Dawn Loden

I first saw Rocky Horror on TV. I think it was on VH1 back in 2001. I do remember that it had some documentary parts in between showing the movie. With my attention span, I was sort of half watching it and doing some other stuff at the same time. I did have some prior knowledge as to what went on, I had heard bits and pieces of it from a girl I worked with years before, which used to go see it at the Beehive in Pittsburgh, PA.

Within a day or two of seeing it on TV my husband went and rented it, we watched it, I thought, "That's nice", and went on with my day.

Being the poor bored housewife, I popped the tape in the next day while doing some cleaning, just for background noise, and found myself starting to sing along, so I of course had to sit down and watch it again... and again.

I got on the Internet and started doing some research, to see if there was anywhere nearby that actually showed the movie. The closest place was 2 hours away in Charleston, SC. No cast was listed and it was a once a month show. We half-planned to go see the show sometime, and finally did in February of 2002. There was still no actual cast, mostly a bunch of kids dong the "fun parts" when the mood struck them, and a little bit of audience participation lines heard now and then. It was still a fun evening out, and I enjoyed the atmosphere.

On the long drive home to Myrtle Beach from Charleston, I thought about how much more enjoyable this movie could be with the live cast to act it out. I went on a mission, read everything I could, asked questions of current members from other casts, even pulled on the flame proof suit and braved the newsgroup. I've always had great organizational skills, and figured I might be able to pull this one off too. Long story short, I (along with the help of 4 other people) started the cast of Back Row Productions on July 4th, 2002 and they are still going strong today. I always served as cast emcee and played Magenta on occasion.

I rounded up a cast comprised of Back Row Productions, F5 from South Carolina and Pure Anti-Matter from Georgia (We called the cast Sins of the South) to perform at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC on 3 occasions. I've guest performed with Simply His Servants of Cleveland, OH as Janet and as Vance Parker in Shock Treatment. I also guest performed as Magenta with the now extinct Transsexual Chinchillas of Point Pleasant, WV. I've done a sci-fi con performance with F5 and Separate Rooms at Con-Carolina's and played Janet at Jeff Mach's Final Cult Movie Overnight convention. I've seen about a dozen different casts in about 10 different states and I coordinated the Charleston Rockypalooza in 2003.

I'm currently with the Sweet Translucent Dreams cast in Pennsylvania, and have been given the title of cast "Godmother" with the cast of Downhome Decadence in Huntington, WV, who will be holding the next Rockypalooza on May 11th and 12th, 2007 (shameless plug). Visit the website for more info: www.rockycon07.com.

I've been to 3 Rocky Horror cons; NYC - The Trannys Take Manhattan, Las Vegas - Cirque du Rockeil and The UTT con in Chicago. I never perform at conventions, I think I am too lazy to drag yet another suitcase through the airports, plus I like to go to socialize.

I like the movie, I love the music, I adore the community most of all. It is to me in every sense of the word a "family". A family to me is a group of people who may or may not have chosen to be together in life under normal circumstances, but have one common link that brings them together. It's also a group of people who may argue among themselves but will defend each other when one is threatened. So, yeah, Rocky is a family.

The best thing that I have gotten from being a part of Rocky Horror is Dave, the best friend I could ever have met on the planet. I'm happy to share the fan of the month page with him.