A new community theatre company in London is promising equal pay for all cast and crew as it seeks to bring more diverse performers to the stage.
Its first production, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, opens Thursday, with ticket sales divided equally among everyone involved.
The company was co-founded by Alexandrea Marsh, Lisa Cardinal and Melanie Stewart. Marsh said the idea grew from Cardinal and Stewart’s history with the show.
“They met 10 years ago when they were working on Rocky Horror together at the basement of the Grand Theatre,” Marsh said. “They just bonded over Rocky Horror, and they became really good friends.”
Marsh said that The Rocky Horror Picture Show was chosen for its themes of fun and belonging, as well as its significance in queer history.
“Rocky Horror was chosen as the first Infuse show, not only because of Melanie Stewart’s and Lisa Cardinal’s history with the show, but also just because it’s a perfect piece of media to highlight just joy and acceptance,” she said. “It is such a massive piece of queer history.”
With this year being the 50th anniversary of the original 1975 Jim Sharman cult classic film, Marsh said that it was a natural choice for their first production.
Marsh joined as producer after returning to London with plans to help launch a theatre company that combined professional standards with community participation.
She said that she wanted to create a model that allowed artists to be paid while still keeping productions small and accessible.
“I think we’ve always had such a thriving community theatre scene here, and I think we could bring something more professional to that,” she said. “I wanted to do low-budget profit share, small house theatre, because I had experienced a lot of that in Toronto.”
All cast and crew members will receive an equal share of the profits, with a portion retained to fund future projects.
Marsh said this model is designed to ensure fairness for everyone involved, as most community theatre relies on volunteer work.
“We figured for the first run at it, dividing the profits equally after we have retained a portion for the sake of future projects for Infuse is the best way to just keep everything fair and keep everyone happy,” Marsh said.
The company hopes the model will also encourage a more diverse group of performers to participate in community theatre.
“We’re really trying to focus on diversity, like in the future, especially,” Marsh said.
She added that they are “trying to find ways to bring people that wouldn’t normally join community theatre to our team.”
Rehearsals for the musical began in August and take place during evenings and weekends.
Marsh said the cast and crew have responded positively to the collaborative approach, which includes codes of conduct to make the space safe and inclusive.
“Everyone who’s been a part of the experience has been so incredibly helpful and genuine and lovely,” Marsh said. “It hasn’t really felt like work.”
The production will feature interactive elements for audience members, including prop bags that will be provided before the show.
There will also be pre-show activities to encourage participation.
“It’s interactive, it’s crazy,” Marsh said. “You’ll definitely hear a lot of the people around you yelling and screaming and even throwing things.”
The Rocky Picture Horror Show will run from Oct. 23 to Nov. 2 at the Palace Theatre. Tickets are available on the theatre’s website.
