By Christine Amarantus
Daily Titan Features Editor

Human Race cast members Casey Kimble, left, Scotty and Chris Froehler stand shocked following their floorshow scene as Rocky, Columbia and Brad Majors. Photo courtesy of Brian Moreno.

Scotty leads three different lives.

Like Madonna or Cher, Scotty notoriously goes by one name.

Scotty, 52, can still tap circles around any pop starlet.

Scotty has worked with 11 Academy Award winners – from Robin Williams and Forest Whitaker to Peter Owen who did make-up for “Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.”

Scotty owns eight of Elvira’s gowns.

“And the funny thing is they all fit,” he said.

Scotty is a professional female impersonator. “Don’t you dare call me a drag queen,” he said in jest. “I arrive at the show as a man … and afterward, I take the make-up off and go home. I get no sexual fulfillment out of it.”

In that regard, the only thing Scotty says he finds great satisfaction in is a standing ovation. “I would take that over a huge paycheck any day,” he said.

For performances, Scotty takes on such roles as Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Bette Davis, John Lennon, George Michael, Austin Powers and Marilyn Manson.

He can be seen in such films as “The Birdcage” and “The Newlydeads,” alongside then-unknown Doug Jones with whom Scotty remains friends.

In 1987, Voyeuristic Intention, a “Rocky Horror Picture Show” cast based at the Rialto Theater in South Pasadena, asked Scotty to play Janet.

As with Rocky Horror casts, performers dress up as the characters in the movie and mimic the actions happening on screen as the movie is projected behind them. Audience members often shout insults mocking the film, and throw props such as rice during a wedding scene or toilet paper rolls when Dr. Scott makes his entry into the film. This late night tradition dates back to 1975.

Scotty decided to accept the role and was amused that the audience was still unaware that the movie’s heroine was being played by a man that evening.

They exploded in surprised roars at curtain calls when Scotty ran out, doing a flip with his shirt hanging open.
The rest is Rocky Horror history with Scotty eventually emerging as the gold-sequined Columbia for Dark Refrain, the third generation of the Rialto Theater cast. The theater holds the record as the longest run of Rocky Horror in Southern California.

Flash forward to present day when promoters/producers for the Yost Theater in Santa Ana tapped Scotty to direct a Rocky Horror cast.

“I have hand-picked this cast,” Scotty said. “My main Frank (N. Furter) has been doing Rocky Horror for 30 years.”
Scotty’s cast, Human Race, performs the first Saturday of every month. They debuted on the Fourth of July.

“We are called Human Race, not only because it’s a line from the movie, but because it leaves us open for every walk of life,” Scotty said. “We’re colorblind.”

Human Race’s cast members exhibit all sorts of diversity. A Frank N. Furter understudy is a school teacher. The cast’s Rocky is a professional stuntman. Another cast member cleans aquariums for a living.

“I look at (the cast) and I see so much in them,” Scotty said. “I’m leaving the door wide open for anyone who wants to work.”

Since the Yost Theater is more for live performances, Human Race has an issue unique among Rocky Horror casts.

“It’s not a movie theater,” Scotty says. “It’s 120 feet from the front row seats to the screen. We have had to change our blocking in order to bring the movie to the audience.”

Scotty said he runs Human Race as though they are at the Radio City Music Hall.

“We give the audience a couple pre-shows before the main event. Where most Rocky Horror casts do a pre-show that has something to do with Rocky, we don’t. We step outside the box which keeps adding to the open door factor, which in turn keeps the show fresh and new so you never know what to expect,” he said.

While many Rocky Horror casts strive for screen accuracy, in that they try to get their costumes, props and movements exactly like the movie, Scotty encourages his actors to ad-lib.

“We respectfully poke fun at the movie,” he said. “If I were to do it screen accurate, it would be boring.”
Human Race is “itching to do a theme night,” and may do so after the first of the year.

In the future, Scotty said he would like to direct plays and musicals at the Yost Theater starting with “The Rocky Horror Show,” the British stage musical on which “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is based.

Human Race’s next show is Saturday, Sept. 5, at 11:30 p.m.

The Yost Theater is located on the Fiesta Marketplace Promenade at 307 N. Spurgeon St. in Santa Ana.