Few theater productions invite their audiences to dress in costume, throw props, yell out lines and dance along with the actors. However, one long-running cult production, which will be in Ames this weekend, relies on such audience participation.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” will be showing at Varsity Theater this Friday and Saturday at midnight. The production will include pre-show festivities, a costume contest, special certificates for “virgins” (people who have never seen the film), prop kits and a costumed cast on Saturday night.

The cast, Time Warped, is Iowa’s only Rocky Horror cast. While the group performs at Billy Joe’s Pitcher Show in West Des Moines every Friday, appearances in Ames have become a Halloween tradition. Audiences may also recognize the cast from the Film Series show during Veishea.

The cast, which includes two Iowa State students and a member of the ISU Physics Department, has been featured in several Rocky Horror publications and on the official “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” Web site.

Ruth Fink-Winter, a chemical engineering graduate student at ISU has been involved in live productions of the show since 1988. While her first reaction to Rocky Horror was one of confusion, she’s grown to love the show and the people involved in it.

Fink-Winter and her husband met and became engaged at two separate Rocky Horror showings. They later celebrated their wedding day by attending another performance.

“It gets to be a sort of community thing,” Fink-Winter said.

Audience participation is essential to making the show a success, she said. Callbacks to the screen and the use of props are considered a normal part of the Rocky Horror experience.

Fink-Winter added that a soundtrack with the complete film and appropriate responses has been released to help better understand the show.

Jennifer Hoffman, a business major at ISU has been a member of the Time Warped cast for over two years.

Like many people, she was confused the first time she saw the show. The copy of the tape she was watching was nothing more than fuzz due to the number of times it had been watched.

“We got to see a set of lips for about three seconds,” Hoffman said.

While her initial response to the film was not a positive one, Hoffman was encouraged to see it again by a friend. On her third viewing she started to piece together the plot.

“If someone doesn’t understand the film, I’d encourage them to ask someone,” Hoffman said. The plot centers around a young middle-American couple confronted by the declining morality of the ’70’s. Questioning their own sexual morality, they lose their innocence and discover how it changes their relationship and their view of society.

After getting lost in a storm, the couple, Brad Majors and Janet Weiss, seek refuge at the castle of Dr. Frank N. Furter. Realizing they’ve stumbled into a strange situation, they inadvertently join a party celebrating his most recent experiment — the creation of Rocky Horror.

Rocky Horror, a perfect piece of rippling flesh, is Frank N. Furter’s answer to his transvestite lifestyle. Unbeknownst to Brad and Janet, the doctor, his butler and the butler’s incestuous sister are all humanoid aliens from a different galaxy.

Frank works fast, first seducing Janet, then Brad. While Brad is “satisfied” with his newfound sexual freedom, Janet seeks more edification and education. Frank is enraged to find Janet seeking comfort in the muscular arms of Rocky Horror.

Frank’s anger is soon interrupted by a visit from Dr. Scott, the professor Brad and Janet were originally seeking out.

Frank is extremely dismayed because the brain used to create Rocky Horror originated from Scott’s delinquent nephew, Eddie. Eddie’s corpse is soon discovered as the source of dinner.

Before Dr. Scott can seek his revenge and bring order back into the lives of Brad and Janet, the trio is turned to stone and used as mannequins in Frank’s newest venture.

Franks’s servants, homesick for their alien planet and disturbed by his recent activities, commit mutiny.

After Frank is executed by a laser ray-gun, Brad, Janet and the professor are allowed to return home. However, they are never able to readapt to their normal lives after tasting the forbidden fruits introduced to them at the castle.

While the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” may be confusing to a newcomer, Fink-Winter and Hoffman both encourage everyone to come see the film with the live cast.

“It’s a whole lot different. It’s not just a movie; it’s an experience,” Hoffman said.

Fink-Winter agreed, adding some advice given by her mother the first time she considered seeing the show. “You can always consider it a cultural experience,” she said.

Admission to Friday and Saturday’s shows is $5. More information is available by calling the Varsity Theater box office at 292-8822 or visiting Time Warped’s Web site at www.netins.net/showcase/timewarped.