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Midnight Madness - FAQ

The new and improved Midnight Madness Not-So-Much FAQ
General Questions Pertaining to our cast and show and how it runs

Where does Midnight Madness perform?

As of 2016 our performance venue is The Music Box Theater, one weekend (usually the third Saturday) a month on average. Click on those link to the individual pages for all of the theater specific info.


How "raunchy" is the show?

While Rocky is a "rated R" film, it's very tame by today's standards (PG13 at best) and the actual live shadowcasted show is the more "R" part of the show now. As far we compare to the Rocky casts all around the world and other shows you may have been to in recent years, Midnight Madness is about in the middle, leaning towards "can we get away with this? Let's see" on occasion.

There will be a metric asston brick shithouse full of swearing. There is NO nudity, even from the adults, but there is partial burlesque style stripping from our Trixie at the beginning, LOTS of people in their underwear and lingerie, and throughout the evening simulated sex, dildos, sexual situations and innuendo - enough to sometimes make you feel like you're in a mock porn film. And, to point out too, we don't censor our shouted audience participation - even if the cast doesn't say stuff that will make you raise an eyebrow, a particularly graphic audience member may very well pick up that slack, and they're free to do so.

In a nutshell, you'll likely be offended at some point by someone or something. We don't really recommend our show as a place that you can bring young kids or your grandma to, but we've had both in our audiences and they haven't been permanently scarred by the experience.

As far as Hedwig, Clue, Shocky, Little Shop and other shadowcasted performances we do go, they're typically straight up performances of the movies - if you're fine with the movie content, you will be with the live show as well.


I wanna join the cast - how do I go about that?

Go here for the details and full procedure.
In a nutshell, joining the cast is pretty easy, just fill out an application and bring it to our next show. We do not accept on line applications as we want to see you in real life and make sure you've actually seen our show. When you bring the application, you may turn it in to jefF or Monika or Chris or Sarah at the end of the curtain call. If we do not contact you back within two weeks after the show, email us (we usually have a lot going on and it's likely we either forgot or lost the application).


I'm really not all that into Rocky Horror - Can I just sign up for Hedwig or Clue or Little Shop?

Yes and No. While we do have people that only do the other films we shadowcast, they're definitely the exception and almost all of them came from Rocky Horror originally anyway. Usually our biggest reservation is if you'll be reliable and actually come if you sign up. Unlike Rocky Horror, with the other films we usually don't have anyone to cover a role if the performer doesn't show up or can't do it or backs out and we've been screwed enough times to only allow this as the exception rather than the rule. It doesn't hurt to ask, but don't be bothered if we say no.


Do you have tryouts or auditions and such, or restrictions for potential cast members?

No, not really. The only firm rule we have is that we do not accept cast members that are under 18 years of age. Unfortunately, issues and incidents over the last several years when we have allowed exceptions to this policy have now dictated that we simply cannot make exceptions to this anymore to limit liability and problems.

While we do have a few basic acceptance criteria, pretty much anyone that applies is accepted (and if we don't accept you, we will give you a reason why). We will start you and (seriously) just toss you in as soon as we can. Unless the primary role role needs to be filled immediately though, you will likely just start out performing the Transylvanian Guest role and helping out with props and lights and such. We do mix it up though and regularly alternate and rotate performers, so if you make any effort and show enthusiasm and get together (or have) a costume, you will be like playing a primary role in relatively no time.

We DO accept applications for ONLY technical and help positions such as props crew, lighting and security - just note that on your application that is what you're interested in under the roles. If you're willing to run a spot light, even better.


Do cast members have to pay to get in?

No, not really. The cast gets in for free to perform and does not pay theater admission. However, we do collect limited dues from all cast members. Currently 5 dollars a month, but we do vary it according to how "in debt" the cast is.


Was GG Allin really actually banned from Midnight Madness shows?

Yes. He really did actually used to come to our shows when he was in Chicago. We got tired of him shitting and pissing in random areas of our theater and harassing our audience members for urine and fecal "samples". It was actually in our Cast Constitution (cast rules and regs), but we removed it after his death. We're debating whether we should add it back in.

Is it true that Midnight Madness was named as such specifically because of a sale/store/commercial?

Yes, Midnight Madness got its name from the advertisements that the long defunct sundry department store chain Zayre used to run for their special late night sales. No, we weren't being clever or inspired by someone/something else or because it was a cool Rocky Horror late show name, that's really how the name was picked by the MM founders. Bit of trivia, the logo for our parent Midnight Asterisk NFP is based off of the "Cooper Black" asterisk inspired Zayre logo.

I'm trying to get in touch with or find out what happened to -insert-name-of-old-ex-mm-cast-member- ...how can I do that?

For the most part, your guess is as good as ours where they are and what they're up to now. Think of it like people you used to work with or hang out with ten years ago - would you know how to contact them now? There are a few ex cast members that some of us are still in contact with, and we'll be happy to pass on any requests for contact to that person, if we have their info. We will NOT send you any contact info about anyone that isn't already somewhere on our website - if it's not there, there's a reason for it. Honestly, you will likely have a better chance of finding someone you're looking for on facebook or MySpace.


What happened to Rocky Horror at...

...The Fine Arts Theater?
The theater closed down in 2000. We'd LOVE to go back to it someday and attempted to throw our 2006 convention there, but the FA needed several hundred thousand dollars of upgrades and repairs to conform to code and legally operate again. The building itself is a historical landmark and cannot be torn down or repurposed. It has since reopened as a live performance space in late 2015.

...The Evanston?
The theater closed down, and has since been demolished (in August of 2007).

...The Century Centre?
We only did a set of shows for them in October of 2001 (the manager there at the time was the former manager of The Fine Arts) and while we would have liked to have continued there, we weren't offered an opportunity to continue and parted ways.

...The Village North / 400 Theatre?
After over 10 years, Midnight Madness stopped performing there in 1998 due to a disagreement with theater management. The theater is still open, under different management.

...The Village ("Arts", south) Theatre?
The Village Arts (south) is the theater that Rocky Horror moved to after MM left the 400 /Village North, and the cast there was Completely Crazy. While, back then, it was a source of conflict and tumultuous times for Rocky Horror in Chicago, the casts have long since worked out any problems. Completely Crazy ended up parting ways with the theater/management for very similar reasons and circumstances to MM leaving the Village North, and the Village Theaters chain hasn't shown Rocky Horror since. The theater closed in 2006.

...The Biograph?
The theater stopped showing Rocky Horror when MM started at the Fine Arts and stopped showing movies altogether and closed soon after due to financial problems of its owner company. Midnight Madness never performed there. The last Rocky Horror performance cast there was Completely Crazy and they now perform at the Hollywood in Wood Ridge. The theater was sold, and has been renovated and renamed the Victory Garden's Biograph after its current theatrical company namesake ownership and is now principally a live show performance venue.

...The Three Penny?
This was a very short lived attempt at Rocky Horror by people not related to or part of either Midnight Madness or Completely Crazy. Unfortunately, it just couldn't get going and only lasted a few months. Midnight Madness was approached by the owners of the theater to run a show there before that attempt, but the restrictions to the show the owners requested and their prior problematic history of dealings with Completely Crazy as former owners of the Des Plaines Theater made that an impossible deal to work out. The theater closed in 2006 owing 100k+ of back tax and penalty dollars to the city. It reopened very briefly, we believe under new management/owners, but has since closed again, we believe permanently. The theater space has now been converted to low budget retail space.

...The DesPlaines?
This was a Completely Crazy theater and they left it after a dispute with the owners, who sold it off several years ago. The rumors of Midnight Madness attempting to get a show going again there in 2006 were true, however, the third party people/organization we were working with to make that happen parted ways with the current theater ownership, and that deal pretty much just died.

Midnight Madness preformed there for about 6 months in 2012/2013, however a ceiling collapse in the theater closed the venue for a few months. We had hoped to return, but the village of DesPlaines wanted an additional several hundred thousand dollars worth of work to bring it up to fire safety standards and code. The theater is still closed as of January 2016.

...The Crossroads Cinema in Merrillville Indiana?
The theater went bankrupt and was forced to close its doors in October of 2006, ending Rocky Horror in NW Indiana. The Pink Invaders cast has officially disbanded, but you will see several of them as Midnight Madness cast members and occasional audience members. You can also find former PI cast members at the Completely Crazy and Home of Happiness shows. As of the summer of 2008, the balance of the members of PI that haven't moved on to another cast have reformed as the Help Me Mommy cast of Hobart, IN.

...The Wilmette Theater?
Midnight Madness and the management of the theater parted ways in March of 2012 due to declining attendance and a difference of opinion in the running of the show, and was replaced a few months later by a different internally run show. The management that replaced Midnight Madness was itself subsequently replaced in May of 2013. While Midnight Madness had a decent relationship with the actual owners/board of the Wilmette and Rocky did have a mostly successful run there, it's unlikely the theater will ever show Rocky Horror again.


How do contact the official cast representatives?

Contact information for Midnight Madness cast leaders is here.


Other Questions not covered here?

Check here for technical/website questions, or mail us - thesearenotenoughfaqs@midnightmadnessDOTorg


Page Last Updated on: February 18, 2016 21:15