Perhaps we should have known from the start that Friday the 13th would be an inauspicious time to hold a performance. At the time, however, it seemed like a cute place to schedule the Bryn Mawr Rocky Horror production. We couldn't do it on Halloween, because that conflicted with Lantern Night and midterms, so Friday the 13th it was. And what a time we had.

The show started out pretty well, with Me and Melisa vamping it up as the twin Trixies to open the performance.. but right away things started to go wrong. Before we could even perform we found that the film was not rewound. Damned unprofessional and embarrasing. (No, I was not embarrased to be traipsing around in fish nets and a corset, but it was humiliating to have things start right off going awry. Just after our performance, right at the start of the "Damnit Janet" number the stereo that I had brought to amplify the sound for the movie went quiet. Blew a damned fuse inside the amplifier.

Then there was the problem of general inebriation throughout the cast. Certain members of the cast, and I shan't name names here, were barley able to stand up, much less walk. Again, unprofesional and embarrasing. But still fun, because the general spirit of Rocky is in self indulgence, and so long as the crowd was haing fun it was okay. We were all having a wild time.

Then things really got interresting. Melisa, the director of the show, slipped out of the theater because of a whispered conversation, and the next thing I know somebody is coming to me to say that the girl playing Rocky can't go on, and what can we do?

We don't have photoes, so you'll have to just imagine me racing from the theater, shucking my costume as I ran until I was in only my brief and fishnets, urging the crew ahead of me to get the gold shorts. In just a few seconds, and with barely any warning, I'm cast from the sidelines into a major role int he performance. As soon as I got myself stuffed into the shorts (and I couldn't get the zipper up ont thm, but oh, well who cares) I was out on stage performing a part I had only once subbed fore during a single rehearsal. In front of the whole mad Rocky crowd. With my fly down.

There comes a point in that sort of thing where you have to simply let yourself go and experience the bizarre wonder of the moment. Romp in your underwear in front of other peopl with your drunken castmates and just give up trying to be serous about the performance. Play it for the camp humor of the part. And of course luckily for me Rocky is a very simpl character to play with no real dialog, and little blocking that doesn't involve being dragged around or chased by somebody else. I think I even did well in the closing floorshow because, frankly, Roky isn't supposed to be able to dance anyhow.

I can only hope that the audience had as much fun as I did.. and my only regret is that I got the role in such horrible way. It really wasn't my part to play, so let's remember the event with this cast photo. Here is everybody before desister struck, looking forward to a great time. And isn't that what it's all about?

e-mail Silverblade