For Satanic Mechanics members, shadow casting is not only a way to act out films such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show; it’s an activity that maintains a close-knit group of friends.
“This is how I met my boyfriend, and it’s how a lot of relationships, romantic or not, start. … It’s just a really good environment because everyone can just be themselves and attract friends,” said Sarah Hamann, Satanic Mechanics’ producer and a senior music performance major.
The group’s upcoming shadow casting performance of 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show will once again bring together this scraggly group of what Hamann described as “loud, quirky and obnoxious” actors for what will doubtless prove to be a raucous — and entertaining — time.
The film screens with shadow casting by the Satanic Mechanics tomorrow night at the Hoff Theatre in Stamp Student Union.
Shadow casting is an experience that turns the usually passive act of movie-watching on its head. It’s a hybrid of theater and movies in which people act out what is occurring in the movie projected behind them. A huge part of the shadow casting tradition is audience participation, as audience members are encouraged to dress up, throw props and shout.
The most well known shadow-casted movie is Rocky Horror, which spurred the creation of Satanic Mechanics in 1996 at the university. The film, considered the longest-running release in movie history, has been shadow casted by groups across the country (not to mention, immortalized by Glee.)
An essential part of watching a shadow cast Rocky Horror show is callback lines, or set things the audience yells back at the movie. For example, every time one sees the character Brad, one is supposed to scream, “Asshole!”
The longest-tenured member of the group, senior computer science major Scott Fenton (known affectionately by the group as “Little Gay Scott”) explained the appeal of watching Rocky Horror performed by shadow casters.
“The experience of going out at midnight and letting off a week’s worth of steam by being able to yell for an hour and not have anyone yell back at me except to finish off the joke I was making … there’s nothing like it. It’s great. No two performances of Rocky are exactly alike,” Fenton said.
Satanic Mechanics, whose name comes from a lyric in the Rocky Horror song “Sweet Transvestite,” does two shows of Rocky Horror a semester.
However, between Rocky Horror shows the group does one show of another film. Past selections have included The Princess Bride, Beetle Juice, Army of Darkness and most recently, The Addams Family.
Shadow casting is very different from traditional acting because the actors must memorize exactly what the actors on the screen are doing behind them. Shadow casters have to watch scenes repeatedly to memorize positioning, facial expressions and movement.
“When I was learning how to do the tap dance for Columbia [a character in Rocky Horror] I literally spent six hours watching a 30-second clip,” Hamann said.
The main goal of Satanic Mechanics is audience enjoyment. Its twice-weekly practices, in addition to any individual practice, goes into making Rocky Horror and any other shows the group performs a fun experience for the audience.
“Our best shows are when the Hoff is packed, and there’s so many call lines being shouted nobody knows what’s going on,” Hamann said.
Meetings are usually dedicated to rehearsal for the shows. However, many people who are not in the show attend the meetings anyway.
“We have some people who are very involved and try to act in every show, or try and be in tech for every show, and stuff like that, but a lot of people … just really want to be around the group of people,” Hamann said. “There’s a lot of people who are interested in anime who come to our group; there’s a lot of overlap between us and the GSO [Gamer Symphony Orchestra]; there’s also people who like doing theater but don’t have the time to devote to shows with CSPAC [the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center] or something like that.”
She also noted the attitude Satanic Mechanics members have toward the LGBT community.
“The main character [of Rocky Horror] is a transvestite,” she said. “The movie and the culture surrounded with Rocky Horror really identify with queer people and technically, the definition of queer is anything that’s not normal so I guess that fits really well.”
Fenton, who has been in the club since his second day of college, considers the group a kind of second family.
“This group has been a part of my college experience from the very beginning, and I don’t think I would have made it through college without … this group and the friends I’ve made in it,” he said.
At the end of the day, members of Satanic Mechanics are people who are able to set aside their differences and appreciate each other for the people they are.
“We are a very quirky group of people — that’s sort of what draws us together,” said Hamann.
Satanic Mechanics will perform The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Saturday night at 11:59 p.m. at the Hoff Theater in Stamp Student Union. Admission is free.
wildman@umdbk.com
