Fans wait outside the Del Mar Theatre, hoping for good seats at the Saturday night showing of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Photo by Devika Agarwal.

Acting as Colombia from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” a student actress channels intense emotions. Photo by Devika Agarwal.

On-screen, Brad proposes to Janet, while the actors of Slugs in Fishnets parallel the scene for the audience. Photo by Devika Agarwal.

The actors portraying Brad and Janet conclude the show in an intense final scene. Photo by Devika Agarwal.

An army of students clad in fishnets, corsets and plenty of drag surrounded the Del Mar Theater on Friday and Saturday night for Slugs in Fishnets’ annual production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” This year was the eighth annual showing at the Del Mar, and once again it sold out.

The Del Mar show is a way for people of all shapes, sizes and gender to find freedom and humor in sexuality.

The 1975 cult movie features a traditional couple, Janet and Brad, stumbling across a mansion of sex-obsessed alien transvestites.

“This is a movie that came out and became popular through midnight showings,” said Scott Griffin, programmer of the midnight shows for the Del Mar and Nickelodeon Theatres. “It’s definitely an interactive theater experience, not at all like going and watching a movie.”

As college and high school students entered the theater atop sexy stilettos, a condom balloon bopped around overhead. The theater buzzed with energy and anticipation, and attendees danced in the aisles as they waited for the show to begin.

After a raffle for stickers and DVDs donated by Streetlight Records, student directors Kristina Acosta and Megan Gaebler announced the rules.

“This is the longest running audience participation movie in the world,” Acosta said. “It’s just like great sex: if you don’t participate, you can’t come!”

“Can I get an attitude check?” Acosta called. “FUCK YOU!” the audience screamed back.

As the film played on the screen, a shadow cast lip-synched and performed along with the movie on a stage in front of the screen. A majority of people in the theater already knew exactly what to yell in response to the performers’ provocations.

The audience included UC Santa Cruz students, high school students and plenty of older participants.

Second-year UCSC transfer student Samantha Elrite took her mother to see the show for the first time. As a child, Elrite would come home from elementary school and watch the movie.

“I first saw it when I was 12,” Elrite said.

Her mother, Molly, said she was very excited to see the show. “I feel like a kid tonight, I finally have a little liberty!”

The next production of Slugs in Fishnets will be in November at the Merrill Cultural Center.

“It’s such a naughty culture,” said second-year Nina Morente, who has seen the show many times. “There’s no such thing as shame in “Rocky.””

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Slugs in Fishnets Celebrate Sex

Illustration by Rachel Edelstein.

“God will think we’re sinning!”

A voice yells out of the crowd, followed by loud booing and laughter at the first meeting of the quarter for Slugs in Fishnets, a student group providing UC Santa Cruz’s answer to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

A student-run organization formed in 1984, Slugs in Fishnets has taken a time-tested teenage ritual and made it more accessible for UCSC students.

“I’ve been going to ‘Rocky’ since I was 16 and living in Los Angeles,” said fourth-year Leigh Pfeffer, director of the show. “As soon as I realized there were shows I could participate in here I immediately got involved.”

For those who are not creatures of the night, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is a 1975 musical horror flick, known as a cult classic among viewers at midnight showings. The plot centers on a night of horror for the conservative couple Brad and Janet, who are introduced to alien transvestites from the planet Transylvania, the manipulative plans of the evil Dr. Frank-N-Furter and, above all, uninhibited sexual freedom.

“Rocky Horror” showings are no ordinary trip to the movies, however. A cast of characters shadows the film onstage, acting out the parts of the movie while it plays behind them. Audience members shout along with the lines, adding call-backs and mocking the characters with glee and a bit of contempt.

This is where Slugs in Fishnets comes in. The group casts a set of “Rocky Horror” players to provide the onstage entertainment for the show, as well as a group of “trannies” to put on a preshow and engage the audience in the performance.

“Anyone can audition for Slugs in Fishnets, for any part, and as many parts as they want to,” Pfeffer said. “Really, they don’t have to have even seen the movie. We just want people with charisma and good attitudes about the parts.”

Slugs in Fishnets just finished casting their spring 2009 show. New cast members, such as Porter second-year Rosie Bashaw, are excited over the opportunity to get involved.

“I’m going to be playing the part of Rocky,” Bashaw said. “It’s my first stage part, as I was always a tranny before. I’m kind of getting excited about costuming right now. This should be interesting.”

While new cast members are routinely welcomed to Slugs in Fishnets, many returning cast members vary in the parts they play for different shows.

“I am playing Dr. Scott for this show, but previously I have also played Riff Raff, Eddie and Magenta. Before that, a tranny,” third-year Justin Carroll said. “It was very spur-of-the-moment to audition for Dr. Scott. It’s about doing something new.”

Carroll has been involved with Slugs in Fishnets for most of his time here at UCSC. The commitment of these members shows the dedication involved in the group.

“Way back when I was a first-year, I met a friend in my core class and we got to talking about ‘Rocky,’” Carroll said. “She told me about a group on campus that anyone could audition for. I immediately auditioned the next quarter and I’ve been here since.”

In preparation for the next Slugs in Fishnets show on May 23, Pfeffer and her gang must start getting ready to appease the hoards of Transylvanians.

“We’ve cast the show, so now that means rehearsals two to three times a week,” Pfeffer said. “We’ll watch the movie a lot to get the choreography down right, start working on tech a bit and then selling tickets and promoting the show.”

With prep work just starting, Slugs in Fishnets has substantial ground to cover before its next show. Catch it May 23 at 10:30 p.m. at the Merrill Cultural Center, slightly earlier than the usual midnight slot due to quiet hours.

“It’ll be an early-bird ‘Rocky Horror,’” Pfeffer said, laughing.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Slugs in Fishnets bring ‘Horror’ to Campus