BRUNSWICK — The Theater Project’s 2009-10 season will open Friday, Oct. 30, with a Young Company production of “Dracula.”

The Young Company is the theater’s high-school troupe, made up of actors from the Topsham/Brunswick area who are enjoying their roles as vampiresses, madmen and victims.

“I really want to emphasize the scary in this one,” said director Wendy Poole. “It’ll be Halloween weekend, so what better time for such a creepy story?”

In the play, the mysterious Count Dracula has gone to England, where he lives on a large estate next to an insane asylum run by Dr. Seward. The cast of characters in this thriller includes Professor Van Helsing, who must convince Dr. Seward that Count Dracula is a vampire; Renfield, a fly-eating lunatic who serves the Count; the beautiful Lucy Westenra; Jonathan Harker, the poor soul who encounters Dracula back in Transylvania; and Harker’s fiancee, Mina, back in London, who desperately awaits his letters.

The story is told through a mix of action by the main characters and journal entries read by their counterparts.

“What we’re finding as we rehearse is that less is more when it comes to the perceptions of what is scary,” said Poole. “What you don’t see is creepier than what you do see. It’s been a lot of fun finding those little touches.”

The show is costumed by Jen Roe, with lighting and set design by JP Gagnon and sound design by Jim Hall.

“Dracula” will run through Nov. 8 at the theater at 14 School St.

Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. All tickets are pay-what-you-want, with a suggested price of $12. They are available at www.theaterproject.com or by calling 729-8584.

The cast of The Theater Project’s productiion of “Dracula” looks wary as Dracula lurks in the background.

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