weekend Oct. 28th & 29th, 7:30pm, at ICC Performing Arts Center. Tickets on sale online at www.ciballet.com/season or at the door!