Frankenstein

by Austin Tichenor (Adapter), Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1816 and it caught the public imagination almost immediately. The first stage adaptation was written in 1823, and since then countless film versions, parodies, and modern interpretations have changed the associations we have with the Frankenstein name. Shelley’s novel offers many pleasures, but fulfilling the horror-movie expectations of the modern reader isn’t one of them. This adaptation attempts to be faithful to Shelley’s original themes, characters, mood, and literary sensibility while at the same time giving an audience a little bit more of what it expects from something called “Frankenstein”. Through well-fought debate and action, I wanted to combine the intellectual satisfaction of Shelley’s novel with the fun and thrills of a really scary horror story. In other words (to use a little Hollywood pitch-speak), it’s George Bernard Shaw meets Stephen King.Austin Tichenor

90 pages, Paperback

Published December 16, 2013

About the author

I like writing words accompanied by pictures, both on the page and on the stage. I love seeing and hearing the stuff I write said by actors, sung to music, or next to eye-catching illustrations that tell their own story.

My plays include adaptations of Frankenstein and Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" (called Dancing on the Ceiling), and crowd-pleasing comedies for the Reduced Shakespeare Company, including The Complete History of America (abridged), The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged), All the Great Books (abridged), Completely Hollywood (abridged), The Complete History of Comedy (abridged), The Complete World of Sports (abridged), The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged), William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (abridged), and The Comedy of Hamlet! (a prequel).

I wrote Daisy, the Littlest Zombie (illustrated by Gary Andrews) inspired by own dark and adorable daughter, and co-wrote Pop-Up Shakespeare with Reed Martin and illustrations by Jennie Maizels.