It's not every day a grown man can wear leather underwear and flash his genitalia in public. Even on Halloween, that stunt might not fly. But at the Buskirk Chumley's showing of the cult classic "Rocky Horror Picture Show," people just laugh. \nOf course, that is probably because the rest of the audience is dressed just as outrageously. \nOnce a play in London -- called the "Rocky Horror Show" -- the show was turned into a movie in 1975, says Randy White, artistic director for the Bloomington performance group Cardinal Stage Company. The movie's story follows a couple stranded in an unfamiliar place and forced to take refuge in a freak house run by transvestites. But as a mainstream film, the movie was a flop. \n"It opened and closed almost immediately," White says. "It was a disaster. It's a terrible movie; there's no way around it."\n"Rocky Horror" will be starting at about 9:00 p.m., then again at 11:30 p.m. next Saturday with a "de-virginization ceremony" for newcomers at the Buskirk Chumley. Tickets are $12, or $8 with a costume.\nFor newcomers, the sexy or disturbing costumes might seem intimidating, but seasoned enthusiasts offer advice to "Rocky Horror" virgins.\nFirst and foremost, says Lindsey Charles, a "Rocky Horror" enthusiast and the emcee of the show, is that you cannot appreciate the movie by watching it alone. \n"I know a lot of people who have seen the movie by themselves," Charles says. "That's just not how you watch it. You have to watch it in this environment or it's worthless."
Leave your inhibitions at the door \nNewcomers can expect to be "de-virginized" at their first "Rocky Horror" show, Charles says. No one will know for sure what is going to happen until they get up there, but possible activities might include a fake orgasm contest, bobbing for condoms or stripping. \n"Mine wasn't that bad, I just had to eat a banana seductively," Charles says.\nSophomore Samantha Morgan says she believes a very shy person would be uncomfortable at "Rocky Horror" because "it's very sexual."\nBut Charles says that the experience is the best opportunity to stretch your boundaries. \n"I'd say to them, 'Hey, shy person, we're all equally pretty much ridiculous for being here,'" Charles says. "No one judges anybody. You could be wearing the bear minimum of what you're allowed to wear in public, and no one would laugh at you."\nFor senior Ron Placone's initiation ceremony, he was given an animal and told to pretend to have sex with it.\n"You have to let yourself go a bit and concentrate on having a good time, and not worry about what people will think about you," Placone says.
Dress up\nIf you don't already have fishnets and a corset hanging in your closet, get some, Charles says. And pile on as much makeup as you can. \nMost people start out dressing up as a character from the show, White says. You tend to see a lot of sexy dress, but the point is that you can express yourself however you want.\n"No one judges you for what you think is sexy, everybody just lets it hang out and just has a good time," White says. "It's about un-yolking your inner sexual nature."\nFor her first "Rocky Horror," Morgan wore a strapless white dress with pink tights and her hair teased. Placone, on the other hand, wore a skirt, fishnets, a tank-top and even a bra.\n"It is such a liberating thing," Charles says. "I'm not the perfectly skinny person; I don't wear bikinis. But when I go to 'Rocky Horror,' I go there in a bra and underwear."
Know the music and callbacks\nNo one is going to kick your seat for talking during "Rocky Horror." During the course of the show, people have a relationship with the screen and sing and dance to any song. \n"There are set dialogue responses to the things people say on the screen," White says. "And there is also room to make things up. What folks do while they are watching the show makes it so great."\nWatching the movie with someone who has gone before can help you learn the screen interactions, White adds. A certain script has evolved for the interactions over the years, though people can still ad-lib.
Bring props\nAnd forget throwing popcorn. "Rocky Horror"-goers should come armed with confetti, rice, toast, newspapers, toilet paper or water guns, senior Emily Mnichowski says. \nAt various points in the movie, people will use the props in response to something happening on stage. For example, people chuck toast onto the screen when characters are giving a toast at a wedding.\n"Those were the fun parts -- throwing stuff," Mnichowski says.
Expect the outrageous\nWhen Placone went to the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" last year, he saw some wild costumes. But nothing compared to the man that walked around in a short robe with a leather Speedo underneath it — or rather, part of a leather Speedo.\n"He'd go around to groups of people and say 'guess what's under my robe?'" Placone says. "Next thing you knew there was his cock and balls staring you in the face."\nBut rather than reaching for pepper spray, people just laughed, Placone says. \n"That's the cool thing about "Rocky Horror" — in a normal public situation that would warrant arrest," Placone says. "It is kind of like a rock concert in a lot of ways, the things that are socially acceptable are expanded a lot"
