Welcoming new saints to the cult, Andy Scahill, draped in Frank-N-Furter attire, kicked off Rainbow Cult’s recent showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He prepared the audience for an encapsulating sensory experience that hit the stage, walls, and even the air of the Perplexiplex at Meow Wolf this past July.
Heads protected by newspapers out of a fear that rain might spray out of the screen, cards and glowsticks flickering in the crowd, and “virgins” doing the infamous “Time Warp” choreography swept guests into the sexual and nostalgic world of the cult classic 70’s musical.
These events capture moments in cinema history and reinvigorate the passion felt by generations before. This is the ecstasy that inspires Rainbow Cult. Scahill is Executive Director of Rainbow Cult, and he says they wanted to “create a space that was exceptionally shame free,” and invite guests to “come however you want to, you participate however you want to.”
Amidst his busy schedule—being a professor at CU Denver, running a yoga group now hosted at the Urban Sanctuary, and a devout queer film aficionado—Scahill still managed to make time to found the nonprofit Rainbow Cult.
His passion for the power of cinema and its connection to LGBTQ+ folks is clear from the moment you meet him. Scahill can talk about queer theory application to movies for hours, perhaps a reflection of the hours he spends lecturing that “the evil child in horror cinema represents a conservative attempt to unchild certain classes of children.”
Starting amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Rainbow Cult began as a movie club that welcomed folks to Scahill’s backyard (socially distanced, of course) to celebrate films and queerness along with encouraging friendships in a time that many felt isolated. From this casual, albeit unlikely start, Rainbow Cult now hosts interactive movie events regularly at Meow Wolf.
Scahill says, “Coming out of COVID, I basically did a whole lifestyle change.” Stuck in the toxic ideal of health in the world of gains in the gym, he transitioned his health goals towards yoga and fulfilling his mental health. He embraces his insight that bloomed from meditation, Buddhism, and utilizing medicines that come from the ground to heal his body. All in all, he is finding a healthier version of himself.
In the face of financial shame, mental health challenges, and finding new, healthier ways to cope, Scahill left the pandemic with a new strength and built a community that has bloomed into the magical experience that is Rainbow Cult.
Scahill says the Rainbow Cult focuses on creating “venue drive cinema.” Attendees at the Troop Beverly Hills screening were greeted with Girl Scout Cookies, and everyone got bling at the Show Girls viewing. He adds, “Let’s watch Jurassic Park in the Natural History Museum at the dinosaur exhibition. Let’s watch Bring it On in a high school auditorium. We did Clue in the Lumber Baron mansion. And for Meow Wolf, I try to pick films that are surreal.”
He adds, “So to be able to get together and revisit these things where it’s not like the church experience of cinema—where it’s like a lull into passivity. I want us to be boisterous, and people to express themselves and express their love. And then that idea is expanded into queer yoga and these other spaces to create a third space, an alternative kind of social scene. And a place that encourages creativity.”
On its surface, Rainbow Cult is queer mecca that invites guests to view films in a unique way.
Digging deeper, Scahill also strives to use the nonprofit to create a sanctuary of artistic expression and emotions:
“Queer artists have always tried to create archives of feelings,” Scahill says, and Rainbow Cult aims to do just that. He’s been thinking about Rainbow Cult as a space where he can do an ethnographic study, and capture the cultural and emotional significance that the nonprofit supplies and audience members enjoy.
He says, “We’re trying to do something different here, and these events are something I haven’t seen before. I want to embrace a different way to think about cinema here in the 21st century … because I think queer people love these movies, but we haven’t been able to watch them all together in the way that our straight colleagues get to do all the time.”
Once his tenure at CU Denver is approved, Scehill plans to use his sabbatical to build Rainbow Cult to larger heights. He even says he hopes to get Elivra to make an appearance in an upcoming event.
You can find more information on Rainbow Cult on their website, or at their upcoming viewing of Labyrinth November 19 at Meow Wolf.
Photo courtesy of Tyi Redick
