ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Artist Spotlight
Don’t Dream It, Be It
‘PEOPLE LIKE US’ DOCUMENTS
CULT OF ‘ROCKY HORROR’
I
BY JASON PISKOPUS
n 1975, “The Rocky
Horror Picture Show”
debuted in theaters and
immediately flopped. A
year later a theater de-
cided to revamp the film
and show it at midnight.
These midnight shows springboard-
ed “Rocky Horror’s” popularity and
helped to create a subculture sur-
rounding the film.
Now, “Rocky Horror” has an in-
ternational cult following. It attracts
people from all walks of life because
of the show’s open and accepting at-
mosphere.
The subculture includes: a
self-proclaimed “shadowcast” who
perform live in front of the film as it
plays, devoted fans who attend reg-
ularly and the occasional outsider
who is simply interested in the film.
This third type is found in Lauren
Everett, who produced a book titled
“People Like Us.” It is a sociological
perspective about “Rocky Horror.”
“The goal [of the book] really is to
show how it’s possible to be creative
outside of the confines of what is
given to you by the dominant para-
digm of society,” said Everett while
discussing her book. “A lot of people
think the only options are to get a
job, go to work and that’s kind of it.
This is another option.”
Everett traveled across the coun-
try to find people who identify with
the “Rocky Horror” subculture, and
she took photos of them dressed as
their alter egos. On Nov. 21, Wacko’s
Soap Factory in Los Feliz featured
Everett’s book. The cover art features
Lexi Lutter, a “Rocky Horror” shad-
owcast member for 35 years, in full
“Dr. Frankenfurter” garb.
“For me it’s community,” said Lut-
ter while discussing his connection
to the “Rocky Horror” culture. “A lot
of friends that get together and do
something really stupid every week,
almost.”
Haunting Works Present
Catalyst for Awareness
BY TOMAS RODRIGUEZ
As the fall semester comes to an
end, the Da Vinci Gallery will host
a selection of works by artist Cami-
la Taylor titled, “These Limbs” as
their closing event for the semes-
ter. The exhibit features various
thought-provoking sculptures and
etches.
“[My art] is figurative,” Taylor
said. “It is about the body, but with-
out having to specifically talk about
every single part. I’m trying to only
show the figures that are important
so that there is nothing redundant
or extraneous to the work. It is min-
imalist figural work.”
Taylor currently lives in Los An-
geles, where she has been working
as an artist for the last 15 years. She
graduated from CSU Long Beach
with a Master’s of Fine Arts in
printmaking.
Most of the art in the exhibit fea-
tures pieces made from a variety of
materials. For her sculptures, she
From coast to coast the call went out to “Rocky Horror” fans and “shadowcast” members. Photographer
Lauren Everett was shooting and curating portraits for her new book, “People Like Us,” in which she docu-
This connection is a major theme
in Everett’s book. “Rocky Horror” al-
lows people to express themselves in
ways that they normally don’t have
the chance to. Fans gather in a group
of open and like-minded people, al-
lowing shy people to step out of their
normal facade and embrace their
inner-self. This internal reaction is
expressed externally at shows when
audience members become a part of
the “shadowcast.”
“Our current Brad, his first time
seeing the show, we pulled him up
on stage for a little while and he’s
been with us ever since,” said Lutter
who performs with a “Rocky” en-
semble called “Sins of the Flesh.”
A similar thing happened to Ca-
sey Kimble, a “shadowcast” member
for ten years who plays the charac-
ter “Rocky.” “Rocky’s” creation scene
strikes a chord deep within him.
used fabric and welded steel. Her
sketches were made on zinc materi-
al. Her drawings were cut and sewn
into the fabric of the different sculp-
tures. She also uses “cartonnage,” a
technique similar to papier-mâché.
“I use a lot of mixed materials,
but I also like using a lot of mate-
rials that aren’t necessary associated
with high art,” Taylor said. “[I want-
ed] something that feels familiar
to [the viewer]. It doesn’t feel cold
looking at it like a piece made of
stone would. It mimics the warmth
of the familiarity we have towards
figures.”
Taylor currently has an ongoing
art show at the Bermudez Project
located in Downtown Los Angeles.
Her haunting yet comforting art
always leaves an impact on the au-
dience.
“I’ve had a lot of people say af-
ter they see the work that it looks
exactly like some creature they’ve
dreamt about many times,” Taylor
said. “Someone sent me this very
“
THE GOAL [OF THE BOOK] REALLY IS TO SHOW
HOW IT’S POSSIBLE TO BE CREATIVE OUTSIDE
OF THE CONFINES OF WHAT IS GIVEN TO YOU
BY THE DOMINANT PARADIGM OF SOCIETY.”
-LAUREN EVERETT, AUTHOR OF “PEOPLE LIKE US”
“There’s an energy that happens
there that carries everything,” said
Kimble. “I did one performance
with ‘Sins of the Flesh’ outside in
Fullerton, in February, and it was 38
degrees. I was thinking I was going
to freeze my butt off wearing gold
shorts, but I was warm the whole
show because there is energy of cre-
ation in that scene.”
Good energy and dynamics are
easily found among like-minded
welded steel, to create her pieces.
long story about this person that
they have dreamt about since they
were a little kid and they saw the
show and they’re like ‘oh my god,
it’s the person.’ It’s actually those
figures from my collection.”
PHOTOS COURTESY OF LAUREN EVERETT
fans but Everett’s book is not meant
to appeal to “Rocky Horror” fans.
Her goal was to present a subculture
to the mainstream thereby showing
others that there are like-minded
people out there.
“I’m not really a fan. I’m interest-
ed in it from an outside perspective,”
Everett said. “I appreciate it but I’m
not in it, and I think that’s maybe
why it’s possible for me to tell the
story from a different perspective.”
PHOTO BY TOMAS RODRIGUEZ/COLLEGIAN
“These Limbs” is now open for
viewing at the Da Vinci gallery un-
til Dec. 26. For more information
about the artist and her work, vis-
it Taylor’s website at www.camil-
la-taylor.com.
Los Angeles Collegian — Wednesday, December 9, 2015
PHOTO COURTESY OF RYAN MILLER/CAPTURE IMAGING
Roy O. Woodward takes the stage to address an audience at a confer-
ROY ‘GOT IT’ PLACED IN TOP 3
BY BYRON UMANA BERMUDEZ
A flyer can change a life. At least
this is true for Roy O. Woodard.
Woodwardrecently placed in the top
three of a film festival hosted by the
Society of Motion Picture and Tele-
vision Engineers (SMPTE) and the
Hollywood Professional Alliance
(HPA). Just fresh off his win Roy sat
down with the Collegian to discuss
his short “Still Got It.”
Collegian: How did you get a hold
of SMPTE? How did you know about
this contest?
Roy: I saw the flyer on the student
production building, right outside to-
wards the entrance. I went for it and
decided to enter [since] I’m a student
here already.
Collegian: Are you the director of
the film?
Roy: I’m the writer, director. I’m
everything and anything.
Collegian: So tell me about the
film.
Roy: It’s a short film called “Still
Got It.” [In the film] a couple’s re-
lationship is challenged when the
boyfriend decides he wants to see
if he still has it with the ladies. His
girlfriend, she somewhat agrees, not
thinking he’s going to follow through
… so she lets him go and see if he still
has it, and there’s a twist towards the
end.
Collegian: How long is?
Roy: Five minutes but the actu-
ally prize that I won for the SMPTE
award, it was a 30 second teaser.
Collegian: What made you write
it?
Roy: A class I was taking here. One
of the assignments was to put togeth-
er a film, cast it [and] audition. So I
did everything the teacher instructed
and this is how it all came about.
Collegian: What was your intent in
this film?
Roy: My intent is to mislead the
audience a little bit. But at the end of
the film I think [the film] would be
thoroughly enjoyed. It’s a nice little
twist.
Collegian: Where can people
watch this film?
Roy: That’s tough because I would
have to enter it into a film festival. But
I will have trailers/previews online on
my Facebook page and YouTube …
My Facebook page is Roy O .Wood-
ard but when you type it in is O Roy
Woodard.
Look out for “Still Got It” it would
be out on YouTube.
Collegian: How did you feel when
you received the notice that you were
in the top three?
Roy: I was amazed. I was over-
whelmed with a feeling of joy because
all my hard work was being recog-
nized.
Collegian: So, why cinema?
Roy: It something I always wanted
to pursue since I been a child. Once
I found LACC and really looked at
their program. That’s when I decided
to go for it.
5
Collegian: What brought you to
LACC?
Roy: Looking around at the school.
USC was out, I can’t afford that. Santa
Monica didn’t have a good film pro-
gram. So, LACC was the one.
I found out that they were pretty
established and grounded with their
cinema department. That is when I
decided to go here.
Collegian: What would you say is
the advantages of coming to LACC?
Roy: It close to my home. Two, they
have a lot of resource for a young up-
and-coming film makers who want to
get into the industry.
There’s a lot of resources here so I
don’t see why you can graduate from
here and insert yourself into the in-
dustry.
“
WELL, I HAVE A
LOT OF STORIES
I THINK I WANT
TO TELL. I SEE
CINEMA AS A
WAY TO GET MY
VISION OUT. AS
WELL AS SHOW
MINORITIES IN
A DIFFERENT
LIGHT.”
-ROY O WOODWARD,
STUDENT FILMMAKER
Collegian: What would be your
biggest advice to someone who is
thinking of pursuing a degree in cin-
ema?
Roy: I would say follow your heart,
stick with what you have, what your
vision is and see it all the way through.
No matter what. There’s going to be
obstacles, you’re going to be hinder a
little bit. You got to focus on getting it
done and maybe at the end you will
get some prizes and get recognized
and maybe get a movie deal.
Collegian: What would you want
to tell people who are interested in
your work?
Roy: Just look out. I’m coming
hard. I’m coming hard. I aim to please
and be a household name, director.
Collegian: Lastly, what inspires
you?
Roy: Well, I have a lot of stories I
think I want to tell. I see cinema as a
way to get my vision out. As well as
show minorities in a different light
... So that’s really my main thing, to
show people of color in situations
that they haven’t been in cinema, but
in a positive way.
Roy is just beginning his journey to
this goal there is no doubt it will be
achieved.