After watching Crip Camp there was a scene with a preformer with cerebral palsy preforming in what looked to be a shadow cast of rocky horror (although they could’ve just been singing the one song) it made me start to think about theatre casting version shadow cast casting.
When you see a theatrical show often the actors are beautiful able bodied people. Who is allowed to play what role is highly gate kept and usually based off of the physical appearance of the performer.
However shadow casts aren’t kept to that same standard. For those who don’t know a shadow cast is a performance in which a movie is being projected in the back and actors mouth along and do the movements of their parts in front, usually adding in their own gags or jokes. In a shadow cast, anyone can play any role. Regardless of weight, race, disabilities, or even sometimes gender expression.
This practice started with the rocky horror picture show in the 80s but nowadays plenty of cult classic films have shadow casts such as Refer Madness or The Room.
Rocky Horror is a gem of it’s time. The plot line follows a cast of queer and gender nonconforming characters through one strange night. Throughout the years of shadow casts it became known as a safe place for anyone who lived outside of the norms. It became a meeting place for those who didn’t have or didn’t feel safe going to gay bars in their area. Because the bar for entry was so low, a lot of people were able to find and explore themselves here.
There are a lot of reasons why Rocky was so successful but the biggest one was that it was the community that it built. A big part of these shows became shouting things out at the screen (Statler and Waldorf style) to make each other laugh at different things each week.
They might not have realized it but a laugh is a powerful thing. They connect us.
A laugh can help us feel less alone and more willing to fight for each other.
Over the years I have been to many Rocky Horror Shadow casts and let me tell you there’s nothing like it. Some of them are better than others so stay safe if you do choose to go, but no matter what you will laugh, you will feel weird, and you’ll have some fun memories.
Unruly Bodies 
I love your thoughts on how laughter and joy are incredibly powerful ways to foster connection and allow people to dissolve the notion that a given group is somehow fundamentally different than them. I think that is why the portrayal of activists in “Crip Camp,” who are at the forefront of advocating for very serious and important matters, have such an impact on people. They are transformed from this distant idea of disabled people that one has scarcely seen at all, let alone in a mostly positive depiction, to an undeniably familiar illustration of all humanity. Of course, serious depictions of important topics should not be dismissed, but I wonder if more people would be able to foster empathy for others if such connections were promoted more often. Great post!
Watching Crip Camp and seeing the Rocky Horror feature made me unreasonably excited. So excited, in fact, that I made my boyfriend watch Rocky Horror with me shortly after because he’d never seen it. I’ve only been to one live showing of the performance, but it was evident that the community it brought in was one of acceptance. I absolutely agree that laughter is so powerful and profound; it’s such a unique part of each person, and I think to make someone laugh is such a wonderful honor.