Today we’d like to introduce you to Madame Leah.
Hi Madame, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
This is Los Bastardos’ 25th year. We started as many Rocky casts do, as pieces of other old casts in the area. Those persons joined together to form LB and named the cast after a Primus song. The cast was headed by Alex at that time, and we performed at Furneaux Creek Theatre. We shortly thereafter moved to Bedford General Cinema (now gone) and then moved to the Forum in Arlington (also now gone, and that is a shame). The Medallion Theater in Dallas was a magnificent old theater, and it was later demolished, but we enjoyed our time there. When the Ridgmar Movie Tavern opened in Fort Worth, it was a brand-new concept of dinner and a movie, and they asked us to perform there. We were there on and off for several years and performed in conventions in and around DFW and short stays in other states for other Rocky Horror-related events. The Movie Tavern moved more to a “family event” theater, so we moved over to the Inwood Theater in Dallas for our midnight crowds. We’ve been at Inwood for, I believe 12 years. Before COVID, we also had shows every month at the Alamo Drafthouse in Denton, but COVID kinda killed that. Alamo is working on getting Rocky back on the roster. Over the years, we performed at multiple local venues, clubs, and conventions of all types, including All-Con, A-Kon, Texas Haunter’s Convention, and many others. We got to where we are by providing the best Rocky Horror Picture Show experience we can, with exceptional costumes, makeup, props, and callouts. We welcome everyone and are an inclusive space, so we know that has had a lot to do with our success as well.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There’s always struggles to keep a full cast nowadays. Back in the day, there weren’t plentiful off-the-wall type shows like Rocky. Nowadays there’s lots more drag, burlesque, circus acts, etc., and lots much earlier than midnight. Our largest struggle has really been to keep people coming out at midnight – esp after COVID when people were inside for a long time. Midnight became a really late night whereas before COVID, it wasn’t that late. That’s been a strange change for those of us who have done this forever and ever, for sure. We also struggle with a lot of “that’s not appropriate” behavior depending on the venue and who is around. There are some people who get angry when they see us basically just existing – immoral, horrible people, sinners, you can imagine thing things people have yelled at us. Not even always in full costume either, but there’s a lot of “that man is wearing makeup, and that’s immoral” type thing over the years. It was getting better for a while, and now it’s kinda scary again, for sure. We also have issues with people trying to shut down the shows, saying we’re corrupting the youth. I am kinda of the opinion that this is a film from 1975; how bad can it literally be if it’s keeping people inside to watch a silly sci-fi type movie and yell things and throw toilet paper…rather than being out in the streets causing a bunch of issues or a bunch of kids who don’t know where they belong taking up other more harmful activities…? Like are we really bad for trying to prevent some of that? I cannot tell you how many people over the years have told them that Rocky Horror and LB saved their lives. There’s even a documentary out called “Rocky Horror Saved My Life,” and it’s very valid for many people.
As you know, we’re big fans of Los Bastardos. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
I’ve been talking about Rocky and Los Bastardos this whole time. We specialize in Rocky Horror Picture Show shadowcast performances. We pride ourselves and take joy in hoping everyone has a good time. Our goal is, no matter what kind of day or week you’ve had when you walk into our show, you forget about anything and everything else bad, and you leave feeling happy and good about yourself. We are set apart in that we’ve done this 25 years, and there’s not a lot of casts who can say that. We have 3 full sets of props, and we travel and go where requested if and when we can. We are proud to be a Texas cast that has lasted this long because The South isn’t always uhhhh open-minded, so we have worked hard to stay here, stay queer, stay relevant, and stay vocal about who and what we are about. We love everyone and want you to be yourselves. We welcome people to come and be themselves, judgment-free. As far as offerings go, we do Rocky. We have been requested to do lots of other shows, but generally, we stick with Rocky. If they want professional level, that’s us.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Keep organized and keep an open mind. Always write it down, even if you think you will remember. And costumes and makeup are ALWAYS more expensive and ALWAYS harder to replace than you think!!!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.losbastardos.com
- Instagram: losbastardoscast
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/LBCast
- Youtube: LosBastardosDFW
Image Credits
Los Bastardos
