DownHome Decadence

Cast Location: Ironton, Ohio

Cast Website: http://www.tristaterockylive.org

Cast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/downhomedecadence/

Cast Status: Active

Cast Venues: Ro-Na theatre

Show Frequency: Monthly

History

The history of the Tri-State Transylvanians is full of twists and turns. It began, not with TsT, but with a group called DownHome Decadence.

In 2006, a small group of people convinced a local second-run movie theater called The Cinema to host screenings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. At first, the shadowcast was sparse, to say the least. But with time, temporary people fell away, to be replaced by others that were willing to put the time and effort into working on their costuming, blocking, and overall showmanship. The DownHome Decadence (DhD) shows were done weekly, even throwing a small Rocky convention early in the cast's history. The audience numbers were typically good, with random dips and surges in the numbers. This went on for a few years, until the day that the cast was notified that the Cinema would no longer be showing RHPS, and the services of DhD were no longer required.

The cast was understandably stunned, and a few members actually took the news as a sign to move on from the cast to explore other avenues in their lives. Not wanting to leave the audience with no way to say goodbye, DhD hosted a show at a local lgbt-education center in Huntington. The turn out was amazing. The audience filled the center to capacity. DhD even negotiated the ability to perform at the old Huntington High building, which had been converted into apartments and a performing arts venue. Again, the audience turn out was impressive.

After a few random shows in various venues, along with more than a year passing by, the cast leader was contacted by the Cinema in an effort to strike a new deal regarding shows. No longer weekly, RHPS shows would be quarterly, but two theaters would be made available to handle the increased numbers. This meant that the cast would have to grow to manage to give two theaters full of people shows worth paying for. And grow it did. These shows continued until the Cinema theater went out of business, once again leaving DhD without a home.

But, being resourceful, the leadership of DhD was able to find the cast temporary homes among other venues around the tri-state. One of these temporary homes was the Wheelersburg Cinema, where DhD provided enjoyable shows for both the audience and the cast, as members that had moved on from the cast years before made appearances to help out old friends.

Another temporary home was the Ro-Na theater in Ironton, Ohio. Having fallen into disrepair, those that had taken on the responsibility to renovate the building saw the cast as a way to renew community interests in the building, as well as allow people to experience what it had to offer in the form of a performance art venue. The cast relationship with the Ro-Na has gone on for years, and survived the cast changing hands.

When the cast changed hands, the decision was made to evolve the cast into something new. Thus, the Tri-State Transylvanians were born. It is the same cast, just with a new look and a renewed focus on the audience. Cast membership was opened to include individuals from other casts, near and far, as long as they shared the cast vision of giving the audience a safe, fun place to be themselves without fear of judgement. The future of TsT looks bright.

In mid-2016, due to the size of the cast and the number of upcoming shows, it was decided to split the cast into two. These two casts would fly under the Tri-State Transylvanian banner (one cast still being called the Tri-State Transylvanians, the other Downhome Decadence) under two separate cast leaders, though both working under a common cause and goal, for fantastic Rocky shows, for great times with our Rocky families, and entertaining the holy hell out of our audiences.

Made up of cast members throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia, the Tri-State Transylvanian Brand will continue to thrive and expand!

JJ, Founder and director of Tri-State Transylvanians Brand

Laura, director of Downhome Decadence cast, performing in Ironton, Ohio

Nikki, director of Tri-State Transylvanians cast, performing in Huntington, West Virginia