The original plan was to make the 400-mile drive from Phoenix to Los Angeles�our 11th and final stop on REPO Road Tour 3�but somewhere along the tour director Darren Lynn Bousman and I decide to fly today instead. This is the 12th straight day of traveling for us and we knew that we'd be exhausted, so the choice of an hour-and-a-half flight vs. a 6-hour drive seemed an obvious one. Especially since L.A. is our hometown, and we'd like to have some energy leftover for tonight's REPO! homecoming.

January 24, 2009.: Many of my closest friends will be at tonight's 10:00pm screening at the Royal Theatre. None of them have experienced REPO! on the road tour. Some of them haven't seen the film at all. I'm curious how they will respond to the hysteria that surrounds a REPO! event. What will they think of fans showing up dressed as REPO! characters? If everybody else is singing-along to the movie, will they join in, or just sit there uncomfortably? How will they respond to seeing me, their dirtbag artist friend, being received as a celebrity? All of this makes me nervous. 

And that's if everything goes right. What if tonight is tame compared to the rest of the tour? What if�in typical L.A. fashion�people in this city regard themselves as too cool to commit to the wonderful REPO! weirdness? What if all the wild and crazy things that my pals have been hearing about the tour don't happen tonight? 

And it's not just my friends who will be in attendance tonight�2 of REPO!'s producers, Mark Burg and Carl Mazzocone of Twisted Pictures, as well as 2 REPO! cast members, Paris Hilton (Amber Sweet) and Ogre (Pavi Largo), are showing up. They too want to see what all the road tour fuss is about. Though the 4 of them are technically "virgins" to the RRT, Darren and I have sent them (and everybody involved with REPO!'s film production) tour email updates and photos, sharing the wild and unorthodox reception to our film. What if they show up tonight and there's silence in the theatre? Now, I'm really nervous.

And tonight's stop started off on the wrong foot, merchandise-wise: due to a print shop error, Los Angeles was the only city missing from the lineup of cities printed on the back of our RRT3 t-shirts. Maybe this was an omen? Maybe tonight is doomed? 

We land in L.A. at noon. Darren's fiancé, Laura, collects us at the airport. Even though it's still a 45-minute drive from LAX to my apartment, it feels great to be home. 11 cities in 12 days may not seem like much on paper, but when you're in the thick of it, dashing off nightly to different states, 12 days feels like a lifetime. 

Laura drops me off at the curb outside my apartment building. It's a little after 1:00pm. I empty my mailbox, which is stuffed with 2-weeks worth of unanswered mail, then look at my car sitting in the carport. It's covered in 2-weeks worth of dust. I make my way up the stairs to my unit, throw my bags on the floor, & open the windows to let in some much-needed "fresh" air. I contemplate diving into the 2-weeks of missed work that I need to catch up on, but instead take a nap. 

It's 8:00pm. I drive myself to the screening. In search of a parking space, I circle pass the front of the Royal Theatre. There's a massive line for REPO!, stretching around the block, and well into the adjacent neighborhood. Tonight's show is completely sold-out, and at once all of my apprehensions are put to rest; I see REPO! costumes�lots of REPO! costumes, including some REPO! characters that I not yet seen attempted, like Rotti's Chauffer, Branko Branko, and bloody-eyed miscarriage Marni. The Los Angeles stop of the RRT does not disappoint!

Trying to be inconspicuous, I park several blocks away, approaching the theatre on foot. I am spotted half a block from the theatre and immediately swarmed by fans. I try to autograph everything pushed in front of me, but more and more requests keep coming, along with more people. At some point I realize that I'm slowly, and unintentionally, being pushed off the curb and into the street, into traffic. I use this potential danger as a chance to break free for a moment and escape into the Royal's lobby. 

On the way in, I see C.J. DeAngelus, Jr. (REPO! soundtrack musician and stage play alumni). To help stack the deck in our favor a bit tonight, Darren and I asked C.J. to show up in costume and act as a makeshift carnival barker; someone to pump up people's sprits as they wait in the line to get into the theatre. C.J. also does not disappoint. He's wearing Ringling Brothers-like garb (replete with a top hat and glittery blue vest), a handlebar moustache, & holding a cardboard megaphone with the words "Well thank you sir!" written on the side. 

Inside, I see Tammy, tour manager Spooky Dan's wife, working our merchandise table. I had asked�well, demanded�that Tammy, come dressed as a REPO! character tonight. I threatened that if she did not, she wouldn't get her husband back from the tour. And here she is, smiling, standing behind the table, dressed as Shilo. She looks great!

I also see Drew ("DigitalChicanery") and Katie, REPO!'s 1st couple. The 2 of them met on REPO-Opera.com's message boards and have been dating for several months (As a side note: I witness a few more REPO! love connections happen tonight *seals lips*). Tonight, Katie is dressed as a Henchgirl, toting a plastic machinegun. Drew is filming elements of tonight's stop, toting a plastic video camera. He drags me back outside to catch footage of me with the line. 

Outside, I pass the girl who I consider to be my very 1st fan (I know, it's weird to say), Nil. Nil attended REPO!'s recruited audience test-screening last March. She was so taken by our film�and by my tomb-raiding character!�that she contacted me on myspace following the screening. Tonight, she's decked out in painted surgery scars.

I also run into one of REPO!'s most audacious fans, Maria ("crystallinepeaches"), who bestows upon me a plethora of gifts: some drawings of me as a priest (don't ask), a pair of handcuffs (really don't ask!), & a stellar jacket. She tells me that the designer coat is her attempt to break me of my "hobo chic" fashion sense. In one of the jacket's pockets is rubber cockroach; in the other, one of the nicest fan letters I've received. It's so touching, in fact, that I forgive Maria for the tiara and crappy beauty pageant sash that she puts on me for being elected "Scary Stud, 2008" by Pretty-Scary.net. Thank you, Peaches.

I get several more fan gifts before the night is through, including a can of Budweiser, some evil-themed Matchbox cars, a GraveRobber-inspired "mighty fine print" monocle, a kickass Danzig hoodie, a fan-made Zydrate vial necklace, & a series of REPO! programmes courtesy of the SoCal REPO! Army.

But the biggest gift of all comes from watching the love and excitement that ensues during the 10 o'clock screening of our film. I stand at the back of the house in awe, teary-eyed. Somehow, in spite of all of the obstacles against us, we've managed to achieve everything that we set out to (and more!) with REPO! We created a film that dares to be, and succeeds at being, different. We succeeded at making a movie that's more than just a movie�it's an event! We've given birth to characters that are already being revered as cult icons (including a crooning, white-faced corpse-smuggler that I know well!). And most importantly, we've created a work that's inspired a community. 

And you wanna know the best part? REPO! is going to live on. This community is going to grow, and keep growing. REPO! shadow casts are already springing up all over the country. A U.K. Road Tour is set for March. I get dozens of weekly requests from people looking to bring REPO! back to the stage. While I'm tempted to be saddened by the completion of this, the 3rd U.S. Road Tour, I realize that this is just the beginning for REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA. 

EV'RYBODY, EV'RYBODY, TESTIFY!

REPO! Road Tour Diary: Los Angeles

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