Fairmont State enters Time Warp with 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'

Nov. 2—FAIRMONT — Two years after plans to do the time warp were scuttled by COVID-19, Brad, Janet and Dr. Frankenfurter are making their debut at the Wallman Hall Theatre at Fairmont State University.

The Fairmont State Masquers student theater organization is putting on a production of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show," which will run the weekends of Nov. 3,-4 and Nov. 9-11.

"It's a really exciting show and it's a little different from shows that we've done recently," Ashley Doyle Sine, stage manager, said. "People can expect to dress up as their favorite character. We're not throwing any items like they do in some showings because there's real people on stage, but they are encouraged to dance the time warp and dress up, call things out. And there's a costume contest in intermission."

Originally, the show was to be put on during Sine's senior year in the fall of 2021. However, COVID cancellations nixed the chance that a lot of up and coming thespians had to perform the show for their senior year.

Sine called the experience devastating. What further damaged morale among Fairmont State's theater students was the gutting of several arts programs as the school adjusted to its new COVID reality.

"We were fighting for the arts for a while afterwards and we recently were able to get a minor back in store," Jason Englestad, who plays Riffraff on the production, said. "I'm hoping within the next couple years we can go back to what we once had with our majors and be able to get more kids and students who are interested in theater to come in, because there's a big community out here."

Which makes the show's production a validation of that struggle.

Alumni who initially lost the opportunity to put on the show two years ago were invited to return and do the show they were initially denied, providing a bookend to the years of COVID and cuts to the university's arts program. Englestad and Sine are two of the alumni who have returned to do the show. Sine agreed with Englestad that the theater program is making a comeback.

Franky Satterfield is portraying Dr. Frank-n-furter in this rendition. He is a fifth year senior at the university. He is really looking forward to the performance, despite the fact that the demands of playing the famous transvestite from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania is far outside his comfort zone.

"It is my favorite role that I've ever done so far, it's just so not me," he said. "That's what makes it so fun because it makes it difficult to portray certain things but it's such a blast."

Satterfield explained that there are certain things that Frank-n-furter does that he, Satterfield, has never done before, such as cussing and certain, vaguely defined sexual stuff. He said he wasn't sure if it was common to be the way Frank-n-furter presents himself in the show back when the piece was originally made. The original movie was made in 1975, far earlier than Satterfield's time.

However, he is embracing the discomfort.

"What I tell myself is when I try out for a character, you got to give it your all," he said. "You know what you're getting into. Playing the half of the character is not, the character has to be the character. So when I hit the stage, I'm not me and that's what makes it more accurate."

Alec Cain, licensed hair stylist and makeup artist, said Rocky Horror is inspired by drag culture. The appeal behind Frank-n-furter's character is that he is unapologetically himself.

"For Dr. Frank-n-furter, he doesn't care who you are, he's still going to be himself and show you his world. So he gets to show you that part of him, and you need to learn that," Cain said.

Cain said that the art style, as far as makeup goes at least, is defined by Drag, which calls for big, flamboyant and eccentric style. Reds and dark colors. He's created props and designed makeup from scratch for the show, and warns the cast members to take care of what's been created for the show. He is extremely proud of all the work that has gone into realizing this production.

Englestad said he hopes people who watch the show come away with something that helps them in some way in their lives, whether it's fighting for something or dreaming big. It's definitely been a big eye opener for him, watching students make the show come back by sheer force of will.

"I think this one probably has shown me how far Fairmont State students are willing to go," Englestad said. "To make a show almost as good as a Broadway show. I honestly would say this show is just as good as Broadway, if not better."

Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com