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In 1988 I went to the Rocky Horror Picture Show in Modesto California. There was a simple cast and not many props; the audience participation lines being yelled were cool, and the image that Frank portrayed was what compelled me to return. I had to go back and see it several more times, but alas, Rocky did not stay in Modesto much longer. I'd heard at that point of a great cast and show in Berkeley, but considered it too far to go.

Rocky continued showing pretty much every Halloween at the old Vintage Faire theater in Modesto, and the old cast and friends would reunite to make these shows interesting. However, one fated Halloween in 1996 I went to a show and there was (oh my God!) NO CAST! Halloween was on a Sunday and the theater had showings Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. I showed up on Friday with Frank make-up on, in some black leather pants, and some pimp-ass (dorky) 80's style boots. I met Jared right away; he was trying to get some people interested in putting together a performing crew on the spot. We pulled people out of the audience to perform, Jared played Eddie, and a friend we made that night - Melissa Fox played Janet. We heard a crazy guy in the audience yelling shit at us, and he was the funniest guy in the place. After the Friday performance we talked to him, and it turns out he was the notorious Nate Havoc. After the Friday show we tried to get various people to return and do it again the rest of the weekend. We did so for the following two performances, and though we sucked (reeeally baaad!) we had a taste and desire to keep this RHPS thing going.

I took names and telephone numbers of the people that performed and then Nate, Jared, and myself formed our Modesto cast, Sensual Daydreams. We started going to performances of a new cast at the U.C. theater in Berkeley, the now notorious Barely Legal. They kicked ass, and inspired us to get better.

We couldn't get any theater to let us have a show in Modesto, and the theater we were at closed anyway (after saying no). We searched Turlock and got nowhere. We started performing in Sacramento at the Birdcage theater as a guest cast on Friday nights. After a couple months there, I refused to return after a dreadful performance where there was human feces on the stage area. Subsequently I had a serious falling out with Nate and Jared and was asked to step down as cast director. I quit entirely.

However, I started performing in Petaluma at the Phoenix theater with the cast Absolute Pleasure. I was asked to join after my first performance and became their lead Frank. Absolute Pleasure had some of the greatest shows I've been to, but they only happened once every three months or so. I met and performed with the greatest Brad (no offense to all the many others) I've ever worked with, Noah Marincich. He was anal about costuming and only inspired my own anal attentiveness to costuming and details. It was a great run, including a double Frank performance one time with Ted Curtis Mashi and myself. However, the cast could not maintain what we had, and instead of accepting mediocrity and a smaller size it disbanded.

By this point I had been to many of the shows in Berkeley and in San Jose with the Bawdy Caste. I was going to the Bawdy Caste show at the Camera 1 theater in San Jose regularly. I would dress in drag (more transvestite really than drag) and fuck with audience and cast alike. After becoming friends with ShanShan (Shannon Harding), Anthony and Zana Pierce, and many others, I was asked to join cast. Though Bawdy Caste had been at Camera 1 for a while, we had some threats and other bad things occur which convinced the theater to end our shows. The Bawdy Caste moved over one block to the U.A. Pavilion. I started performing as back-up to Greg Pollack, their primary Frank. Though the Camera 1 was more unique and there were many good times there, we continued the tradition at the Pavilion.

In 1997 I went with the Bawdy Caste to the Anaheim Convention hosted by Midnight Insanity. The cast brought back several (I think 3) first place awards for best costume. (A couple other first place finishes were made by Barely Legal that year too!) After a time, I started having kidney problems and performed intermittently for almost a year. Eventually the U.A. Pavilion kicked us out and we started performing the Fremont Hub Theater. After being there a while my kidneys started interfering with my ability to perform frequently again. I would go to the show anyway sometimes, but since I wasn't performing I decided to visit my old friends on Barely Legal.

Though we'd all kept in touch to a small degree through the years, it had been a while since I had really hung out with them. As cast problems arose with Bawdy Caste, I started to hang out with Barely Legal more and more. I rekindled old friendships I'd had with Nate, Jared and Bridgid. Things had changed for Barely Legal though since they also had lost the once invulnerable U.C. Theater, and they were now performing at the Parkway Pub in Oakland on Friday nights, and at the AMC Kabuki in San Francisco on Saturday nights. Phil Mass was the beloved and long time Frank, but seemed to be getting burned out with just having so many shows to do without relief. I was asked to guest perform as relief. On the Halloween show of 1999 I performed to an amazing crowd at the AMC Kabuki. It was a great show and I was blown away at the huge stage that the Frank character can tear up and dominate! I loved performing there. I also realized that more than the theater, there was a great cast that was behind it all. I wanted to join, and after many more guest performances in Oakland I finally did. The AMC Kabuki had problems with our cast several times, but after the 1999 Halloween performance, they kicked us out too. No problem though, we moved the shows at the Parkway Pub up to Saturday, and I started performing regularly with the cast. (This is where I became delusional for a month and thought I’d move to Florida. Before I left Jared said I’d be back in two weeks. We had a going away party, but I was back 10 days after I left!)

Until recently I was splitting duty performing with Phil Mass until his girlfriend had a baby. Since then I have been performing full time, and probably will for some time to come. Most recently I went with the cast to the RHPS 25th Anniversary convention in Las Vegas. We saw Little Nell and Patricia Quinn, and got to meet and hang out with Richard O'Brien at Niq's wedding.

If you see my performance and like it, talk to me after the show. It's great to hear support, and to know that the effort we put in is appreciated. If you don't know me, just come up and say Hi. I'm easy to talk to and I like meeting everyone I can.

One last thing... This movie has had a profound affect on my life. Though it has not changed me, it has helped me define and be more comfortable with who I am. One phrase that seems very boring sometimes, and is not at a dramatic point, is Frank's song, "Don’t Dream It - Be It". If there is anything that someone could take away from this show I hope it can be that. You can be what you dream to be...reach out for it...become it...be it, don't just dream it... It Can Happen.

Love you all,

Mark