rinayefetunit8wkc.blogspot.com: Research

Timeline of Rocky Horror productions
June 1973: The fist stage show production
Place of performance: the Royal Court Theatre (Upstairs).

Dr. Frank n Furter was played by Tim Curry.
Brad was played by Christopher Malcolm.
Janet was played by Julie Covington.
Riff Raff was played by Richard O'Brien.
Rocky was played by Rayner Bourton.
Magenta was played by Patricia Quinn.
Columbia was played by Nell Campbell.
Eddie was played by Paddy O'Hagan.
Narrator played by Jonathan Adams.

1975: The film was released as "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"
Produced by Lou Adler and Michael White

Directed by Jim Sharman.

Dr. Frank n Furter was played by Tim Curry.
Brad was played by Barry Bostwick.
Janet was played by Susan Sarandon.
Riff Raff was played by Richard O' Brien.
Rocky was played by Peter Hinwood.
Magenta was played by Patricia Quinn.
Columbia was played by Little Nell Campbell.
Eddie was played by Meat Loaf.
Narrator played by Charles Gray.

2000: Broadway revival
Place of performance: Circle in the Square Theatre
437 performances

Produced by Jordan Roth

Directed by Christopher Ashley

Dr. Frank n Furter was played by Tom Hewitt
Brad was played by Jarrod Emick
Janet was played by Alice Ripley
Riff Raff was played by Raúl Esparza
Rocky was played by Sebastian LaCause
Magenta was played by Daphne Rubin-Vega
Columbia was played by Joan Jett
Eddie was played by Lea Delaria

20 October 2016:
Remake of the film titled "The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do The Time Warp Again"

Directed by Kenny Ortega

Dr. Frank n Furter was played by Laverne Cox
Brad was played by Ryan McCartan
Janet was played by Victoria Justice
Riff Raff was played by Reeve Carney
Rocky was played by Sebastian LaCause
Magenta was played by Christina Milian
Columbia was played by Analeigh Ashford
Eddie is played by Adam Lambert

Context of the 1970s
The first stage production of Rocky Horror and the film was released towards the end of the Glam Rock movement which was a musical movement that was all about the outrageous hairstyles, costumes and thrilling music. Frank-n-Furter's persona is mainly borrowed from David Bowie's creation of Ziggy Stardust, a Rock and Roll god from another planet.

Just like Ziggy Stardust became too much for Bowie to handle (as he couldn't keep up with the demand Ziggy made on his time and life), Frank loses it towards the end of the movie, forcing everyone to do one final performance "Floorshow". This song shows that Frank only affected everyone sexually and the only person who saw through his "liberating" act was (my character!) Columbia who enjoyed her more meaningful relationship with Eddie. The extremity of the exploration in the Glam Rock era was too overwhelming that it was bound to fall apart. This is shown in the play when Riff Raff stops the party telling Frank "your lifestyle's too extreme".

The 1960s was a prosperous time, with the invention of the microwave and other time-saving household goods meaning that when the 70s arrived, women had more opportunity to get a job. During this decade, gender equality was improving with contraception becoming free for women in 1974 and it became illegal for employers to discriminate based on gender in some industries with the Sex Discrimination Act (1975). The Equal Pay Act was passed in 1970 but took five years to have any effect. Women were still expected to be the main care-givers and even though they were also working.

There was a serious economic crisis in the early years of the 1970s causing mass unemployment and many strikes and protest marches. Police racism was at an all-time high causing further divides in society and by the end of the decade, civil-rights riots were breaking out across urban areas mostly between the National Front, and organised groups of anti-fascists and anti-racism committees. The year 1972 is known as a black in year in history due to the terrorism including the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics by Arab gunmen.

The 1970s held Britain's first freedom movement for openly LGBT people hosted by GLF (Gay Liberation Front). Back then, homosexuality was seen as sinful, shameful and even an illness - this caused many gay people to remain closeted. On 1 July 1972, GLF held the UK's first ever "Gay Pride" march to show they were no longer ashamed, but proud to be who they were. Only 700 people turned up because many were too frightened of possible consequences such as getting sacked from their jobs or evicted from their flats which never ended up happening. However, they were abused by some members of the public and swamped by an aggressive police presence who treated them like criminals.

Bibliography:

Asher-Perrin, E., Rocket, S., Carroll, T., DeCandido, K., DeCandido, K. and Zutter, N. (2019). The Astonishingly Non-Nonsensical Plot of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. [online] Tor.com. Available at: https://www.tor.com/2012/10/31/the-astonishingly-sensical-plot-of-the-rocky-horror-picture-show/comment-page-1/ [Accessed 5 May 2019].

Bushtheatre.co.uk. (2019). Life in 1970s Britain. [online] Available at: https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/bushgreen/life-in-1970s-britain/ [Accessed 5 May 2019].

HuffPost UK. (2019). This Is How LGBT Pride Began In 1972. [online] Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/peter-g-tatchell/lgbt-pride_b_17418306.html?amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKmKriXMkqit9BXiPDdAfVWQazmZ-sXPECU6GQO7dzXxGZjJNaUJk11GHFXoLKsh2eZv80TVQ48vceZMv0JM2L_TFH5wa6A92ICALCwYoQZHhJqgyz3w845kwHrklu2psL6lwspTak_eL-JD1IRL6cnovp-Z9HJfA8lEPb_MUCJp&guccounter=2 [Accessed 5 May 2019].

Columbia's 'Tap break'
25/04/19
I looked through several versions of Columbia's tap break to give me an idea of what movements to do and also to find out how many counts I need to choreograph to - three counts of eight.

Rocky Horror Picture Show version - Little Nell Campbell (2:58):

When she dances, she shouts phrases like "woo!" which gave me the idea to create some of my own sounds because I think it adds more to the performance and engages the audience.

Roxy Regional Theatre's 2017 production - Emily Rourke (1:20):

Amanda Diamond (3:16):

2013 UK Cast - Ceris Hine (2:27):

The Rocky Horror Show Gala 2015 - Sophie Linder-Lee (21:01):

I think Linder-Lee was the best Columbia out of all the stage versions because she was so exciting to watch and was very beleivable. I really liked the way she interpreted Columbia's glitz and glamour, excited personality and showed it in her over-the-top movements and facial expressions.

When I tried to start choreographing, I felt lost so Mandy told me that I could start off with a pose that will bring the audience's attention to me. She also reminded me that the movements had to be an expression of Columbia, not me. Once I started choreographing, I felt like creating the rest of the dance was much easier but I just needed that push at the beginning. I realised that I would have to change into tap shoes before my tap break so after looking at all these versions, I realised I can exit the stage after my singing solo as there is a chorus separating my singing and tapping which gives me time to change shoes. Before choreographing, I made a goal to make it as entertaining for the audience as possible - I know that the vast majority of the audience will not be focusing on the technique but on the performance. This means I don't have to include the most technically difficult tap movements but rather the bigger, more exciting to watch movements. Mandy asked if I would want the tap sounds in the backing track and I said no because I want to show my tapping skills and because there is a small audience in the college theatre, they will be able to hear all my tapping.

Before I knew it, I finished creating the whole dance in about 90 minutes:

The state of LGBT rights in the 1970s
Gay rights in the 1970s and how people viewed homosexuals was incredibly bad to the extent that it was seen as an illness. Same-sex marriages were explicitly banned in the Nullity of Marriage Act which was passed in 1971. They were also not allowed to show any affection in public and had medical diseases named after them like Gay Bowel Syndrome.

However, many groups emerged in the 1970s that started the revolution causing the population to eventually treat the LGB community like equals. These communities included the Gay Liberation Front, The Manchester Gay Alliance and The International Lesbian and Gay Association. The London Icebreakers formed offering a 24-hour helpline gay-affirmative support. The First Gay Pride Rally was held in London in 1972. An example of how people felt about homosexuals is when Labour MP Maureen Colquhoun, who was in a heterosexual relationship, came out as a Lesbian - her party refused to support her after she came out. However, the Liberal Party passed a conference resolution in support of equality of gay people including age of consent. This shows that even though gay was seen as a negative back then, times were starting to change.

The treatment of transsexual people was also not good. For example, April Ashley and Arthur Cameron Corbett's marriage was annulled based on the fact that Ashley was a transsexual woman and was still considered a man under then-current British law. Birth certificates could not be changed for transsexual and intersex people. There were parliamentary debates on the issues of transsexualism in 1971. In 1973, Dr. Carol Steele and Linda B. both transsexual women set up the Manchester TV/ Ts Group (for transvestites and transsexuals).

Looking at an interview with Richard O'Brien, creator of the Rocky Horror show (YouTube, 2019), the play and the film tapped a nerve in everyone; the audience watching the show would surprise themselves because they enjoyed it so much and the LGBT community found the movie liberating because the characters in the movie were unapologetic and unashamed of who they were even though society at the time put shame on anyone who was LGBT.

Bibliography
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Timeline of LGBT history in the United Kingdom. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_LGBT_history_in_the_United_Kingdom [Accessed 12 May 2019].

YouTube. (2019). An Evening with Richard O'Brien - Part 1 of 5 - Captioned. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omeUM1UoAk8 [Accessed 5 May 2019].

Watching interviews with cast members
Nell Campbell - played Columbia
Little Nell worked in a café called Smalls where she would sing and dance dressed like "Ruby Keeler". One day, Richard O'Brien, Jim Sharman and Richard Hartley walked in, took one look at her and offered her to be in the Rocky Horror Show which she, of course, accepted. After seeing her skills, they decided that she have a tap solo. As I am playing her character, I thought it was important to note some of her tap dancing tips: to keep your arms occupied, smile and never look at your feet. After seven months playing Columbia in the play, she left to busk in France until Hollywood called for her to be in the movie which she gladly accepted. She said that she showed the movie to her three-year-old daughter mentioning that she thought it was good to let her child know that she has many options - this is an example of the liberation and acceptance the movie brought for the LGBT community. She uses a squeaky voice for Columbia which I have decided to try copy in my own way.

Patricia Quinn - played Magenta
Richard O'Brien sings the first song in the movie called "Science Fiction/ Double Feature" which Quinn lip synced, she nearly refused the job because she wanted to sing the song. Before special effects, O'Brien had the idea to have just her lips on screen which are arguably the most famous lips in cinema history. Quinn played Magenta in both the play and the film version.

Meat Loaf - played Eddie
In the play, Meat Loaf played Eddie and Dr. Scott so when told that he would only play Eddie for the film version, he was upset and to this day still thinks he should have played both characters in the movie. This is because even though the actor playing Dr. Scott was great, the reason one actor would play both characters is so they would look alike since Eddie is Dr. Scott's nephew. It's very hard to earn money as an actor so when offered the job, he didn't even need to know what the movie was about, he was there because he needed the job. When learning his solo song "Hot Patootie", Richard O'Brien told him that the actors in England and even himself, the writer, couldn't fit all the words into the song but Meat Loaf was determined to say all the lyrics and he did which I found inspiring.

When Meat Loaf saw Tim Curry sing "Sweet Transvestite" in full costume, he walked straight out of the theatre saying he didn't want to be in a play that had a man in fishnet stockings. He had the stage manager and some other people chasing him telling he should see the whole play before walking out. He jaywalked on Hollywood Boulevard, got stopped by the cops and then decided he will do the play because it's a comedy. He then discovers that Dr. Scott has to wear fishnet stockings and high heels which he blatantly refused to do. After much convincing, he reluctantly decided to try it on and before he knew it, he was backstage panicking at what the audience's reaction will be. When he revealed what he was wearing, he was received with the most intense and longest amount of laughter that he has ever experienced - this happened every performance.

In the Rocky Horror Picture Show, when Eddie rides his motorbike, Meat Loaf had a stunt double. Meat Loaf had motorcycle handles and windshield attached to a wheelchair which fell and the person who came to help him got stuck and ended up snapping and breaking his leg. This didn't erase the scene. A stunt double had to ride the motorcycle on the ramp, he fell off the ramp with the motorcycle landing on top of him. Meat Loaf lifted the motorcycle off of him and checked to see if he was okay. The man on the floor was not moving and for a second, everyone had thought the worst, he then suddenly he got up and was ready to do it again. It turns out, the moment of stillness on the floor was him checking each part of his body for any damage since after a traumatic shocking incident like this, you don't feel the pain straight away.

Meat Loaf still has his jacket from the 1975 film which was designed very appropriately for Eddie.

Susan Sarandon - played Janet
When casting for Rocky Horror, everyone auditioning for Janet could sing well but Sarandon made her part comedic. She had a massive phobia of singing or even humming out loud because she was told by her father, a Big Band singer, that she couldn't sing. So when auditioning, she talked through the song and eventually the casting directors convinced her to sing and it went well. Journalists very often assumed that Sarandon was ashamed to be a part of the film which was very far from the truth. Sarandon played Janet only in the film version.

Bibliography:
YouTube. (2019). Nell Campbell | Studio 10. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i68ZhDJOos [Accessed 30 Apr. 2019].

YouTube. (2019). Patricia Quinn Reflects On 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' | Studio 10. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3NdXbLZbws [Accessed 12 May 2019].

YouTube. (2019). Meat Loaf On The Rocky Horror Show - Part 1. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFqmLvxORzQ [Accessed 12 May 2019].

YouTube. (2019). Meat Loaf On The Rocky Horror Show - Part 2. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYAu0w3raQE [Accessed 12 May 2019].

YouTube. (2019). Susan Sarandon on Rocky Horror. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2jp_HI2xLc [Accessed 13 May 2019].

Glam Rock
1. What was 'Glam Rock' and when did the movement start in the U.K.?
Glam Rock was a musical movement that began in Britain in the early 1970s. It celebrated the visual of a rock star and a rock concert.

2. What was Glam Rock a 'reaction' against? How did it differ from the music movements that preceded it in the mid-late 60's?
Great Britain could be seen as a drab place in the 1970s. There were tensions in Northern Ireland, an economic and political crisis and the sense that the nation's moment had passed. Glam Rock added that splash of colour and sparked a different kind of cultural evolution. Robert Palmer would compare Glam Rock as "rebelling against the rebellion" to the music movements in the 1960s.

3. What were the characteristic elements of Glam Rock?
Glam Rock, known as glitter rock in the USA, often had male musicians dappled with glitter. They would adopt theatrical personas and put on glamorous musical productions frequently characterised by space age futurism. Musically, Glam Rock would have a heavy guitar sound shaped by hard rock and pop styles but also had heavy metal, art rock and punk incarnations.

4. What influences can you see from Glam Rock in Rocky Horror Show?
Doctor Frank-N-Furter was based on David Bowie's alter ego Ziggy Stardust. Both wore make-up and women's clothing. Both were bisexual and had come from an alien planet. There are parallels with the Glam Rock movement and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. For example, when Frank kills Eddie, his and Columbia's lover, this represented the people who believed Glam Rock was killing classic rock n' roll.

5. Briefly discuss the David Bowie concept album 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' - How does the character and narrative of Bowie's alter-ego link to the Rocky Horror Show and its characters/themes?
'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars', usually shortened to 'Ziggy Stardust' was English musician and 70s icon David Bowie's fifth studio album. This was described as a loose concept album about Ziggy Stardust - a fictional, androgynous, bisexual rock star who acts as a messenger for extra-terrestrial beings - very much like transvestite Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Bowie's album and his character were inspired by the Glam Rock movement and explored themes of sexual exploration and social taboos, like Rocky Horror.

6. Why do you think an 'extra-terrestrial' character/figure may have been used to portray the difference from the social, sexual and cultural norms of the early 1970s? What were artists and writers like David Bowie and Richard O'Brien suggesting about their views and perceived place in mainstream culture and society?
I think artists and writers like David Bowie and Richard O' Brien portrayed their character as an 'extra-terrestrial' because society in the 1970s portrayed the LGBT community as aliens and abnormal persons because they were different to the social, sexual and cultural norms.

Costume, hair and makeup designs