aybe it's too early to get naked, but smear your lipstick, whip out your fishnets, clasp the garters and lace up that corset, it’s time to do the time warp again. "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is taking over Textor Hall once more this Halloween.

Junior Elizabeth Battaglia, co-director and performer, said no matter how many times you may have seen the movie, participating in the show is a completely different experience. It is all about having fun.

Fun may be the theme of this off-beat 1978 movie, but producing a live show in the "Rocky Horror" style involves an amazing amount of detailed rehearsal, said co-director and veteran performer junior Faith Kindle. The traditional production involves a movie screening and a simultaneous lip-synced performance.

The players who perform with the screening have a lot to remember, Kindle said. Therefore, performing with the movie takes the pressure off script memorization, but blocking the action is still quite a task, Battaglia said.

"It is not critical that the lines are perfect. We want to move with the movie," she said.

The complex blocking is the part of the performance that needs the most attention. Cast members immerse themselves from the beginning in the movie’s choreography to absorb all the details, Kindle said.

"In a rehearsal, we start by popping in the video and seeing how everyone fits into the blocking," Kindle said. "[Usually], the cast who chooses to perform in Rocky is familiar with the plot, songs and even a majority of the lines, but staging the perspective is still complicated."

Battaglia said camera angles create the biggest problem for the performers.

"They are constantly moving, so creating a continuous dance in a three dimensional performance is difficult," she said.

During their evening rehearsal Oct. 17, the group of "Rocky Horror" players repeatedly watched the "Time Warp" dance scene. The dancers, who sport tuxes and sunglasses in the movie, quickly move from straight lines to circles. The movie uses several dance routines pasted together. The cast needs to accurately break down the complex movie choreography into a dance routine it can perform.

"Meshing [effectively] as a cast comes from doing things in advance, staying on top of things and getting the show up and running in an organized fashion," said senior Emily Bald, who is in charge of lighting and props.

This is Bald’s second year behind the scenes of "Rocky Horror," and she said there are a lot of strange things that the production team has to find. From feather boas to pop singer Meatloaf riding out of a freezer on a motorcycle, props and characters in "Rocky Horror" are not typical for a scary movie. Senior theater major Ian Richetti portrays the fishnet wearing, corseted Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

"The first time I saw it I thought, ‘Oh my God this has got to be one of the craziest movies I have ever seen,’" Richetti said.

However, he said he immediately had to see it again and again. When he saw it at Ithaca College, he started interacting with the cast and now he is performing half-naked in heels and vinyl. He said he does not feel naked or strange when he is Dr. Frank-N-Furter, wig and all.

"There is such a spirit going around," Richetti said. "Even the mood has attitude."

The "Rocky Horror Picture Show’s" journey from movie to spoof musical originated in its release. When "Rocky Horror" first opened, it was supposed to be a spoof mix of Broadway, Frankenstein and gender-bending taboos, Battaglia said. It became a cult hit and movie houses started showing it every Saturday night. In some cities today, it is still played every weekend, Battaglia said. The regular audience knew the score and script inside out, so performing it was the logical next step. This familiarity sparked the famous audience participation, as well, she said.

"Rocky Horror" captures a unique spirit with its ‘call outs’. These comments were initially yelled from the audience, over and over, fitting into the movie’s pauses. They became so popular, they stuck and traveled from city to city and movie house to movie house, Battaglia said.

"We’re using a full script of ‘call outs’ to prepare the performers for the live show’s vocal audience," she said. "We don’t want to miss a beat if a performer gets pelted in the head with a piece of toast."

"Rocky Horror" live is such a profound experience that audience members separate into two categories — the veterans and the newcomers, Battaglia said. These new audience members are welcomed as "Rocky Horror Virgins" and made to feel comfortable through pre-show festivities. These game ideas are passed from show to show, said Battaglia, a first time mistress of the pre-ceremonies.

This Halloween night, "Rocky Horror" will inspire fans to find newspapers, rice, big sunglasses and dancing shoes for their interpretation of the cult classic.

"The people who go to this show, veteran or virgin, are pulled into the spirit," Richetti said. "When everyone’s screaming at you and you’re screaming back at them, it just hits you."