The Breeze - James Madison University - Monday, November 3, 2003

Monday, November 3, 2003 Updated: 11.05.03

New outlet allows art with 'No Shame'

by Erin Lee / staff writer


Nataliya Laptik / staff photographer
Students perform in No Shame Theatre, a new open-mic type variety hour, at Taylor Down Under Wednesdays at 10 p.m.

What's the shame in failing? An up-and-coming weekly variety show is attempting to make stage fright a nonentity while bringing student and community performers to the surface. "Dare to fail" is the motto of the No Shame Theatre in Taylor Down Under every Wednesday night at 10 p.m.

No Shame Theatre was founded in Iowa City, Iowa, and since has been formed in 13 other cities across the country, including Harrisonburg, according to www.noshame.org.

Established in 1986 by Todd Ristau and Stan Ruth, the underlying concept of No Shame Theatre was to give emerging artists the opportunity to exhibit their talents in an informal, anxiety-free setting. The first performance was given in the bed of a pickup truck in a theatre parking lot, the Web site states. Since then, the popularity of No Shame has spread to Charleston, S.C., Charlottesville, Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles, according to the Web site.

The establishment of No Shame Theatre in Harrisonburg is the result of the combined efforts of three JMU students.

Sophomore Vail Thach heard about No Shame Theatre in her theatre class and decided to try it out in Harrisonburg. Her duties as the stage manager for the Harrisonburg branch of No Shame Theatre include signing up acts and signaling to artists when they are to perform.

No Shame Theatre offers a refreshingly unique approach to performing, when compared with TDU's Open Mic Night.

"No Shame [Theatre] is different from Open Mic Night because it requires more creativity. Because [each act] has to be original and because of the fact that [each performance is] only five minutes, [the acts] need to stand out, and [each performance] has to be unique," Thach said.

Junior Trent Grey Westbrook, now the producer of No Shame Theatre in Harrisonburg, also was involved in deciding to bring the theatre to Harrisonburg.

Westbrook started performing at the No Shame Theatre located in Charlottesville, which inspired him to find No Shame Theatre a home in Harrisonburg.

"We have such a strong musical and theatre department [at JMU], but we don't have a creative outlet that people can easily access," Westbrook said.

"This (No Shame Theatre) provides a forum where they (students and community members) can try out anything they want without having the feeling of failing," he added.

The opening night of No Shame Theatre was Oct. 15 at TDU. Any type of performance is welcome onstage, such as poetry, song, magic tricks, story readings and monologues.

However, there are a few rules that performers must follow. The act must be under five minutes, it must be original and it cannot break any federal laws.

In order to perform, potential artists must sign up 30 minutes before the show begins and fill out a form that asks for each performer's name and the name of his or her act, according to Westbrook.

Nine acts were performed Wednesday, including poetry and story reading, singing and monologues.

Freshman Heather Fleming, who is in charge of the lights for No Shame Theatre, read a story she wrote. "It is about taking a stand no matter what," she said. She has performed all three nights since No Shame Theatre opened in Harrisonburg, and has been a little nervous because she has gone first each time, she said.

Junior Philip Bowling sang a song he recently wrote and played his guitar. "The song is about my inadequacy in light of God's grace," he said. Bowling said he was nervous because he had not performed for an audience since high school, although he has been singing and playing for six years.

Bowling enjoyed the other acts as well. "I enjoy when the actors incorporate humor into their skit because I like to laugh."

John Kriebel, a resident of Harrisonburg, read two poems he wrote. His poem, entitled "A Blah Elementary Kid," was written from experience, he said.

"It is about being a kid and trying to be nice to the new kid in school when he ends up latching onto you and being your shadow, and you basically try to get rid of him," Kriebel said.

Kriebel heard about No Shame Theatre from his friend, Thach. "I liked being able to see what other people came up with," he said. Kreibel said he would come back and perform again.

The No Shame Theatre Web site offers the "No Shame First Aid Kit," which includes original pieces submitted to be performed at No Shame Theatres only, as well as information about other theatres around the country.


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