For Rocky Horror Picture Show Devotees

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WVWriterGirl

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Hey guys! I've been thinking of a short story (possibly a longer work?) where the RHPS figures quite prominently, and I need some information about the RHPS "lifestyle".

Is there anyone out there who either (A) still attends the midnight showings in costume every weekend or (B) did it in its hayday, in the late '70's and early '80's? I'd like to know a few things about the lifestyle of the RHPS devotee. I personally love the film, have seen it many, many times, but I came along too late to do the whole theater thing with it (born in 1975). I'd probably have to be...hmmm...Janet (b*tch!).

1. How tight-knit is the community? Do you socialize outside the theater gatherings for the show, or do you only see each other for the film on the weekends?

2. How easy would it be for a newcomer to ingratiate him/herself into the community? Would it be easier if the newcomer were in costume?

3. Is the "virgin" rumor true? If you haven't seen the film in the theater before and the other attendees find out, do they pelt you with things and chant "virgin"?

Any other information about it would be greatly appreciated. You may PM me or answer here, either way, I don't mind. Thanks so much, and Let's do the time warp agaaaaain!

WVWG :whip:
 

katiemac

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This may not be exceedingly helpful, but as far as I know the film is still shown in theaters on a (fairly) regular basis. (You mentioned the 70s and 80s.) For instance, a family member of mine used to dress up and go on Halloween for a special showing.

My university just played a midnight Saturday showing at our theater, but I couldn't make it to the show.
 

WVWriterGirl

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I wish they still did here. The last time I remember seeing it was 2 years ago on Halloween, for a benefit. We couldn't attend, because Halloween is our wedding anniversary and my husband and I have our birthday 2 days before, so we were out of town on our annual trip. Oh well, maybe this year...*wishes*...

WVWG
 

IWrite

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WVWG -

You might want to try googling - I'm sure there are numerous fan sites where you can get some of the information you want, and you might even find chat rooms, bulletin boards and email addresses of fanatics who will tell you whatever you want to know.
 

JennaGlatzer

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I've only been once, so the last question's the only one I can answer: Yes! Well, actually, I don't remember them pelting me with anything, but I do remember feeling rather startled when the person who ushered me into the theatre announced to everyone that I was a virgin, and people began squealing.

:Shrug:
 

KTC

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WVWriterGirl said:
Is there anyone out there who either (A) still attends the midnight showings in costume every weekend or (B) did it in its hayday, in the late '70's and early '80's? I'd like to know a few things about the lifestyle of the RHPS devotee. I personally love the film, have seen it many, many times, but I came along too late to do the whole theater thing with it (born in 1975). I'd probably have to be...hmmm...Janet (b*tch!).

1. How tight-knit is the community? Do you socialize outside the theater gatherings for the show, or do you only see each other for the film on the weekends?

2. How easy would it be for a newcomer to ingratiate him/herself into the community? Would it be easier if the newcomer were in costume?

3. Is the "virgin" rumor true? If you haven't seen the film in the theater before and the other attendees find out, do they pelt you with things and chant "virgin"?

Any other information about it would be greatly appreciated. You may PM me or answer here, either way, I don't mind. Thanks so much, and Let's do the time warp agaaaaain!

WVWG :whip:


We went all the time to The Roxy in Toronto. I've seen it in theatres about 150-200 times. I haven't been to the theatre to see it in probably over 12 years. I saw a live play about 10 years ago.


1. Yes we did socialize outside...but only slightly. Inside the theatre we were best friends...we fought about the movie and shot the breeze like we were best friends. Outside the theatre...if we saw each other we might hug and scream and carry on...but the only real thing we would say was "Are you going Friday?" and "Yes...see ya there!"

2. It would be extremely hard for a newcomer to integrate. We thought we were so cool! Newcomers were called POSERS and FAKERS. We hated them. They had to do something really impressive to be allowed in. If they were in costume it was usually even worse...unless it was painfully obvious that they were regulars somewhere else. We could always tell if they were regulars somewhere else or if they were newbies that just dressed up.

3. The virgin rumor is true and relentless.

Do you know all the actions that the audience participated in, like the toast, rice, cards, etc.? If you think of anything else, just ask....
 

firehorse

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FWIW, Law & Order this week is all about Rocky Horror and the community that built up around it (the wink-wink is that the episode guest stars Barry Bostwick, who played... uh... Brad). L&O writers have been known to get things wrong before, but not often.
 

KTC

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I forgot to mention earlier. There were sects within the regulars. There was almost a campy competition between the different camps. Kind of like whose Franky was better...whose Magenta was better, etc. It was always in fun...but it was often hilarious and not without the threat of sudden violence. It was like an act-off. Those were the days!
 

WVWriterGirl

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wow, thanks, KTC. I've got the 25th anniversary DVD - it has a track on it with subtitles that tell you what to do with each scene. I watched it when it first came out, but that's been a few years, and I'd have to re-watch to refresh my memory.

Firehorse - watched it last night (it was actually Cold Case Files on CBS). It was pretty good, and it got me to thinking about the story idea. RHPS was only really an aside in the show - it could have been Wizard of Oz for all the bearing it had on the plot - the main thrust of my story is RHPS.

Thanks guys - the more experiences I get, the better I understand it all. Ya'll are most helpful!

WVWG
 

WVWriterGirl

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KTC said:
2. It would be extremely hard for a newcomer to integrate. We thought we were so cool! Newcomers were called POSERS and FAKERS. We hated them. They had to do something really impressive to be allowed in. If they were in costume it was usually even worse...unless it was painfully obvious that they were regulars somewhere else. We could always tell if they were regulars somewhere else or if they were newbies that just dressed up.

KTC -

What would you consider "really impressive" that would grant instant "in-ness"? And, how could you tell they were newbies or regulars from somewhere else? What was the difference?

Thanks for all your help again!

WVWG
 

KTC

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Well, if some guy came in dressed as Frank N Furter (And not just in his mother's cast offs) and knew all the lines and had that certain POW that most of the good Franks had, then he was in. They were the captains of the ships...the Franks. If a new guy came in and he was better than your Franky...then you jumped ship. Instant in-ness was granted to those characters who were larger than life.

You could tell if someone was only dressing the part. A newbie would either come in, sit down and shut up(Something you just didn't do at RHPS.), or try to play along...not really knowing what they were doing(These were the ones we called posers). The people who came to experience it for the first time were more tolerable than the posers who tried to play along on their first visit. They looked like those old chinese movies with the english voice overs...they were always one step behind. (ie...throwing toast 20 seconds after everybody else did. They had heard something about toast and brought it, just didn't know what to do with it.) So...you could tell the virgins...since they were either doing nothing and looking around like they were in a circus or they were just doing everything all wrong.
 

soloset

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JennaGlatzer said:
I've only been once, so the last question's the only one I can answer: Yes! Well, actually, I don't remember them pelting me with anything, but I do remember feeling rather startled when the person who ushered me into the theatre announced to everyone that I was a virgin, and people began squealing.

What? You mean they didn't make you strip to your underthings and stand down front by the stage, too?

Must have been a local variation, I guess -- fortunately (?) I was a bit younger than the people I hung out with in college and not allowed to go.
 

Ricardo

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Hi WV

The TV show "Cold Case" aired a show last Sunday which featured RHPS, with the actor who played Brad in a role. (I saw the movie once when it was first released - Before it became a cult hit. Now I have the DVD)
 

robeiae

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From one who played Rifraf:
WVWriterGirl said:
1. How tight-knit is the community? Do you socialize outside the theater gatherings for the show, or do you only see each other for the film on the weekends?
I did it with friends I already had so we already socialized.

2. How easy would it be for a newcomer to ingratiate him/herself into the community? Would it be easier if the newcomer were in costume?
If we were short a performer and there was someone ready to fill in, very easy. Otherwise, next to impossible.

3. Is the "virgin" rumor true? If you haven't seen the film in the theater before and the other attendees find out, do they pelt you with things and chant "virgin"?
We would quiz people we didn't recognize before the show started to find virgins (some requiring additional examination after the show ended!) We never really pelted them too much, but usually dragged them up to dance the Time Warp during the show.

Experiences will vary widely, I think. I attended shows in other cities that were more violent, or less so...that were more heavily attended, or less so...you get the idea. But if I could shout out something a group didn't know, it usually led to some after-show activities.

Rob
 

katiemac

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So. My school had another showing of Rocky Horror and I actually made it to this one.

As far as the virgin rumors go, we might have taken it a little farther, being a college campus and all. First, they picked three girls and three guys from the line outside the theater before the show. A bunch of people had lipstick V's on their foreheads, and were easy to pick out. They called up these six on the stage, had the guys take off their shirts and lie down, and then the girls proceeded to lick whipped cream off them. (Keep in mind -- all strangers, except for a brother and sister, who did NOT pair up.)

After some more shenanigans and prizes (there was a raffle to keep the show free), one of the prizes being a kiss from a cast member, they asked everyone to standup. They counted down from a hundred, how many times have you seen the show (more than 100... more than 50... 40, 30) until they reached 10 and started going straight from there. After 1, everyone left standing were pronounced "VIRGINS!" and had to turn to face the back of the theater, bend over (grab your ankles) and then one of the cast members announced proudly that everyone had just been "f---ed."
 
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