If you know anything about me, you likely know I participate in a local shadow cast troupe for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I went to my first Rocky Horror show at 17 – donned fishnets and Doc Martens – and fell in love, but I never imagined that there would be a time when I was up on that stage.
I joined about a year ago after seeing Spaced Out Sensations perform for the second time at their annual Moravian show hosted by Spectrum, and I cannot explain how much joy this group has brought to my life.
On the last Friday of every month (and almost every Friday and Saturday in October), I have a great time performing a movie I love. If you know nothing about Rocky Horror, let me just tell you: it is an emotional release. The film is audience-participation-based, meaning that audience members often yell out call-out lines (which tend to be vulgar…), and prop bags are sold at every show so the audience can participate in every scene.
Best of all, I’ve found my own little family. The people in my Rocky Horror shadow cast are some of the most talented and kind individuals I’ve been lucky enough to meet, and I know our paths would have never crossed had I not joined.
And let me say: I am the biggest scaredy cat I know. I am horrified by haunted houses, heights, and, worst of all, the stage. When I was younger, I used to literally cling to my mom’s leg and hide behind her when I met new people until I joined dance and learned, at least in a small way, how to come out of my shell.
However, one of my biggest prides in life is overcoming this fear, and despite my shaky knees and nerves before every show, I always have the time of my life by the end.
Right now, I’ve auditioned and been approved to play two roles: Rocky, the tan, buff, stupidly masculine creation of Dr. Frank N. Furter, and Trixie, the usherette who performs the Science Fiction / Double Feature solo at the beginning of the film.
When I perform Rocky, I dress in his famous gold shorts, a gold top, spray-painted gold sneakers, and…not much else. In my first performance, I thought I was going to die of fear. I wasn’t sure I could pull off Rocky at first; he’s supposed to be a tall, tan (man), and some sort of perfect specimen — but once I was up there, something clicked.
It’s not about being perfect; it’s about having fun with it, and the audience loves you for that. Besides, nothing compares to running between the aisles, jumping around on stage, and getting to play up Rocky’s mix of childlike wonder and muscle-flexing bravado (and don’t even get me started on my “Rocky faces,” where I just pout my lips and furrow my eyebrow, Blue Steel Zoolander-style.
Rocky Horror started as a place for those who felt like outsiders to finally have a place to feel like they could be themselves and do so in a community of similar individuals. From its earliest midnight screenings, it drew in fans searching for a place where they could be unapologetically themselves. Whether it was their sexuality, style, or interests, Rocky Horror gave them the freedom to embrace their differences, and after almost 50 years, I don’t think much has changed.
My favorite part of every show is that there’s always someone in the audience who’s there for the first time, unsure of what they’ve walked into. But by the end, they’re shouting and laughing along with us, realizing they’ve found a place to let go and just be themselves. And that’s what makes Rocky Horror so much more than a movie—it’s a community of people who’ve finally found where they belong.
If you’re interested in checking us out, Spaced out Sensations performs on the last Friday of every month at Steelstacks in the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas, and our Instagram is @spacedoutsensations.
