I was sitting at work this afternoon, listening to the Willy Wonka soundtrack, thinking about the movie, and how much darker it seemed compared to the remake. Suddenly had an epiphany: audience participation.
The following is based on my scant experience at Rocky Horror (so far, I've only been there once) and what I know about the movie. Instead of doing an entire script, I'm just writing down a few ideas and seeing if they make sense to anybody. Any imput at all would be greatly appreciated.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Audience Participation Guidelines
You will need the following:
A hat of some kind
$1.00 bag of wrapped candy
Goody bag
Flashlight
Bottle of bubbles and wand
Shaving or whipped cream (optional)
Kool Aid packets
When the opening credits roll, shout out the names of as many candy bars as you can think of.
During the “Candy man” song, when the candy shop owner scoops candy on the children, toss your own candy into the audience; try to pick up as much candy that others have dropped before the song ends.
Whenever one of the ticket winners appears in a scene, shout out the deadly sin associated with that character (Augustus = gluttony, Veruca = greed, Violet = pride, Mike = sloth, Charlie = jealousy).
When the “Cheer up, Charlie” song begins, shout out, “IS IT KOOL AID TIME YET?” Somebody (preferably the people running the event) should respond, “NOT YET”. *
When the photo of the fake ticket winner is shown on TV, shout “YOU NAZI BASTARD!” (The photo is actually of Nazi Martin Bormann)
Keep your hat on when the movie begins. When the coat hangers grab the hats and coats of the tour guests, pull off the hat of the person sitting in front of you (and don’t be surprised when the person behind you pulls off your hat).
Whenever any of the children meet their demise, point at the screen and do the Nelson Muntz “hah-hah!”.
During the boat ride, turn on your flashlight and wave it wildly around the room.
Before the blueberry scene, when Mr. Salt yells “bull”, complete the statement by yelling “S%IT!”
Blow bubbles during the “fizzy lifting” scene.
During the “lickable wallpaper” scene, yell out “D%CK LICKER” whenever the word snozzberry is uttered. +
Cover yourself (or others) with whipped/shaving cream during the “Wonka wash” scene (You might not want to do this, depending on where you’re watching, and what you and others are wearing, as it may stain).
As the great glass elevator begins to rise, begin faking an orgasm. Climax when the elevator breaks through the ceiling.
When the end credits go up, throw the Kool Aid packets in the air and shout “YAAAY! ITS KOOL AID TIME!”
* According to Wonka Facts at
http://www.borg.com/~superman/, during the Jim Jones mass suicide, children of cult members were shown “Willy Wonka…” while Kool Aid was being served, to distract them from the horrors of what was going on. Presumably, when the film ended, they were given their own Kool Aid to drink.
+According to another Roald Dahl book, “My Uncle Oswald”, the term snozzberry actually refers to the head of a penis; it is unclear whether Dahl himself made the word up or based it on something else.
