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An RHPS cast is a bit of plaster or fiberglass placed around a limb that has been broken during a showing. Okay. Bad joke. I apologize.
An RHPS cast is a group of people (?) who act out the show.
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RHPS consists of basically three parts: the filmed image, the audience participation, and the live action. The cast is one of the major reasons to see the show, and most casts go to great pains and expense to put on a good performance. As Richard O'Brien said, "Three out of three ain't bad."
Rarely. Very rarely. However, many theaters (though not all) do let them in for free or for reduced admission.
They usually don't. Most hard-core Rocky-ites are dead broke, if not hugely in debt. For what is perhaps the worst horror story of all time, talk to Cosmo from Cincinnati about The Wall That Put Everyone In Debt And Then Subsequently Crushed A Cast Member (okay, so that's probably not the official title; talk to him about it).
Basically, the costumes and props are made by scrimping, saving, and taking advantage of credit cards. If cast funds are available from the sale of merchandise/prop kits/etc. or (very rarely) a (miniscule) percentage of ticket sales, they are usually used only for large props, and cast members must provide their own costumes and hand props.
Some (very few) cast members are blessed with the ability to sew, or know people (friends, relatives, Mom) who are similarly blessed. Others painfully learn, sometimes getting quite good. Still others get very good at modifying things in their closets or from local thrift stores. If you want to pay someone to make costumes for you, you might want to make inquiries at the local theatrical shop (if there is one in your neighborhood) or ask around at the local Ren Faire.
If you want to make a costume, remember that having a costume that looks sort okay SOON is much better than having the perfect costume later. There will always be time to make that perfect costume (or pay someone else to) after you have something half-(in)decent to wear to the show. Suggestions for where to find costume pieces and some tricks I've found helpful in making them can be found at http://www.wwa.com/~wbarsell/qa.htm.
If you're trying to make a movie-accurate costume, find as many pictures as you can of the costume and watch the film carefully. You may find Ruth's "Anal Retentive Rocky Horror Costume List" at http://www.wwa.com/~wbarsell/indxruth.html helpful.
Occasionally a cast will get lucky and find they are harboring a Prop God (TM), someone who owns some of the tools and has the know-how to build things like a Medusa wall or a stage and who can direct the other klutzes on cast to help. Prop Gods may have day jobs in stagecraft, the construction industry, or at Home Depot.
Prop Gods are a special breed. Cherish them. People who work crew for high school, amateur, or [swoon] professional theater can work miracles. Of course, so can a determined novice with a good idea, an X-acto knife, and some Elmer's glue. Learn to look at things and ask "What could I make out of that?" Going to the hardware store or the craft store will never be the same.
Do you want a simple answer, or a psychological probe into the minds of cast members?
Simple Answer - It's fun.
Probe - I'm not a psychologist, but I've found that the majority of people do it for the simple answer. However, some are trying to get attention; others are confused about their sexuality, and do the show so they can say they're "only performing"; some are struggling actors; a few are trying to annoy their relatives; et cetera. For the most part, though, the personality disorders are what you'd find in any group of people, and shouldn't be restricted to Rocky-folk. Again, I encourage you to refer to the simple answer.
There are really too many to list in any detail.
But several people have tried to list them all. David Shetterly posted a list in June 1999, which was the basis for the list below (since updated). If you have additions, please let us know.
The following is a list of RHPS cast names, both past AND present:
Talk to someone from the cast that you want to join. Usually they're quite rushed and stressed immediately before or after a show, so it's best to approach them at a more relaxed moment. If you try to talk to them when they're simultaneously trying to find all the cast members for the night, bringing in props and costumes, working out problems with management, setting up a pre-show, etc., you might not get the most courteous reply.
If you have some time to spare after the show, tag along to wherever the cast goes (usually a 24-hour restaurant) and talk to someone there. This will help you get to know everyone anyway.
Sometimes casts actually advertise for members, and offer cast applications. If this is the case, odds are that's how you would go about joining the cast.
Get some friends together and learn the parts.
If RHPS is not playing in your area, talk to various theatres and find out why not. If it's not playing for a specific reason, try to remedy that reason. Many cities have showings periodically throughout the year, so you could try asking the theatre if you can perform and then heavily recruiting audience members to show them that the cast does make a difference.
The best thing you can do to show the theatre that there's an interest in the community is to get a petition signed. Five-hundred signatures all from the same place (i.e. school, club, etc.) aren't going to cut it, though. Get thousands of signatures from all over. Try local clubs, coffeehouses, and the like.
Whatever you do, be nice to the theatre managers. They don't really lose anything if they don't have the show, and usually they could do without the hassle of having to clean up, pay workers for staying late, etc. Offer to help out as much as you can. Stay after the show to clean up. Try to stay out of the way when you're not wanted. Advertise the show for free. Eventually, if the managers see that you attract audiences and are friendly and courteous, they'll be nice to you. More so than if you're obnoxious to the audience and rude to the managers, anyway.
Section last modified Monday, 22-Sep-2003 01:34:43 EDT