A Night of Rocky Horrors

The air is cold and dark on Halloween night at Stockton. Many people went home but those who stayed are building anticipation for the Stockton Theatre Club’s performance of Rocky Horror Picture Show. As guests enter the room, there are many actors and actresses in costumes to greet them and guide the guests to their seats. The actors do not go about interacting with guests normally. There are conversations with crude humor and laughter. Each guests who has not seen Rocky Horror Picture Show before that night is labeled as a “virgin” with a large, red letter V on their foreheads. There is a prop table with an array of items in the corner, where audience members can grab one to two props to use during the show. Once everyone makes their way to their seats, the shenanigans of the night begin.

Before the production begins, the actors and actresses around the room gather audience members to play games on the stage. The first game is played with coconuts. Players must partner up with a person they do not know, and start by holding a coconut between their bodies at the stomach. The goal is to move the coconut, without using hands, up one another’s bodies so that it is held between the partners’ necks. Players wiggle awkwardly against one another to move their coconuts. Some succeed and others drop their coconuts, letting them roll onto the ground below. After everyone returns to their seats more crude comedy and laughter fills the room, and more games are played. Once 8:15 p.m. arrives, the actors reside to the corners of the room and the production begins.

The lights dim and a movie reel begins on the screen. As the movie plays, actors dressed like the characters on screen act out the scenes on stage. The actors mimic lines only by moving their lips, all of the singing and speaking comes from the sound in the film. It is an interesting way to portray the story, but very entertaining for the audience. Throughout the production, the audience is asked to use their different props in certain scenes to add interaction. The actors walk and dance through the audience as they perform, some sitting on laps and some pulling audience members up to dance. The whole room feels whimsical and fun. Each actor does an excellent job at portraying their characters and each audience member gets into the story enthusiastically.

When the show ends, the audience is in uproar. Cheers and laughter show how well of a job the actors have done on stage. When leaving, the actors continue to interact with guests, keeping the fun atmosphere alive. The Stockton Theatre Club has, yet again, put on a fabulous show. The audience leaves feeling happy and carefree, on their way o enjoy the remaining hours of Halloween night.