No Shame Theatre

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No Shame Theatre is a forum for original stage performance work. It is often presented as a weekly talent show.

1 Format
- 1.1 History
- 1.2 The present
2 Famous alumni
3 See also
4 References

[edit] Format

A board of approximately five members generally manages No Shame Theatre. These members are responsible for the operation of No Shame Theatre- they reserve space, accept pieces from performers, decide the order of the pieces, and serve as emcees for the program. Usually, the program contains approximately fifteen pieces. It is stated at the beginning of the program that the pieces must be original, must be under five minutes, and must not damage the space or its occupants. However, these rules are often broken. The pieces are not censored in any way, which leads to a strange mix of silly comedy, scatological performance art, and emotional drama that is rarely seen in more conventional theatre.

[edit] History

No Shame Theatre was founded by Todd "Rumpy" Ristau, and Stan "Ristau" Ruth, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. It began on October 3, 1986 in the back of a green (and very blue) 1976 Dodge pick-up truck belonging to Stan Ruth parked in the E. C. Mabie Theater parking lot.

A sign up sheet was posted in fall of 1986 to generate interest in No Shame. The sheet read:

"The No Shame Theatre is looking for a few good three to 5 minute scripts that would be suitable for performing in the bed of a pick-up truck in some parking lot someplace. If you have such material and are proud enough of it to want to see it done someplace we've got the perfect vehicle for your expression--a big green '76 Dodge with a slant six engine. to submit scripts for consideration, contact us or leave them along with your name and phone number in the cardboard box on top of the locker just outside and to the left (as you stand looking at) the door to the playwright's office downstairs. Please waste no time, we want to get this truck started. No Shame is at least as serious as you are."

The majority of performances in Iowa City took place, and continue to take place, in the Theater B of the University Theater Building.

Over the years, No Shame has gone through many transformations, oftentimes coming across as something one could safely label as "lame", while at others, shifting into a form of theatrical entertainment & expression more accurately classified as "not-quite-so-lame", or "mostly-lame".

[edit] The present

Since its creation in Iowa City, No Shame Theatres have been started throughout the United States. Branches of No Shame exist in the following locations:

Cedar Falls, IA, Austin, TX Los Angeles, CA (started by Jeff Goode, webmaster of noshame.org), Saint Louis, MO, La Crosse, WI, Roanoke, VA (started by Ristau in 2003 where he still takes order and performs), and Staunton, VA. The Roanoke Chapter, which has been a core component of Mill Mountain Theatre's second stage programming, has twice been invited to the Piccolo Spoleto Theatre Festival in Charleston, SC.

Each location has different rules according to the decisions of their respective boards of directors. In Austin, for instance, all performers must hold lassos.

Over the last 19 years there have been other No Shame Theatres to come and go including those in New York, Miami, Chicago, Cedar Falls, Fairbanks, Orlando, Charlottesville (started by Ristau), Charleston, Ireland, Cutler Ridge, Verona, Portland, Harrisonburg, Mary Baldwin College, Newport News, Roanoke and Treasure Coast.

[edit] Famous alumni

It is frequently claimed that actor Toby Huss got his start at No Shame Theatre in Iowa City, where he started his character Artie, the Strongest Man in the World, but this is true only with the broadest possible definition of "starting one's career."