FGTH:Thanks for coming Love MI
Mark Tomaino
It was a thought after our convention in 97. Every four years...just like the
Olympics. With other casts starting to talk of west coast cons..every couple
years seemed too often and four years is really what it took to put this event
together.
We wanted to give the con a different flavor than the other two we hosted in
Long Beach and in Anaheim. We felt our home theater was busting at the seems
last con, and we did not want to have a capacity problem. We wanted to let
visitors from out of town get a sense of something unique that California had
to offer. Hollywood. Beaches. Movie Stars. Picnics. Softball. All stuff you
can do in the sun that is not entirely available elsewhere all the time.
MI is a cast of about 35. From this I chose a committee of five including
myself that would organize the event. These people were ones who had shown
that they could and would put in the effort. Could and would go above and
beyond. Could and would have the creativity and be dialed in to the pulse of
RHPS. And they had a history of completing their assignments in a timely
fashion.
These included Bill Ung, the one constant in MI from the eighties to now. He
is the voice of reason. He is the pillar of dependability.
Becky Roberts has performed with billions and billions of casts. She has a
perspective on what other audiences see and feel outside our own. Also...in
the last three years as stage director she has shown that she can make
decisions on the presentation of our show that our audience will appreciate.
She decides who is main who is understudy and who auditions. She decides when
someone needs to improve and sometimes when someone has to be pulled from
stage. Our -attendance had been steadily increasing over the last nine years
at a 7-10 oerc3ent rate annually....except for the year of el nino...but about
a year and a half ago our audiences jumped 30-40% and this year we are on
schedule to break our annual FULL YEAR attendance record by the END OF
SUMMER...much of the kudos and kitkats go to Becky.
Marty Roberts had the good sense to get engaged to Becky and their wedding was
a beautiful outdoor rennnaisance wedding. Marty goes to home depot and prices
props. Marty builds props. Marty rebuilt our starship and tank better than they
were before complete with ladders and tubes and colors and platforms and
hydraulic jacks. Over the last 67 months marty has has his crew in my driveway
almost nightly bending pipes, drilling, sawing and all this after working an 8
hour day. Then this weekend he and his crew moved mountains loading and
unloading a 24 foot moving truck, setting up lights and sound and screens and
stages. Marty made many trips to Hollywood...checking and rechecking the sites
and the equipment requirements. During Con he had no time to enjoy...he only
had time to run around checking things while the rest of us enjoyed his work
and did not know it.
Colleen made the pillows. Colleen and Bill took many trips to Hollywood and
compiled the guides that were in the progams of the local area for your
convenience. She and her boyfriend Steve the piercing Frank made the ST Table,
she worked with Becky on the program content and helped make tons of other neat
arrangements for our guests.
The rest of MI made a major effort as well. Since the 25th anniversary last
october the schedule looked like this:
Monday: Wilkommen rehearsals at Beckys Work
Tuesday LAdy STardust rehearsals at Beckys WOrk
Wednesday Girl for All Seasons rehearsals at Beckys work
Thursday night Cast Meeting at Marks
Saturday Show
Sunday Colleen and Becky working on Programs.
The attendance at rehearsals was phenomenal. Reign handled choreography for the
most part for Wilkiommen like a professional dance instructor. The band
assembled for Lady Stardust was unbelievable. Girl for all seasons was a great
way to use the MI trixies before the show Saturday.
The convention committee spend more hours working on the convention than we did
at our regular jobs for the last 3 or 4 months. I want each member of MI to
know that I am proud of their effort. I feel we have grown as a cast immensely
due to this endeavor. The teamwork was wonderful, and the drama almost non
existent. Everyone got behind what we were doing, and it was as fun to work
behind the scenes with these people as I hope it was for you to attend.
One big question was: Cheap hotel or fancy? Could we save people a few bux or
roll the dice and get the best place we could find? Could we charge 65 dollars
for a convention? Would people come for four days?
You guys rock. I did not hear one complaint about the price. We were able to
locate reasonably priced lodging close by so no one had to be excluded. And
about 75% of those pre registered came for all four days. Thank you for having
confidence that MI would come through. The feedback we are getting is
exhilirating. All the hard work and time and effort and sweat are forgotten
when someone says the things we have been hearing. Cast members are relaying
things to me that blow me away.
Thanks to Bob Simon...who was only too happy to do anything we needed done..and
helped out in areas I did not expect. And for being the catalyst of getting Pat
there. Bob was talking to Pat at an opening in Milan when he told her of the
con. She said she wanted to come and things worked out from there....all less
than two weeks before the event.
To John Mandracchia for helping with negotiations with Pat when things started
going South.
To Lady Stephens herself for being more accessible than we could have ever
imagined. When can you hang out with your favorite movie stars in your room or
by the pool? She was a wonderful surprise in regards to her openness to the
people there.
To Sal Piro. Every conventions success begins and ends with Sal....his stamp of
approval...his newsletter promotions...his professionalism. I am proud to call
this honest and fair minded man a friend to me and MI.
To all the casts that brought out new original special performances for this
event. You guys went balls to the wall. We expected nothing less....but you
still gave us more.
To Former cast members John and Jeff, for renting us equipment and setting it
up and running it for us. These guys have moved on to professional careers in
the industry but showed up this weekend to take care of their old friends.
To Magick Films for bringing excitement to our theaters and conventions over
the past year, for honoring us with a special edition video to sell at our
event, for promoting Rocky and not apologizing for the sloth and raunchiness
that so many people use for buzzwords to promote their show, then back away
from when it is showtime. And for going to work on the FGTH Highlight
video...available soon. Thanks for being there while we showed your film.
To Cassandra Peterson and Mark Pierson for honoring us with a sneak preview of
Elviras Haunted Hills. When can you ever watch an Elvira Movie with Elvira and
go to RHPS with Pat Quinn? In the same day? Watching movies with
moviemakers...that is what Hollywood is all about.
To Holly Johnson for having a cool band name we could rip off.
To Dennis Ritz and Vicki Strutt at the Roosevelt for being as excited about our
event as we were, for striking a deal for a huge room discount and making it
possible to have this event in a place like no other convention before.
To Rex and Colleen at the Galaxy Theater..both BIG Rocky fans as well, for
letting us have the run of the place Saturday Night.
To Beverly Hills for selling us a permit for a ballfield and picnic area even
though we are not residents.
To our sponsors, Dractours, Dark Refrains, Leopard Lounge.
To Shelly Foss for making a surprise appearance with her new boyfriend Carlos.
She was pleasant and said she wanted not to be thought of in ways she had been
previously thought of. Based on previous rifts, this was a nice gesture.
BUT MOSTLY to you guys who spend your money, left your jobs, travelled, came
and MADE THE SHOW! That so many of you made the trek means everything and is
why we do this.
When we originally hoped to plan the unveiling of a Star on the Walk of Fame
for Richard, then plans for that fell through, we thought things would be a
little less than glamorous. As it turns out the thing went better than we
could have imagined. We are proud to have been your hosts. We are glad if you
would all be our friends forever.
In humility and gratitude,
Mark Tomaino and the entire cast of Midnight Insanity
PS If you want your movie ticket back from Saturday send SASE to
Mark Tomaino
PO Box 8632
Anaheim CA 90812
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
Rocky Horror: www.midnightinsanity.com
Matchmaking Services: www.intouchdating.com
714-772-RHPS PO Box 8632 Anaheim CA 92812