Draculamatic

In Prospect Park on thursday night there was a free screening of Dracula the movie, with a live soundtrack written by Phillip Glass and performed by the Kronos Quartet (You can buy a recorded version on Amazon.com)

(Why do they not let you bring your own beer and food to a free screening in the park? I mean I know why, but that's pretty lame. So we sat just outside the fenced in area and it was okay.)

As the movie started the wind picked up a bit. Kronos began to play, and the crowd cheered as Dracula made his first appearance on screen.

Around us in the park (in the "real" world) the weather started leaning towards a thunderstorm. A few distant rumblings of thunder was enough for the more wary viewers to collect their blankets and head out. Most people stayed though, holding out for what eventually happened.

The storm drew nearer and louder, and while there was still no rain, very loud thunder and very bright lightning began to create a real drama that matched the contstructed drama of the pre-recorded film and live music soundtrack. The excitement of the crowd rose when a scene involving a ship at sea in a large thunderstorm came on, foreshadowing the fate of the participants in the crowd. A crash of lightning near the park was matched by one on screen. The increasing roar of the wind added a sensation that enveloped all in attendance who still wanted to see Dracula and the Kronos quartet, even if they got a little wet.

Well as the rain first started, it seemed as if this might happen, but eventually someone came on the microphone and declared the event cancelled because the radar showed the storm too close for comfort. At this point it was still a drizzle.

Then the skies opened like they only do after days of humidity with no relief. Everyone began to scramble and those who were inside the fence (where they couldn't bring their own beers) had to file out two small exits, while those who had planned to take a picnic were free to run out of there.

Amidst this un-mediated drama I digitally recorded onto photocells a visual representation of some of this pandamonium while I made my way back to the subway stop.

It was an exciting mixture of hollywood drama and real-life "There is a slight possibility that I may actually be struck by lightning" drama. One fleeing particpant yelled to his friends " Phillip Glass wrote in the thunder and lightning!" leaving me wondering if he hired Storm from the X-Men to play the weather that night.