THE ULTIMATE COMING-OUT!
I first saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show on cable TV when I was 15. About that time, I was just beginning to come to terms with what would today be called my genderfluidity, and until then, every depiction of such either an object of ridicule or revulsion. When I saw Tim Curry's Frank N. Furter, however, an unapologetic genderfluid character whom every audience member loved the most, I said to myself, "I want that!"
Opportunity didn't arise for me until age 35 in 2017 when the Venice Theatre held auditions for their annual production of RHS, which no knew at the time would be their last. Of course, I threw my hat in... and it was haughtily thrown back in my face. So, when auditions arose this year for RHS at MPAC in Bradenton, I showed up and brought my grudge with me.
I was in rehearsal for Sunset Boulevard at the time, in which I played Mr. Manfred. During a break, another cast member asked if I was going to try out for Something Rotten. When I asked who was producing it, they told me it would be there at MPAC. Until then, I wasn't aware that they had made their season announcement, so I asked to see it. They showed me the lineup on their phone, and I looked down the list: "Let's see... Something Rotten, Drowsy Chaperone, She Loves Me-- ROCKY HORROR?! From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!!"
I found myself competing for the role of Frank against one friend of mine and three complete strangers. I never saw those strangers again, but I got to perform side by side with my friend who won the role of Riff Raff. Little had I known at the time that the director had seen me audition once before; he and I both attended callbacks for the role of the dentist in Little Shop of Horrors in Sarasota, at which neither of us had a shot due to a precasting decision.
The next three months would be bar none the best times I've ever had performing in the theatre. Not a night went by when we all weren't laughing ourselves silly, and in the end I got to work with the best cast ever, live my teenage dream in front of ELEVEN SOLD OUT HOUSES, and gain literally a dozen new friends. Professional actors in Hollywood and Broadway don't have it this good. #localtheatre #franknfurter #rockyhorrorshow #manateeperformingartscenter #mpac #sweettransvestite #dontdreamitbeit #dragisnotacrime #dragisart #alldragisvalid #genderfluidactor #genderfluidity