The SAAC Theatre Committee welcomes local artist, longtime SAAC contributor, and Arts Academy instructor Mike Means as director of its 2026 fall production, Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors. The hilarious gothic comedy will run October 27 through November 1 during Halloween week with auditions being hosted on September 14 & 15. The production is sponsored by Amercable and Southern Bancorp.
This marks only the second time Means has directed at SAAC. His first directing role was Peter and the Starcatcher. Though relatively new to directing, Means is a familiar face at SAAC, having appeared in numerous productions, including M.A.S.H., A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Arsenic and Old Lace, Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Newsies, and Beauty and the Beast.
Means’ longtime involvement with SAAC extends well beyond the stage. For more than 20 years, he has contributed as a performer, graphic designer, set builder, and instructor. He has designed SAAC theatre posters for more than two decades and taught computer art classes for more than 15 years. He currently serves as an Arts Academy instructor and local Artist in Education (AIE) artist, bringing his talents into area elementary schools and encouraging students to explore art from different perspectives.
A longtime member of local comedy improv group Give Me A Second (GAS), Means also brings extensive experience in comedy and comedic timing to Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors.
After years of contributing to SAAC in so many capacities, Means said his decision to direct the production came down to one simple thing: making people laugh, “We all need a good laugh, and this play delivers plenty of them,” Means said. “I’ve always loved making people laugh, and the opportunity to bring a show this funny to the SAAC stage was too good to pass up.”
Written by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is a fast-paced, 90-minute, gender-bending reimagining of Bram Stoker’s classic. Set in October 1897, the story follows Mina after she mysteriously falls ill. Her sister Lucy and Lucy’s fiancé, Jonathan Harker, enlist the help of famed female vampire hunter Doctor Jean Van Helsing to pursue the dangerous, and surprisingly sexy, Count Dracula.
Packed with clever wordplay, quick-change antics, outrageous characters, and pop-culture references, the comedy takes audiences from Transylvania to the British countryside and London. Expect plenty of bloodcurdling screams – mostly of laughter – and a Dracula story audiences can really sink their teeth into.
Originally from Fayetteville, Arkansas, Means studied graphic arts at the University of Arkansas before serving nearly 10 years in the U.S. Navy as a draftsman and illustrator for the Navy and U.S. government. After leaving the military, he worked as a graphic designer before establishing his own freelance design business, which now serves clients worldwide.
If Means’ goal is to make audiences laugh, SAAC audiences are in for a bloody good time.
Audition material for Dracula: A Comedy of Errors will be available soon. Expect scene readings and improv games.
