Students dressed in drag. A teacher gets “virgin” written across his forehead. A celebration of diverse sexuality.  This is what you would find at the most recent theatrical production at Clayton High School. The student run musical, or the SRM, was the edgy “Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Rocky Horror, a show known for its vulgar audience participation and wild costumes, isn’t a typical high school production.

For student director Fergus Inder the choice was a no-brainer. “When Ms. Ryan brought up ‘Rocky,’ it kind of hit a note with me,” said Inder, “It’s a really fun show, and it’s really notorious, so I knew that people would be excited to be a part of it.” Inder and musical director, senior Corrine Yap, were excited about the new variety of people that wanted to audition. “‘Rocky Horror’ is the kind of musical that draws a new crowd of people to auditions,” Yap said. “It was great to see some people who had never participated in theater before end up rocking it on stage.”

However, “Rocky Horror” is known for being a controversial musical. Most schools would not allow students to participate in a show like this one – let alone run one.

In fact, Inder was given almost complete creative control. Principal Louise Losos loosely monitored the show, however, she seemed to have no problem leaving a production of such controversy in the hands of a high school student.

This production reflects the acceptance and uniqueness of the CHS community.

“Clayton is known for pushing boundaries,” Yap said, “I think ‘Rocky Horror’ is more than just an entertaining performance, it has a deeper message.”

Inder too was able to identify this deeper meaning, “One of the things we tried to bring out was that society shouldn’t have limitations on passion and love,” Inder said. “Having this creature, ‘Rocky,’ who has no sexual limitations brought that out really well.”

This show reflects the values that CHS stands for.

“It explores themes of sexuality and social acceptance: two ideas that Clayton firmly stands behind,” Yap said. “This was a chance for us to show the world that we aren’t afraid of approaching these topics.”

Not only did the show bring out themes of acceptance and diversity, but it has also affected the cast members.

“I had a lot of cast members tell me that they became more comfortable in their own skin,” Inder said. “It made me feel accomplished on a whole different level.”