Cal State University Monterey Bay’s theatre club The Performing Otters, put on their fourth annual shadow-cast performance of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” last week. For the first time in the club’s history, the performance took place at the World Theatre as opposed to the traditional location of the Otter Student Union.
The 1975 cult classic movie “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” has carved out its own niche during the Halloween season with midnight showings, unique call-outs during the shows and performances where actors act in front of a screening of the movie known as shadow-casting.
“A big part of a ‘Rocky Horror’ shadow-cast is audience participation,” said Vivian Franca, third-year environmental studies student, who served as the rehearsal stage manager and portrayed Magenta. “The audience is encouraged to dance, shout, and join in the fun!”
This is done through providing audience members a short list of call-outs as well as party hats and party blowers. During Franca’s welcome speech, she encouraged the audience to do any additional call-out they might know.
This left the theater roaring with laughter, call-outs and party blowers. This unique participation let the audience fully immerse themselves as an integral part of the show and become Transylvanians alongside the actors.
TPO’s shadow-cast has become a yearly tradition for fourth-year Mechatronics student Cable Bronte and “was excited to see how they’d elevate the show by holding it in the World Theater.”
‘Rocky Horror’ shadow-cast is “a celebration of theatre, performance, personal expression and breaking the rules, which are all core values in the queer community,” said Bronte.
Bo Downey plays Tim Curry’s iconic role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a mad scientist from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania, who serves as the force that stops the heroes Brad Majors (Frankie Garcia) and Janet Weiss (Heather Marinello).
“It’s been a really beautiful experience to be Frank-N-Furter,” said Downey. “Frank-N-Furter is a great way for so many people to explore their sexuality, whether that means they’re playing Frank or they’re watching Frank. And I’m happy and I’m very grateful to have had that experience myself.”
The cast leaves the audience sitting with Frank-N-Furter’s final ballad “Don’t Dream It, Be It” encouraging them to live their dreams and authentically themselves before ending the night with thunderous applause.
“‘Rocky Horror’ is such a hallmark of queer cinema,” said Downey “And I think that no matter who you are sitting in that theater, it’s gonna be an experience.”