from The Daily Texan - November 18, 2005

No Shame in quitting now

By Ella Miesner

Shannon McCormic hosts the final No Shame Theater at The Hideout on Friday. McCormick has been at the helm of No Shame in Austin since April 2001.
Media Credit: Rob Strong
Shannon McCormic hosts the final No Shame Theater at The Hideout on Friday. McCormick has been at the helm of No Shame in Austin since April 2001.

The participants in No Shame Theater truly have no shame, and for their final performance in The Hideout, they pulled out all the stops. From a middle aged man in bubble wrap, to a random dance party onstage, to hugs for every audience member, performances ranged from the bizarre to the beautiful, and covered everything in between.

The variety and openness is what makes the concept of No Shame Theater so appealing. "It is a very democratic form," said Shannon McCormick, founder of the Austin branch of No Shame. "If you go to one show and you don't like it, you can come back the next week and do something yourself to make it better."

No Shame is an open forum for performers, writers and actors to come together and try out new material. They traditionally meet on Friday nights with performances at 11 p.m. Script submission begins 30 minutes before the performance and the first 15 proposals are accepted. Every act must be an original composition or improvisation under 5 minutes. The only other rule is that nothing may be broken: bones, audience members or even laws.

The structure of No Shame Theater has changed little since the concept was first born at Iowa State University in the back of a truck in October 1986. Todd Ristau and Stan Ruth, both undergraduate English majors, wanted to create a forum where writers could have their works performed without the pressure of undergoing a submission process or being a member of the elite Iowa University Writer's Workshop.

From the back of the pickup, performing in the light of a motorcycle headlight, No Shame quickly attracted an audience and grew. The openness and freedom of the venue was extremely popular and the concept began to expand beyond the Iowa State group.

No Shame was introduced to Austin by Shannon McCormick, who had performed in the original No Shame as an undergraduate at Iowa State. No Shame Austin debuted at the Hideout on Congress Avenue in April of 2001 and has been going off and on ever since. Austin's No Shame has attracted a dedicated group of regular writers and actors. There is a real community within the group and they support each other in their artistic endeavors, however shameful they may be. "I am really proud of the group that has come together," says McCormick of the Austin No Shame. The sadness at his departure was evident in this last Friday performance. Numerous performers gave tributes to their founder as McCormick concluded the evening with a rendition of his legendary, "Ghost Hat the Hat Ghost."

Ghost Hat, a child's Halloween costume, was a gift from a friend when the McCormick family had a baby. He thought it would make a funny puppet, so one night at No Shame, he found a borrowed Tom Waits CD in his bag to use as a sidekick and the "Ghost Hat" series was created. McCormick calls the "Ghost Hat" concept "a whimsical alternate universe with an instant ghost in training and his sidekick." In the final performance, the borrowed CD was finally returned and Ghost Hat was consoled by another recurring character, a book of prose poems who played Ghost Hat's fairy godmother.

Though the "Ghost Hat" era of No Shame has ended, a new generation is on the cusp. Austin No Shame Theater will reemerge this December at The Stash, under the leadership of Bryan Roberts, a UT student, and James McGuffey, a St. Edwards professor. Both are regular members of the former group.

"I would like to build the core of writers and actors," says Roberts of his hopes for the new theater. "We can always use more people." Roberts discovered No Shame through a play-writing class he attended at the University where each student was required to have a piece performed at No Shame.

Though at first he was nervous about having his works performed, Roberts has since opened up to the freedom of No Shame and now even performs onstage himself. "That's the fun of No Shame," says Roberts. "People getting together and acting wired."

There is no risk. Actors are available and people are sometimes even recruited out of the audience. When asked who should come to No Shame, Roberts replies, "Just any kind of writer who wants to see their work performed. It gives a real rush."

Media Credit: Rob Strong


Actors, writers and the audience can enjoy the No Shame experience. Veteran performer Victoria sums it up well. "You see things that are good, things that are not good, things so bad they are funny, and things that are just bad," she says. "You never know what to expect."

The new No Shame will continue the tradition of variety, openness and oddity. Everyone is open to attend and as the No Shame motto goes, to "Dare to Fail."

No Shame Theater will resume in Austin at The Stash on First Street Dec. 2 at 9 p.m. Performers, actors and audience members are encouraged to attend, but reminded to leave their shame at home.


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