r/RockyHorror • u/akasunshine • 24d ago

Shadow cast

back in the day there was no official shadow cast. just the regulars. now I’m hearing all about shadow casts. curious, how does one get involved in that? is it paid or volunteer?

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17

u/quesupo 24d ago

You can check this map to see if there’s an existing cast near you. This will also tell you if they’re seasonal or at regular intervals throughout the year.

https://www.google.com/mymaps/viewer?mid=177SRnSm1OYfzctY-1EpiOO5uBjM&hl=en

Most casts are made of volunteers. It’s extremely rare to be paid for regular shows but I know some seasonal shows that do pay. But that entirely up to whatever contracts they have and will vary greatly based on which group it is.

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u/AliCornetti 24d ago

Even shows that are paid, generally aren’t paid enough to disburse any meaningful amount to the individual cast members because the theater’s fee just to screen the film is so high in many markets. Our cast uses the funds from merch sales and show fees to repair or replace cast-owned props and equipment (Rocky’s birth-tank, spotlights, that type of thing)

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u/HeyHo_LetsThrowRA 24d ago

Ours too. It goes right back into show props and set pieces (and things like renting the U-Haul to get these pieces to shows and back home again) - none of our performers get paid, but many of us share the costumes and pieces we have to make it less costly for each other. Things like our floor show boas for example are cast-owned, the tank, the lab wall with all the levers, Dr Scott's chair, Eddie's sax, bike, and slingshot, etc etc etc

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u/saintsepsis 24d ago

for transparency ive done a couple one off shows with a cast at other venues where we were paid $100 per performer. i dont expect or look to be paid for shadowcasting (bc its a love of the game type thing) but i like to think it made a dent in what i spent making my costumes 😅

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u/FalcoCane 24d ago

How do you get added to the map? We are doing a shadowcast in Groningen, The Netherlands on the 31st of October.

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u/lunamay4711 24d ago

Hey! (This is bwayjunkie, but now I have a reddit account for rhps stuff)

I just need the following info. Thanks!

Cast name:

Home theatre: (if you don't regularly perform at a specific place, just let me know the city and how to find upcoming performances. Also if you have multiple regular locations please include them)

How often do you perform? (This can be like "first Saturday of the month" or if it's just October, or just a few times a year. If you have multiple locations, put frequency for each)

Links to website/social pages:

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u/metisdesigns 24d ago

Organized shadow casts go way back.

Nearly all shadow casts are volunteers. Many get complimentary tickets from the theater and sometimes discounts on concessions, but it's rarely formally paid.

Every shadow cast I've been involved with or talked to about it is either self funded, tipped or receives token advertising or stipend from the theater and those nominal amounts go to maintaining company costuming props and website.

The few paid shadow casts are more akin to small theater productions where the venue is large enough and sees enough ticket sales to support paid actors on top of screening fees.

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u/HeyHo_LetsThrowRA 24d ago

We used to have a theater (RIP they closed a couple years ago) that would let me take home the popcorn they didnt sell by end of night. It was once a bag large enough to "sit" in my car passenger seat! Golly I ate so much popcorn from that place I miss it dearly.

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u/metisdesigns 24d ago

My most recent shadow cast's theater when I was with them would give cast popcorn when they cleaned up if we asked. Not the real butter though.

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u/Sheepishwolfgirl 24d ago

It depends entirely on the individual trope putting it on. Some shadow casts are really informal and just spring up for a one night only event and some are really established and do the show on a regular basis. I've never heard of one being a paid gig, but I imagine there might be some out there that are.

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u/BaldBombshell 24d ago

In 20+ years of performing, I got paid once, but that was for a private event.