Every Halloweekend in the dead of night, students congregate under the stars, prepared to do the “Time Warp” again.

Student theater group Act III Theatre Ensemble produces a free stage adaptation of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” every Halloween weekend, bringing the 1975 cult classic film to life at UCLA. For the cast, crew and audience, the tradition is a space to explore an iconic piece of queer media through a new lens and create a welcoming space for students on the scariest weekend of the year.

“The turnout has been growing exponentially,” said Emilia Vial, a fourth-year theater student and development director of Act III Theatre Ensemble. “It reflects our growth as a company as well, while maintaining the integrity and the authenticity that is this cult classic, racy, expressive fundraiser by students. … We’re very proud of our tradition.”

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The musical focuses on Brad and Janet, a newly engaged couple who inadvertently become trapped in Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s mansion, witnessing strange dance parties, mad science experiments and sexual transformations throughout the night. With this year’s production marking the seventh rendition by Act III Theatre Ensemble, the theater company’s annual performances on Halloween weekends has previously served as a fundraiser for the HIV/AIDS prevention charity Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Vial said.

The film has developed a cult following since its release in 1975 and is shown in theaters across the country, with audiences dancing along to the songs and yelling at the screen throughout. That same audience participation is present in Act III Theatre Ensemble’s production, creating an accepting space for queer exploration, said third-year theater student Matthew Smith, who portrayed the mad scientist and self-proclaimed transvestite Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

“We want people up and dancing. We want people having laughs. We want people to really enjoy it,” he said. “But there’s always still a deep message about it in terms of just finding where you feel safest.”

Show director and third-year theater student Walker Stephenson said the production is a slightly abridged version of the screenplay, with some material and songs cut from the second half. From this stripped-back framework, he said different Act III Theatre Ensemble directors are able to bring unique visions for the annual production.

For Stephenson, he said his approach to this year’s production was informed by his identity as a Black creative. In his prior exposure to the “Rocky Horror” community, he said he felt like an outsider in a white space. Inspired by the Afro-punk movement, he said he wanted to directly incorporate historically alienated experiences into the production.

“I really wanted to bring my Black experience in entertainment, in general pop culture, to the show,” Smith said. “Our creative team is all people of color, which generally gives you a new perspective that many people have never seen.”

Stephenson said the costume design was a particularly evocative component of this vision. The show draws from many inspirations, including streetwear, preppy aesthetics, excessive jewelry and the work of Black fashion icon Grace Jones, to express the artistic team’s lived experiences through the show, he added.

Smith has similarly reconsidered Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s character in the broader context of queer culture, he said, attempting to open the doors of the “Rocky Horror” cult to a wider audience. Rather than directly emulating his predecessors – such as Tim Curry, the role’s originator whom Smith referred to as a “godsend” – Smith said he pieced together his interpretation of the role from multiple inspirations, including his own identity.

“There are people who sometimes don’t see themselves a lot onstage or on the screen,” Smith said. “To see people of all sorts of different walks of life approach these characters – especially such an iconic character that is Frank-N-Furter – I think it’ll inspire a lot of people, and specifically people of color who have a queer identity and who also maybe are still grappling with that.”

This year’s show also featured several gender-swapped characters. Vial said her own character, Frank-N-Furter’s servant and master of the house Riff Raff, is originally played by a man. She said she approached the character in a more feminine way, adding that the community at Act III Theatre Ensemble team and the alien identity of Riff Raff from the original film gave her the flexibility to approach her roles in novel or unique ways.

Vial said her first exposure to “Rocky Horror” in any form was through the Act III Theatre Ensemble performance during her freshman year. The performance also exposed her to what was possible through student theater on campus, which ultimately changed the direction of her student life, she added. Now, Vial said she is grateful for the opportunity to pay that experience forward, supporting queer people though Act III Theatre Ensemble’s fundraising work and inspiring the audience members not unlike her freshman self.

“That moment inspired me, and I was like, ‘I want to be like that. I want to be that person up there that makes someone in the audience feel like you can be as ridiculous as you want,’” Vial said. “A student coming out of high school looking for who they are at this moment in our lives – it’s interesting what Rocky can be when placed in the right hands.”

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Stephenson said he was excited to share his crew’s interpretation of the film with students, exposing the joys of “Rocky Horror” to a wider audience. He has attended the show every year he has been at UCLA, he said, and he encouraged anyone to come out to the show.

“It’s very explicit, it’s very sensual, it’s very exciting, it’s very thrilling,” Stephenson said. “You will see energy, you will laugh, you will hopefully cry by the end – maybe cry tears of joy. But it will be a very fun experience that you will remember for your whole time at UCLA.”