This week, the Pauper Players are putting on their fifth annual showing of the Rocky Horror Show, opening Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Although the classic plot of the show will remain the same, The Pauper Players have newly collaborated with the Furman Pride Alliance (FPA), an organization dedicated to improving diversity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ students on campus.
The Pauper Players and FPA joined forces this year with a few goals in mind. The production crew of Rocky Horror wanted to create a comfortable, safe, and supportive environment for the entire cast and crew, as explained by co-director Lucy Oxford ‘25. The show also wanted to continue its outreach to larger audiences. The Rocky Horror show is primarily catered to the LGBTQ+ community as the creator of the show, Richard O’Brien, was inspired by “experiences cross-dressing and grappling with his gender identity.” The show openly displays LGBTQ+ relationships and experiences, allowing members of the community to feel safe and welcome. Because of the impact the show has had in the past, the cast was driven to build their LGBTQ+ audience.
With the Pride Alliance collaboration, production has been less stressful for everyone. According to Oxford, the FPA involvement has widened the pool for casting, as well as giving an “extra set of eyes” when it comes to how the play is being directed. Co-directors Oxford and Amelia Smith ‘26 explained that the extra support and ability to discuss their delivery with FPA has made the cast feel much closer than in past years.
Smith said, “It’s nice to have FPA involvement just because it feels like we should. The cast is a queer group anyway, and it’s kind of like putting a name to what’s already there.”
FPA and Pauper Players have even discussed collaborating on programming outside the show. Summer Karle ‘26, who is the secretary for FPA and plays the role of Janet in Rocky Horror, explained that the two organizations have talked about possibly collaborating for CLP opportunities in the future.
However, the collaboration with FPA is not the only new development of the show this year. Last year was the first time Pauper Players had a real set for the Rocky Horror Show; however, it was made out of a thick poster board that was not durable enough to last for many seasons. This time around, the set has been rebuilt, and it is better than ever before. This year, the Pauper Players, including Smith, built the entire set out of PVC pipes. This was done in order to make assembly and disassembly much easier and more practical. But this set also has the goal of being reused for many years to come. The costumes for Rocky Horror are typically reused when possible, and Pauper Players want to have a reusable, environmentally-friendly set as well.
Oxford, Karle, and Smith had one last announcement to make: There is going to be an opportunity for free, reserved seats! Members of Pauper Players have created posters for the show and hung them all over Furman’s campus. Students have the chance to win free, reserved seats at future shows if they take pictures with at least ten of the posters and post them on their Instagram stories. Make sure to tag Lucy Oxford, Amelia Smith, and Pauper Players for your chance to win! Do not miss the opening night of Furman’s Rocky Horror Show on Oct. 26.
