Making a bloody connection

The Nebraska Repertory Theatre closed its season last May with Steven Dietz’s Dracula: Mina’s Quest.

The Rep’s Apprentice Company took the stage with a frightening and provocative new adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Associate Professor of Theatre David Long. The new adaptation followed Mina, the brave heroine, as she dared to defy the ruler of the night.

It wouldn’t be Dracula without some blood, however. For this production, the Carson School had a unique partnership with the Food Innovation Center at Nebraska Innovation Campus to create the special blood used in the production.

“There’s a ton of blood. You can’t have Dracula without blood,” Long said.

But they needed special blood for this production.

“There’s a multitude of ways that the blood has to be used as an effect in the show,” said Associate Professor of Theatre Jamie Bullins. “If it’s an effect that was used, like it just gets on things, there are laundry issues you have to deal with. I’m used to that. That was the first concern because it’s a period piece. So it’s not like you can just throw some t-shirts and jeans in the laundry.”

But in some scenes, the blood also gets in people’s mouths.

“It’s Dracula, and they’re biting people,” Bullins said. “That also means they had to be able to swallow it.”

That led to the blood needing some special dietary considerations for some of the actors, including being gluten-free.

“We want to make sure that student safety is the top priority,” Bullins said.

After doing a lot of research, Bullins turned to the Food Innovation Center to see if they would help. He was connected to Julie Reiling, a senior consultant FPC at the Food Processing Center.

“I took Jamie’s initial call about creating an edible, gluten-free, sugar-free, non-staining blood for a vampire production that the theater department was going to do,” Reiling said. “We often get some interesting requests for assistance with some unique food items, but I can honestly say that this has been the most bizarre request we have ever received.”

Both teams from the Carson School and the Food Innovation Center worked to get everything just right.

“It’s been fun,” Bullins said. “One of the great things about working on a college campus is that there are all these fantastic people who have specialties.” ■

the blood used in Dracula: Mina’s Quest at the Food Innovation Center. Alexander, Jamie Bullins and Julie Reiling work on the perfect formula for Left to right: Bethany Jackson, Zoe Kraus, Camille Lerner, Nathan