Bringing the Rocky Horror Picture Show to Your College Campus
(or bring your group to Rocky Horror **)

Introduction

The Rocky Horror Picture Show phenomenon is unlike anything in the history of cinema. From its humble beginnings as a stage production in the England in the 70’s, it has transformed itself into a cult classic with drawing power unlike any other movie. Still shown in many cities around the world, Dayton used to have the distinction of having the longest running weekly show in Ohio. That changed in the fall of 2001, when the home of Rocky Horror for nearly fifteen years, The Neon Movies, closed for renovations.  During renovations the management changed, and the theatre decided to move in a direction that no longer included us.

Now the movie and the supporting cast, who call themselves The Dayton Affair, found themselves exploring new venues on which to hold occasional shows for the purposes of continuing to attract new fans, as well as retaining Rocky Horror fans from all walks of life who used frequent the show when it was held at The Neon Movies. Having the show on college campuses is a natural choice given that the college crowd represents a sizable portion of our patron demographics.

Depending on your intent in presenting the show, we can tailor our show and the pre-show to fit the theme of your event. In addition, the cast is largely self-sufficient through our internal volunteer structure, requiring minimal set-up times, technical support, public safety and security, and effectively no clean-up costs. Furthermore, the cast largely recoups its internal expenses through the sale of promotional items such as "survival kits", call-back scripts, and glow sticks. If this were unacceptable, other arrangements could be made to cover expenses.

What is Rocky Horror About?

You could ask a hundred different people what The Rocky Horror Picture Show (RHPS) is and you would probably get a hundred different answers. Fundamentally a mediocre production intended to parody a number of the science fiction movies of the time, the show started as a stage production in England, and was developed into a motion picture. Initial results were poor, but as the show continued to run in some theaters, management noticed an unusual trend… Many of the same people kept coming back to the show, week after week.

Indeed, these people seemed less drawn to the story and more inclined to make fun of it. As other people joined in on the act, "audience participation", previously unheard of in movie theaters where "No Talking" was the rule, was born. Yelling what are now commonly known as "call backs" to the movie, many people started bring their own props to the show to enhance the experience. The initial jeers at the films dialogue has grown to an entire script of call-backs and alternate lines, and audience props have become a standard set of items to throw to the cast and other audience members in response to the story. It was not long afterwards that people started acting out segments of the show in tandem with the movie, and the RHPS "cast" was born.

What is the Dayton Affair and Why do we Need them Anyway?

It is difficult to trace the origins of The Dayton Affair (the ‘Affair) because, like many haphazardly organized social activities, it was not well documented. The former management of The Neon Movies says the ‘Affair has been around for at least nine years, probably more. Without finding members of the cast before that, it may be impossible to tell exactly when and where the cast may have performed, but it can be presumed that as long as RHPS has been in Dayton, some form of a cast has also existed.

Although a volunteer organization, we have brought an element of professionalism to the cast, creating a formal cast contract and thereby laying out expectations of each member of this volunteer organization. Schedules and cast lists have complemented this sense of formality, to make this more like an actual theater organization instead of a group of people just getting together. Expectations have been set for the cast to use real props, authentic (frequently handmade) costumes, and even makeup in performing their roles. We have set up a web site and multiple e-mail distribution services for our cast and audience. Finally, a tech crew compliments the acting cast, working behind the scenes to make sure that the show runs smoothly.

It is important to point out that the cast has become a fixture out of necessity to the needs of the audience. The movie, by itself, can attract regulars who are looking for something to do on a Saturday night, but the cast is what gives the movie its variety and much of its life. Many regulars come back to see what the cast may do during their next show, or desire to join cast one day, and hence it becomes a draw. Some cast members will occasionally draw groups of people to the venue just to see them perform, or will even solicit callbacks in reference to them in particular. This is encouraged as it helps create a sense of family among the cast and the audience.

Although developing this following lends itself to frequent, regular shows, our current goals are simply to create exposure for the cast and the show.

What about our Existing Audience Base?

Because of its following, RHPS tends to attract a dedicated element who will see the show whenever and wherever they can. Although it is up to the organization sponsoring the show whether or not to allow our fans into their event, we encourage such acceptance (perhaps with a nominally higher charge to help defray costs) because these patrons really do add a degree of ambiance to the show that would not otherwise exist.

These traditional patrons of RHPS, especially those who we consider "regulars," attend the show for many of the same reasons that the show initially became popular. They like the audience participation -- including yelling things during the movie and throwing the participation items -- and they enjoy watching other fans like themselves perform the roles. It is also a low-cost alternative for entertainment on a Saturday night.

Traditionally we have drawn a younger crowd to the show, frequent occurrences of their parents dropping them off before the show, and picking them up afterwards. The college crowd accounts for a reasonable percentage of the audience, although these numbers drop off during holidays and the summer. We get a very small percentage of audience members over 25, with most of them having been long-time cast members or fans in their youth.

Attendance and Revenues

College shows are an unusual setting because the success of a show typically depends on the timing of the show, and the promotion put into it. I have personally been to shows with in excess of 700 people at them, and I have been to other shows where a couple dozen showed up. It largely depends on the way the show is promoted. When the show played weekly at The Neon Movies, we would typically bring in 60-80 people, but this would not be a valid basis on which to predict the popularity of your show.

Costs

As mentioned before, the costs of having the cast is negligible as long as we were permitted to sell promotional items, and the cast itself could pick up many of the functions that would normally incur excessive costs for the group sponsoring us. The major costs that would be incurred would be licensing fees for showing the movie, rental and setup fees for the projector, room, and (optionally) stage.

Summary

I hope that the preceding pages have provided you with enough incentive to give serious consideration to our proposal to bring The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Dayton Affair to your campus. We are excited to return to the stage in presenting this show to our regulars as well as new fans!

James McCutcheon
Cast Director, The Dayton Affair