Isaac Britt is 6 feet, 3 inches tall, with shoulder-length brown hair, high cheekbones and a deep voice. Robert Pattinson is 6 feet, 1inch tall with tussled brown hair, chiseled facial features and a deep voice.

The physical differences between the two may be small, but Britt, a junior at Chapel Hill High School, said he's trying to distance himself from the Pattinson, the dreamy star of the popular "Twilight" movies.

"I get a lot of stuff in the hallways, some jokes and some props," said Britt, who is playing Count Dracula in the school's fall production of "Dracula," which opens Thursday. "I'm not sure how I feel about the new popularity of vampires. I love the older, really gothic ones."

The play, adapted by Steven Dietz from the Bram Stoker novel, is so much deeper than anything Stephanie Meyer writes about, Britt said.

"It's a historical piece that uses vampiricism as a message for sexual expression," he said. "It's a really cool idea that has appeared in every culture."

It's an appreciation fostered by theater director Thomas Drago, who said his own love of gothic literature inspired him to pick the show.

"Certain plays call to me," he said. "I think it's also important to be open with my kids about these sorts of issues."

The school's production is somewhat influenced by the 1992 Francis Ford Coppola-directed film, which features a darker, more sexualized narrative. The first few weeks of rehearsal were spent sitting in a circle with the 24-person cast and having frank discussions about sex and religion, Drago said.

"I want to push the envelope as much as possible," he said. "Sometimes it's OK to make the audience feel uncomfortable."

As an actor, the role of Dracula can be challenging to take on. In most versions, Dracula is domineering, alluring - even a bit satanic. Britt had a vocal coach help him master a Transylvanian accent, but that was only the first step.

"You have to think about letting all of your inhibitions go," Britt said. "It's really fun, getting into the character and letting the id go."

Senior Lizzie McManus is working to do the same as she plays Lucy Westenra, a vivacious, playful seductress who falls prey to Dracula.

"I'm getting in touch with my inner Lady Gaga," McManus said. "She's very complex and sexual, but as the play unfolds, you see that she is also deeply self-conscious and succumbs to the great fear that is Dracula."

McManus said she's a little nervous to see how her family reacts to her acting - especially her grandmother and mother, who is a minister.

"But I've warned them already," she said. "Drago said my job is to turn on every boy in the house. ... I'm going to suck it up and do it."

The current obsession with vampires in pop culture sure doesn't hurt, Drago said.

"It's been a good blessing," he said.

But McManus said she isn't a fan of the movies.

"We want to distinguish this show from the sparkly Edward Cullens of the world,'" she said.