TORONTO PREMIERES: TEETH CLEANING AND REPO! SHADOW CASTING!
Posted by terrance | Filed under Repo Shadow Casts
I have no business being in Toronto:
1) I don’t have the time; in just a few days I’ll be departing on a 12-day, 11-city Repo Road Tour, so the last thing I should be doing is adding more traveling to this, my already chaotic schedule;
2.) it’s freezing here, and I don’t even own a pair of winter gloves; and;
3) I’m broke…
But Toronto has something at the moment that my convenient, sunny, Southern Californian life does not: REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA’s very first shadow cast.
What’s a shadow cast? A shadow casting is when a movie plays in a theatre and a group of live performers (the “cast”) reenact elements of what’s happening on the screen (the “shadowing”). This is typically done with films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, where both the cast and the audience participate. The Shadow Cats, a band of 13 performers, will be shadow casting REPO! at Toronto’s Bloor Street Cinema.
Toronto is also the home of my friend, Dr. Berta Bacic, a dentist with her own clinic in Burlington (30-minutes outside of downtown Toronto). I met Berta through my dear friend, Dean Armstrong, a fellow REPO! cast member. Dean and Berta are an “item”, and the two of them have been super supportive of our grassroots REPO! endeavors, including flying out to join us in Las Vegas at our November premiere.
In Vegas, when Berta found out that it had been more years then I have fingers since my last visit to a dentist, she offered to give me a free tooth examination whenever I was next in Toronto. So, the offer of a complimentary chopper-cleaning, plus REPO!’s premiere “shadow” performance, has me rushing to book a plane ticket to Canada.
January 3, 2009.
It’s cold here. Real cold. Snowing, in fact. Thankfully, I was able to borrow a reasonably warm jacket from a friend, which helps. But, compared to these Canadians, I am waaay underdressed. Note to self: procure a proper winter coat before leaving for Repo Road Tour 3; most of our stops will be in cities that will be equally frigid.
It’s not the weather that’s on my mind, however, as I shiver my way into this long overdue dental appointment. It’s fear. I walk into Berta’s clinic, expecting the worst…not a fear of long needles or pain, but the “what if” factor: what if Berta unearths a major tooth tragedy within my mouth, one that requires expensive and immediate treatment, one that I will not have the money nor the time to deal with? This scares me.
On the car ride to the clinic, Berta described to me how people in my situation—i.e. mammals foolish enough to let a decade pass between tooth trips—typically have tarter and buildup on their teeth that’s so compacted, so dense, that several hours with a mallet and chisel are needed.
I take “The Chair”. An oral hygienist named Heather asks me a couple of questions, including the dreaded, “why?” Why has it been so long since I’ve had an oral exam? I contemplate answering with an inappropriate blowjob joke. I refrain. A wiser man than myself once told me to never tell dick jokes to a woman wielding a tooth hammer.
Heather takes a few X-rays of my mouth, reclines The Chair, and proceeds to chop and scrape at my teeth. Every minute or so, she asks me if what she’s doing hurts—concerned eyes floating above a surgeon’s mask. It doesn’t hurt at all. Normally a good thing. Now, I’m not so sure.
With my mouth gaped open, Heather tells me that I should floss more gently. Apparently my gums are severely scarred from my caveman-like power flossing.
An hour or so later, Berta enters. It’s strange to see my friend in this new light: lab-coated, masked, and goggled. But she is clearly in her element. Watching Berta work with such confidence, such ease, fills me with a sense of relief—even before she gives me the great news: I am a genetic anomaly whose unattended-to teeth are in better shape than most people who make habitual dentist visits. She scolds me a bit, however, for grinding my teeth—a nervous habit, mixed with nights spent gripping daggers between my fangs, climbing telephone poles—has left my front teeth a bit jagged. Berta whips out a grinder, files the indentations smooth, slaps on some tooth spackle, and sends me on my way.
My experience at the clinic was at once terrifying, enlightening, and above all else, nurturing; the satisfaction of trusting someone to “fix” a part of you, and having that trust pay off, well…its profound—thank you, Berta.
Although garnishing a happier, healthier, and perhaps less toxic smile, is part of the reason that I made the TO trek, the main attraction this weekend is The Shadow Cats and the 9:30 shadow casting of REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA.
I arrive at the theatre just before the start of the film to meet “The Cats”, and introduce the evening. The players seem nervous—nervous about tonight’s inaugural feat, nervous about performing in front of me. I don’t blame them. I’d be nervous too if I was shadowing Riff Raff and Richard O’Brien walked into the room.
Led to the stage by a pair of shadow cast Henchgirls (“Fynn” and “Satanica”), I keep my introduction brief. Nobody is here to see me—not even my white-faced, grave-robbing alter ego that in a few moments will be projected onto the 30’ screen. No, tonight everyone is present to witness what will (hopefully!) be the first of years and years of REPO! shadow casts to come. Everyone is here to witness REPO! history being made.
In addition to The Cats, and an audience full of the usual unusual REPO! suspects (fans dressed as Amber Sweet, Henchgirls, Shilo, GraveRobbers, etc.), are Mandy and Mario Moreira. Mario was REPO!’s assistant prop master/prop buyer. REPO! crewmembers Adam Smith (leather props maker), Sonya Carey (digital animation art director), and actress Jake Reardon (“Single Mother”) are also in attendance.
The house lights dim. It’s Showtime! A million thoughts race through my head. I think of some of the pages of elaborate stage diagrams on REPO!’s online forums, transcripts where The Cats planned how to pull off tonight’s “shadowing”. These pages include proposals for simulated gore effects and choreography, and are so dense, so seemingly complicated, that I assume many of their plans will fail. And not only fail, but fail miserably. And to be honest, part of the reason I journeyed here tonight was to witness what I imagine will be a beautiful disaster.
3-minutes into the film, immediately following REPO!’s animated prologue, a spotlight illuminates the lip of the stage in front of the screen: It’s me, sitting there. Well, it’s a simulacrum of me dressed as my alter ego, shadowing GraveRobber’s opening number, “Genetic Repo Man”. His name is Alex (“Alhooter”), a younger, thinner version of me, and he’s got me down pat.
Midway into the verse, Alex springs up and walks into the audience, continuing his GR pantomime. From the adjacent aisle, an actor shadowing Repo Man, Sanvean (“Gucci Sac”), chases down a young woman (“Quirk”). I’ve met Sanvean before: it turns out that I’m not the only So Cal resident who’s made the Canada commute tonight. And Sanvean’s dedication to REPO! doesn’t end with his frequent flyer miles; his self-made Repo Man costume looks better constructed than the one we used in the actual film.
The spotlight fades. The scene ends. The crowd roars with applause. I roar with them. Even if nothing else remarkable happens tonight, my expectations have already been exceeded. NOTE: I think it’s important to mention that REPO! is not even out on DVD yet…so, The Shadow Cats have organized tonight’s affairs based solely on their memories of the film from having seen it multiple times at the theatre.
A few scenes pass without shadowing, except for Shadow GraveRobber conducting the entire audience (about 600 people!) to scream “GRAAAAAAAAVES” during “21st Century Cure”.
“Infected”, the next shadowed scene, begins. It features Shadow Shilo confronting a bird-flipping Shadow Dead Marni. Marni peeks out from behind a clutched picture frame. Her irreverent antics, brought to life by Mandi (“GeneticVictim”), reappear during a shadowed “Chase The Morning” in the form of a breakdance of sorts.
It isn’t just The Shadow Cats who are playfully irreverent tonight, but large portions of the audience are creating their own REPO! call-outs. I hear a couple of Lion King quotes following the line “remember who you are” in “Night Surgeon”. I hear “I have an S.T.D.” sung to the tune of Shilo’s, “I have a blood disease”. A collective “In my pants” refrain is added to each time Nathan or Shilo say “I didn’t know I’d love you so much”. This audience participation is so riotous, so infectious, that I’m tempted to throw a couple of zingers out, too….but I stop myself. Tonight belongs to the audience, to REPO!’s fans. I don’t want to influence them. REPO! is theirs now, and I want to hear what they come up with.
I break this self-imposed rule, however, during the shadowed “Zydrate Anatomy” scene when I holler out to Shadow GR, just as he’s about to give Shadow Amber Sweet a Zydrate hit in the crotch, “Make me proud, GraveRobber!
All of the shadowed scenes are great, but 2 more I feel are worth mentioning here: “Happiness Is Not A Warm Scalpel”, where the very sexy Shadow Amber Sweet’s botched surgery manifests itself in the form of a Groucho Marx nose and ‘stache; and “We Started This Op’ra Sh*t”, where a Gentern does a splits over a Zydrate blue dildo (which I later autograph).
The movie ends. I am called up to the stage to conduct a Q&A by Victoria Dobbs, Bloor Cinema’s theatre manager. On stage, I recite the correct pronunciation of the word “Thoom”, give a hypothetical Zydrate recipe, and share a meaningful Paris Hilton story. I am told later that REPO!’s continuously solid audience turnout, has kept the Bloor Cinema, an arthouse theatre, from closing down.
Earlier, during my introduction of the movie, I made an announcement: I said that one of the reasons I appeared tonight, against my better, more responsible judgment, was that 10 years from now, if I did not come, I knew I would look back with regret. Having sat in the audience tonight, having witnessed the wonder of REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA’s very first shadow casting, I now know that this is 100% true. Hell, I would have regretted not coming immediately when the clips from tonight hit youtube. Here’s shadow “Genetic Repo Man” for your enjoyment: CLICK.
I would like to thank The Shadow Cats for their unbelievable dedication to our film, and for making this brief trip to Toronto one that I will never forget. Shadow, Shadow, Shadow Cats – HO!
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January 8th, 2009 at 6:53 am
thanks for coming terrance! i’m glad you enjoyed the show!
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January 8th, 2009 at 10:57 am
So….it’s pronounced ‘thoom’, right?
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January 8th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
The Shadow Cats are AMAZING! So glad we came to Toronto!! And ooh, I spot some faces I know in your pics Terrance – great pics!!
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January 8th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Haha, well it seems that the back of my head made it into what would have been a lovely shot of you between Fynn and Satanica
Oh well. 
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January 8th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Thanks again for coming Terrance! <3
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January 8th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Love love love it! I wanna be in a shadow cast, woo:) I must remember ‘in my pants’ for STL and LA. Thanks Toronto *thumbs up/cheesy grin’!
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January 8th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
D’awww~
Thanks for the mention! I really hope you decide to come back again, it was great to hang out with you.
I’m always ready to be your mighty shield.
xxJessica Rabbit
Hahaha,
xxMandi
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January 8th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
So this means you’re going to come to the first ever US Shadow Cast once we get things rolling in Houston, RIGHT TERRANCE!? hahahah
Wow, TO did an amazing job. I’m glad it turned out well.
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January 8th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
The henchgirls are available for weddings, funerals, bar or bat mitzvahs, birthdays and proms.
The shadow cast (and dead Marni) goddamn rock.
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January 8th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Haha, I was the one who made the Lion King reference during “Night Surgeon”. That movie is HARDWIRED into my brain.
Thanks so much for coming! Every time I watch the videos I feel sad that I had to drop out, but there is nothing in the verse that can stop from being in the next.
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January 9th, 2009 at 3:23 am
Silly, silly man, We yelled “I HAVE HERPES” not “I have an STD.”
That’s Amber’s line, instead of stage name. “I BREED STD’S!”
But don’t worry, I’m posting a collection of all the callbacks the Platinum Wombats and Shadow Cats used in my myspace blog very soon. At least, all the ones I can remember. Folks are gonna have to comment with their own. In fact, we may need a thread on the boards…
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January 9th, 2009 at 8:47 am
I had a blast at my first shadow cast!
It was nice to finally see the film you know pretty much all the lyrics to!
two filthy thumbs up
x
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January 9th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Fantastic! That looks like a blast and I bet it was even more amplified as they did YOUR scenes.
Thanks for sharing all the photos.
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January 14th, 2009 at 10:45 am
That looks so incredible! I hope California gets a shadow cast together soon. I love the bird flipping dead marni.
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January 18th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
I hope to see the repo stage play in Britain one day
! I saw the film for the first time yesterday and was blown away, the sets, costumes, make up and songs are all so amazing. Graverobber is definitely my favourite character and i cant stop singing the song while I’m working 
.
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January 29th, 2009 at 7:28 am
so where are the pictures from the first AMERICAN shadow box cast?
and more specifically the pictures you took me ME hahahaha.
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January 29th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
I always feel so weird leaving comments on people’s journals when ultimately I have no idea who they are (other than you were in and wrote a script) and they know nothing about me either, but…
The dentist story is awesome, I have no luck in them either, I haven’t been to get a teeth cleaning in….oh….god….since my braces came off when I was 15 so…8 years. Almost a decade. Yeesh.
Btw: is there any chance of the Repo tour coming BACK to St. Louis because like the dumbass I seem to be, we only really found out about Repo coming out not 1 day after you all were at the Tivoli and I would love to see it on the screen! Oh…and you probably don’t actually answer these but…why are all the deleted scenes only on Blu-ray?! It’s not fair…
Hope the rest of the trip is fun…or has been fun….sorry, week of snow days and school today, I’ve been a bit out of it…
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