A short HISTORY of No Shame Theatre
NO SHAME THEATRE was established in the fall of 1986 by
Todd Ristau and Stan Ruth. The first performance
was given October 3rd from the cargo bed of Todd's pickup truck parked in the middle of the
E.C. Mabie Theatre parking lot.
NO SHAME IN PRINT
On April 14, 1989,
Richard Schechner, editor of
The Drama Review
attended a performance of No Shame out on the patio,
and asked No Shamers to write an article
which would become the cover story for the Spring 1990 issue of The Drama Review.
NO SHAME IN NEW YORK
During the 1989 Iowa Playwrights Festival, the visiting guests of the Festival attended a
performance of No Shame. Among the guests was
Randy Rollison, artistic director of the H.O.M.E. for
Creative Arts in New York who invited Todd Ristau to come to H.O.M.E. on an internship that
fall and start No Shame in New York.
NO SHAME IN MIAMI
February 26th, 1993, Brian Rochlin, one of the first No Shamers, established No Shame in Miami at the Area Stage.
NO SHAME IN CHICAGO
October 4th, 1993, Oliver Oertel, the co-artistic director of Moveable Feast Theatre Company
and a former No Shame artistic director (1990-91), established No Shame in Chicago, in a co-production with the Public Trust
Theatre Company.
NO SHAME IN ENGLAND
Circa 1996, a version of No Shame Theatre appears as an entertainment at a "Who's Seven" convention in the U.K.
NO SHAME ON THE WEB
October 11, 1996, inspired by a visit to Iowa City for the 10th Anniversary Best of the Best of No Shame Theatre,
former No Shame stage manager and archivist, Jeff Goode later establishes the first No Shame Web Site
with the help of current No Shamer and archivist Carolyn Space Jacobson.
NO SHAME IN FAIRBANKS
In approximately January of 1998, someone started No
Shame in Fairbanks, Alaska at the University of Alaska.
NO SHAME IN CHARLESTON
In the spring of 1998, Todd McNerney a teacher at the College of Charleston and one of the early
performers in Iowa City, encouraged his students to start No
Shame in Charleston, South Carolina.
NO SHAME IN CLEVELAND
October 2nd, 1998, Randy Rollison, the artistic director of the Cleveland Public Theatre and former artistic
director of H.O.M.E. where No Shame was performed in New York,
establishes a monthly No Shame in
Cleveland to run during the 1998-1999 season.
NO SHAME IN CEDAR FALLS
September 15th, 2000 - Luke Pingel, a U.N.I. student and occasional visitor to Iowa City's No Shame launches No Shame Cedar Falls.
NO SHAME IN AUSTIN
April 7th, 2001 - Shannon McCormick, a veteran of Iowa City's No Shame establishes a bi-weekly No Shame in Austin, Texas.
NO SHAME IN CHARLOTTESVILLE
April 27th, 2001 - Todd Ristau starts No Shame at Live Arts Theatre in Charlottesville, Virginia.
NO SHAME IN ORLANDO
April 2002 - After hearing about No Shame from a friend in Charlottesville,
Heather Lam starts
No Shame in Orlando, Florida.
YES, SHAME!
September 10, 2002 - Students at Iowa City High School, led by Anne Sullivan and Emily Yoshida, start a weekly
Yes, Shame (because pieces must be school appropriate) in the school's Little Theater.
NO SHAME IN NEW YORK II
September 13, 2002 - No Shame returns to New York in a new incarnation
at Performance Space 122, devised by Iowa City veteran Dan Brooks.
NO SHAME IN LOS ANGELES
October 25, 2002 - No Shame debuts Los Angeles
under the direction of a whole mess o' veteran No Shamers from other parts of the country.
NO SHAME IN MIAMI (CUTLER RIDGE)
January 9, 2003 - No Shame returns to Miami
at the Pelican's Nest in Cutler Ridge.
