Washington and Lee’s Department of Theater, Dance and Film Studies Theater hosted a Romanian-style dinner on Thursday to promote its upcoming production of “Dracula.”

Assistant Professor of Theater Jemma Levy is the director of “Dracula” and asked Dining Service to create Romanian food to celebrate the production. Count Dracula, the main character, is from Transylvania—now called Romania.

Levy said that every year, when a new production is coming, the Theater Department will promote it in creative ways. This year, the Theater Department wanted to specifically target and engage the student body.

“Each year, many community members come to watch our production,” Levy said. “We appreciate the supportive community, but we

really want to make sure the primary audiences are students.” Leila Baldridge, ‘17, said the invitations to the “Dracula” dinner

were what first caught her eye. “It was fun to read the invitation in Campus Notices,” Baldridge

said. “The way they framed it [was] like Count Dracula [was] talking to us.”

Theater Department students, such as Claire Sbardella, ‘17, and Dakota Walker, ‘17, stood in the entrance of the Marketplace to advertise “Dracula” to incoming students. Students were able to take photos with the large “Count Dracula” cut-out at the entrance.

Besides the Romanian food, there was a big cake with the image of Count Dracula. Dining Services and Theater Department students even dressed up for the event.

Assistant Director of the Lenfest Center Susan Wager organized the event.

“We hope [that] by coming to the dinner, some students will be interested in coming to the show,” Wager said.

There is also a promotion in the Sorority Houses and a game of trivia on Campus Notices, where students can win free tickets to the show.

“Dracula” will be performed on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 10 at 10 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. at the Keller Theatre.