Time: Thu, 01-Nov-2001 01:38:59 GMT     IP: 128.255.195.97

I'll type in the announcements.  I think that's me, Paul, and 
Nick who have offered to do this.  So next week, we'll have some 
posted announcements.  If anyone can find relavent announcements 
from previous weeks, I'll put them up too.

Time: Thu, 01-Nov-2001 07:24:08 GMT     IP: 205.244.161.192

okay, i haven't talked about this with anybody else on the 
board, but i imagine that few to none of us are opposed to 
posting the announcements here. and i'm sure that most any one 
of us would be willing to do the actual typing. as far as i 
know, the announcements haven't ever been posted because

a) this is a relatively recent request, and

b) nobody has bothered to remind aprille or myself AT THE SHOW 
to hold onto the announcements. 

historically, the paper containing the announcements is not 
treated with the same respect as the paper containing the order, 
so it's most likely scrapped after the show each week (i know 
that was the case when i wrote down the announcements). and 
unless someone reminds one of us to hold onto them, or we 
remember it ourselves this week, they won't get posted. by the 
end of the show each week very few of us are thinking about what 
has been posted on the board during the previous week, so the 
anouncements may keep getting forgotten until one of us is 
reminded in person. 

in other words, (i assume) we would be happy to post the 
announcements.  we haven't posted them yet because this is a new 
request and we haven't yet thought to hold onto the 
announcements, NOT because one of us has a stack of 
announcements sitting next to his/her computer and we're just 
too lazy to type them up. 

so please, no more volunteers to type up the announcements. how 
about some volunteers to come up to me after the show and 
say, "hey neil, how 'bout those announcements? how about you 
hold onto them and post them in the board room? then i'll 
remember all the fun things i should do this week!"? 

nbc

Time: Thu, 01-Nov-2001 10:37:30 GMT     IP: 63.95.17.136

You can reach a Violence Guy @ alexander-kimble@uiowa.edu

Scott

Time: Thu, 01-Nov-2001 21:33:08 GMT     IP: 65.210.98.91

Congrats on your no shame and such an active message board.

When no shame started at Iowa the whole point was to create a 
place where people could experiment with theatre without having 
any impact on grades--kind of narrow because it wasn't only 
students who did the work, but Stan, Jeff and I all were.

The really wonderful thing is that the notion took root and like 
kudzu has grown all over the world...well, parts of it anyway.

That the UofI no shame still persists into its second decade is 
evidence of the power of this forum which is defined by its lack 
of definition.  Down here in Charlottesville we say, "Its your 
theatre, make it what you want."

Or, as Evil Scott Smith once said on TV--"it might be boring but 
it ain't dull."

Now that I'm all growed up and have started No Shame in Virginia, 
and am working on getting new no shame cells started up in other 
locations, I put it to you, active ones, what about a national No 
Shame convention one of these days?  Hold it in Iowa City--get 
the brass at the university to kick in some dough, and bring 
veteran no shamers together for a week of performances, 
workshops, etc.  Sort of like the old Playwrights Festival, but 
for No Shame.  People could talk about what its like to start up 
a no shame elsewhere, differences between doing it at an off 
campus theatre versus on campus, effects of admission prices, 
publicity, etc.  I'd love to go to something like that, but 
nobody has done one yet, so maybe I need to get the ball rolling.

Would there be any interest in that?  If so I am willing to pitch 
it to the UI theatre department and maybe we can actually get 
some arts funding for it.   I might be willing to pitch it anyway 
but it would help to have some people on the inside.

If Iowa ain't proud of No Shame, it dang well otter be!

Just an idee.

Toddler

Time: Fri, 02-Nov-2001 00:18:59 GMT     IP: 128.255.55.165

I love the idea.  I'm no board member or nuthin, but No Shame is a 
damn important part of my life, and part of what keeps me in Iowa 
City.  Sooo, I would really like the opportunity to learn about 
starting up new NSes elsewhere, so when I go to someplace else, 
(like it's high time I did already) there can be some No Shame 
there too.  Hell yizah.  
love
-n

Time: Fri, 02-Nov-2001 07:51:49 GMT     IP: 152.163.201.46

I think it's an excellent idea. No Shame was amazingly helpful to 
me as a writer, and I find myself still using not only the 
techniques I honed at NS, but some of the material I wrote in 
those days as well. As I stumble into the world, (ie: moving to 
LA to write comedy), I will continue to use what I've 
learned/stolen from No Shame. Any way I can pass this on to 
younger, more nubile audiences is great with me.

Time: Fri, 02-Nov-2001 15:50:54 GMT     IP: 64.12.101.151

Ok, I think the next step in the process is to start cross 
pollenating with other No Shame message boards.  Go to other no 
shame sites, ask questions, make comments, start discussing a 
national convention in the abstract, what it might do for each 
of the no shames, why it would be neat, and what you think you 
and each of your no shames would get out of it.  When you visit 
other towns with supposedly active theatres--call every theatre 
in the phone book and ask them if they have No Shame.  It will 
confuse them, and that's fun in itself, but it might create a 
buzz too.  If they ask what No Shame is, direct them to the 
website, send them press clippings, generally be a pest about 
it.  Or if you don't want to be too much of a pest, give them my 
email address and I will take over as Top Pest.  (hmmm, perhaps 
TP isn't the best set of initials)

If you go to a town that actually does have a NO SHAME, go to 
it.  Tell them where you're from, tell them you are on No Shame 
walkabout, that you have decided it is your duty to visit every 
No Shame on the website.  I bet somebody buys you a free drink.  
I'd travel to any state in the union for free booze and a good 
no shame.

As to this convention thing--what will we be doing there besides 
wearing funny hats and name tags and singing no shame songs from 
the NO Shame CD as we stand out side the Field House 
chanting "let me in" between each number?

I think a "starting up a no shame" workshop is a definite thing 
to have during this weeklong shamelessness, as well as it 
culminating with the regular Friday No Shame in Iowa City--with 
Best Of No Shame showcases from each of the other participating 
No Shames on M-th.  Of course, all this is contingent on UofI 
deciding this is something they would support, but how 
embarrassing would it be if the NNSC was held in the rented 
Riverside Theatre space?

Let's shamelessly start stirring up the interest, so we can 
demonstrate that its there when we make the pitch--and also, 
since No Shame has been going for 15+ years, we have lots of 
famous alums (some who have had West End shows, been in tv and 
movies, and won emmy's for example--even no shame characters 
like Artie Strongest Man in the World have wound up as recurring 
characters on tv).

I think panel discussions of how No Shame has helped these 
working professionals get work as professionals would be a great 
series of workshops, and the kind of thing that would help the 
department get good publicity and get the Alumni Association 
rubbing their hands about donation possibilities.  

I'm not famous enough to get a free plane ticket to Cedar 
Rapids, but they might consider flying in people like Toby Huss, 
Jeff Goode, Sean Clark, Rick Cleveland, and other neato famous 
no shame alums.  I'd mention others but why make it easy for 
them?  And its not like the Iowa City no shame is the only one 
cranking out people who go on to get recognized for work in the 
profession.  What about Randy Rollison who had me come set up 
the first no shame franchise in New York?  Lots of good work by 
people who went on to do more good work was done there, and No 
Shame actually moved into Papp's Public Theatre!  Zowie!  

A no shame who's who and historical time line of the spread of 
No Shame led by Jeff the Archivist would be a great thing for a 
workshop. 

Howabout the effect of the internet on No Shame, creating 
interaction between audience performers and writers, as well as 
a viable networking hub for all the no shames around the 
country?  I'd go to that with a clipboard and a pencil!

There is no other thing like this in the world.  No Shame is 
super cool, and more people need to know about it, need to take 
advantage of it, and really build the artistic community this 
thing was supposed to create in the firt place.  A place where 
people could come together and learn by doing, where cooperation 
was more important than competition, where the audience was 
invited to become the performers, where anyone could do anything 
at all without the fear of failure be the biggest thing keeping 
them from trying something!  NO SHAME NO SHAME NO SHAME!!!

If we can find a crock pot full of beans and a big bottle of 
Jack Daniels Stan Ruth and I could re-enact the moment when the 
noshame idea was born.  We could all take a pilgrimage to the 
holy site where the idea came into being, staring up at Stan's 
room in the holy tenement at 113 East Prentiss street.

We could go to the Mill and drink lots of toasts to the 
brilliant idea we had of making No Shame happen at 11:00 instead 
of midnight so we'd have a better chance of making last call.

COME ON KIDS, LET'S PUT ON A CONVENTION!!!

No Shame is a fantastic place to we really ought to use this 
fantastic brotherhood of no shamers as a means of networking.  
To do so effectively means we gotta meet each other once in a 
while, right?

Again, just an idea.  

I don't think a snail mail campaign in support of this idea to 
the head of the theatre department is a good idea, what with the 
current american nervousness about mail, but Alan has an email 
address, doesn't he?  (don't tell him I asked)

Todd the troublesome thorn in the theatre department's side--
(Watch out, Mike, Lestat has stirred!)

Time: Sat, 03-Nov-2001 00:41:26 GMT     IP: 205.244.162.193

Y'know what else I just thought of?  What if the National 
Convention was something that happened every five years or 
so.  Only instead of happening in a community where No 
Shame was already established, what if it happened in 
communities where No Shame was just trying to get a 
foothold.  Would that bolster community interest or what?  But 
that's a long ways away, and there's more immediate stuff to 
worry about.  but I say, feh!  Let the board(s) hash out the 
details.  I'm a dreamer, I am.

Time: Sat, 03-Nov-2001 02:55:03 GMT     IP: 128.255.201.213

Hey! Please visit the Magnetic webite to see what Brad and Steve 
are doing. 
  www.adita.org/magnetic
        Thanks a lot
             No shame rocks my world
                    steve (the juggler)

Time: Sat, 03-Nov-2001 08:16:33 GMT     IP: 205.244.161.131

Like a terrier with a wet towel, it's...

NO SHAME THEATRE

11/2/2001

0.5. "O, Brother, Where Poop Thou?" by Al Angel-A Angel, 
AJM River [A uses reverse psychology on AJM; mouth 
pooping ensues; comedy sketch]

1. "Oh, Yeah!  Oh, Yeah!  Oh, Yeah!  Oh, Hell Fucking Yeah!  
Get Up -&- Dance, You Miserable Fucking Bastards!  I SAID 
DANCE!"  by James "Fucking" Horak-M Cassady, A Clarke, 
A Galbraith [actors come on stage and realize the 
ghastliness of the audience; comedy sketch]

2. "I'd Be Happy Just Two Aunts With You," by Liva Poole-N 
Clark, AJM River, A Angel, P Rust, A Lawson [selectively 
mic-ed, performers chant various part of the phrase "I want 
you to just let me die;" sound performance]

3. "The Carrot Kids:  Mystery Solvers Pt III:  CNN Headline 
Blues," by Paul Rust-P Rust, M Thompson, S Heuertz, J 
Livermore, DJ Ruden, A Galbraith [The crime-solving kids 
enlist the help of a clue-deciphering robot; comedy sketch]

4. "Split -&- Hold," by Al Angel-A Angel, A Clarke, J Erwin 
[performers read in round a text that is a combination of 
monologue and poetry; theatrical performance]

5. "Revenge of the Nerds; or Revenge of the Nerds II:  Nerds 
in Paradise," by Dan Hedaya, Nick "Don't Call Me Blue 
Chips" Nolte, -&- Steve "Don't Call Him Blue Chips" 
Heuertz-S Heuertz, J Livermore, DJ Ruden, P Rust 
[humanoid robots make different hilarious noises; comedy 
sketch]

6. "Halloween is Over, but I Wrote a Thing About It," by Jason 
Nebergall-J Nebergall [J makes observations about how 
Halloween is celebrated in Iowa City; monologue]

7. "Love -&- Food Stamps," by Arlen Lawson-A Lawson [A 
remembers the time he and a friend made a surf-board and 
sneaked out to use it and suffered consequences; 
monologue]

8. "Voices that Care:  This Ain't Yo' Parents' Persian Gulf," by 
Spencer Griffin-P Rust, S Griffin, S Heuertz, J Livermore 
[performers play instruments and sing a song about 
destroying Afghanistan; comedic musical performance]

9. "Vermophile," by Erin "Tenacious E" King-E King [E 
plays a girl who enjoys worms but does not enjoy child 
abuse; monologue]

10. "Oak," by T Knapp-T Knapp [T plays a guitar and sings 
a song; musical performance]

11. "ZACTAMUNDO!" by James Erwin -&- Nick Clark-C 
Stangl, A Lawson, A Galbraith [performers do energetic 
mini-monologues on the nature of ZACTAMUNDO; theatrical 
performance]

12. "Dusty," by Bonnie Prudden-C Stangl [C smacks his 
inner elbow and says stuff; monologuito]

13. "Are You Still Here?" by Aprille Clarke-A Clarke [A plays 
three characters with varying relationships to Miya Siosen; 
monologue]

14. "Chocolate -&- Liquor," by Neil "Balls" Campbell-N"B" 
Campbell, M Cassady, A Galbraith, P Rust, A Lawson [What 
would the world have been like if Neil had never been born?  
Rad!  Comedy sketch]

15. "Blue Win and 100 Scarecrows," by Chris Stangl-C 
Stangl [C's character and friends wreak mischief on Harrow 
Field, laying evidence for future/past monologues; 
monologue]

Time: Sat, 03-Nov-2001 16:45:04 GMT     IP: 205.244.161.209

Review 11/2/2001

0.5. "O, Brother, Where Poop Thou?" by Al Angel-The best 
part was that he was reading American Psycho, which was 
purely coincidental.

1. "Oh, Yeah!  Oh, Yeah!  Oh, Yeah!  Oh, Hell Fucking Yeah!  
Get Up -&- Dance, You Miserable Fucking Bastards!  I SAID 
DANCE!"  by James "Fucking" Horak-This gave me a thrill.  
It was o0ne of those "original" ideas, meaning it seems 
innovative but not really really innovative, like somebody 
probably did it a few years ago.  But it had a charm to it.  It 
was weird just how talkytalky the audience got.  It would 
have been fun to get even more up-close-and-personal, 
picking on specific audience members.  But they might have 
hit.

2. "I'd Be Happy Just Two Aunts With You," by Liva 
Poole-Interesting take on the sound pieces people 
sometimes do, how it started out comprehensible, got 
incomprehensible, then dangled tiny bits of 
comprehensibility (but not really) in front of the audience.  
Now if this piece could be harnessed with movement like 
that rolling-on-the-ground one was...it was a little static.  
That would require rehearsal.

3. "The Carrot Kids:  Mystery Solvers Pt III:  CNN Headline 
Blues," by Paul Rust-Nobody clapped.  Well, four people 
clapped.  You'd think this is the kind of stuff people would 
eat up; it's at least as charming and well-planned as the 
Nebergall stuff.  As Paul mentioned when I was discussing 
it with him, maybe it has to do with your relationship to the 
old shows these pieces are spoofing.  In me, these pieces 
resurrect fond memories in a spirit of homage rather than 
pure mocking, and that is pleasing since I grew up on those 
shows and enjoyed them.  I would still watch them if I felt 
like it.  But why, when I can watch them at No Shame?

4. "Split -&- Hold," by Al Angel-If it was as hard for the 
audience to understand any of this as it was to try to keep 
focused while reading this, then that's something hard.  
There were some lovely images in the text, and I admire Al 
for trying a variety of forms, but I fear all the beauty got 
swallowed up.  Did he consider the text secondary to the 
theatricality involved in the details of the presentation?  I just 
wonder why he let his writing take a hit like that.  The 
beginning and end were audible, because Al and James 
did them without anyone else talking, but that's really not 
where the nicest bits of writing were.

5. "Revenge of the Nerds; or Revenge of the Nerds II:  Nerds 
in Paradise," by Dan Hedaya, Nick "Don't Call Me Blue 
Chips" Nolte, -&- Steve "Don't Call Him Blue Chips" 
Heuertz-So strange, so nice.  It seemed like there were a 
lot of non-sequitors (which is not to say non-narrative, 
because this one was a relatively easy-to-follow narrative 
piece with so many weird elements) floating around last 
night.  It made me laugh in its weirdness.  Note to Heuertz:  
your pieces are best when they have stuff in them.  This had 
stuff in it and it was good.

6. "Halloween is Over, but I Wrote a Thing About It," by Jason 
Nebergall-I'm afraid Jason blew his load a few weeks ago.  
This was kind of funny, I guess, but in the way an inoffensive 
stand-up routine is funny.  The voice crack that so charmed 
me the first time I heard it is wearing thin.

7. "Love -&- Food Stamps," by Arlen Lawson-things in 
Arlen's writing seem so autobiographical lately.  I don't 
know if they really are, but they seem like they could be.  Is 
that a crutch?  Do people find his recent writing to be 
poignant and insightful and funny because they're thinking 
to themselves, "Wow, that happened to that guy" or because 
of the writing itself?  I think I preferred the more clearly 
ficticious stuff he used to write because then I didn't have to 
wonder about the above.  I mean, we all take from our pasts, 
but for me what is most satisfying about watching a No 
Shame piecec (or reading a short story or whatever) is not 
the content but the writing style, tone, delivery.  This piece 
could have used its strengths (voice, capturing of teenage 
essence, never getting to use the best line ever) just as well 
in other subject matter.  The tie-in with Chris's monologue 
was cool, but it highlighted the differences between their 
styles, which did not always reflect favorably on Arlen.

8. "Voices that Care:  This Ain't Yo' Parents' Persian Gulf," by 
Spencer Griffin-Country Joe and the Fish did it in the "Feel 
Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag."  Maybe the lack of rehearsal (or 
time elapsed between rehearsal last week and 
performance) made it seem a little insincere.  I don't know.  I 
guess maybe sociopolitical commentary needs to be a little 
sharper to work.

9. "Vermophile," by Erin "Tenacious E" King-I couldn't 
figure out why I didn't like this.  Maybe because the character 
was inconsistent.  It's hard to do a heartbreaking child 
narrator unless you're a heartbreaking child.  The ending felt 
tacked on.  I liked the image of a hand with worm fingers.

10. "Oak," by T Knapp-I never really pay attention during 
most songs because I don't like most songs.  I was 
surprised Tom sang so high.

11. "ZACTAMUNDO!" by James Erwin -&- Nick Clark-the 
high-energy nature was great.  I don't know if the piece was 
as short as it felt, but it buzzed by like a ray gun in cocktail 
sauce.  I couldn't figure out if the three speakers were 
meant to be related at all, though.  At first it seemed like they 
were using three entirely different definitions of 
ZACTAMUNDO, then a couple of them seemed to overlap.  I 
don't know if the performers needed to go into the audience 
(did they?  Or was I thinking of a different piece?)  I think the 
writing stood on its own here.

12. "Dusty," by Bonnie Prudden-it was so short.  I couldn't 
make a synopsis.  The image of Chris hitting his elbow like 
a smackhead/breakdancer was memorable.

13. "Are You Still Here?" by Aprille Clarke-I shouldn't have 
to say it, and it's not like anyone reading this needs to hear 
it, but when I make fun of maligned groups I'm making fun 
of people who make fun of maligned groups.  This has 
been discussed before.

14. "Chocolate -&- Liquor," by Neil "Balls" Campbell-It was 
cute.  I liked it.  So I guess the Sports Illustrated swimsuit 
models Paul was going to have sex with didn't have heads?  
I've always wondered about the description of vaginas as 
creamy, as if that's a positive sexual thing.  I think a creamy 
vagina might mean a yeast infection.

15. "Blue Win and 100 Scarecrows," by Chris Stangl-One 
of Chris's best monologues of the year.  The repeated 
images were rousing without being heavy-handed (the 
scarecrow posture referenced in the beginning and end),  
the concrete details were stirring (Josephine's oil-shimmery 
hair, the colors of wine), the sense of history was evoked 
evocatively.  The other character felt undeveloped (the one 
whose name I can't remember, the boy

Time: Sat, 03-Nov-2001 19:09:12 GMT     IP: 128.255.200.190

i typed in "www.uiowa.edu." 
and oh smack! guess what i saw?
no shame's own mike cassady prominently featured on the homepage.
daaaamn!

Time: Sat, 03-Nov-2001 20:08:42 GMT     IP: 24.4.252.100

There was good stuff last night. But, and I don't know if you 
guys noticed this, it didn't click. Why didn't it click? I don't 
know. I'll talk more about it at the end of the review. 

0.5. "O, Brother, Where Poop Thou?" by Al Angel-A Angel, 
AJM River [A uses reverse psychology on AJM; mouth 
pooping ensues; comedy sketch]

Al, you and your poop! Al, have you done "The Color Poop" yet? 
Or "Sophie's Poop"? Or "Poop on a Hot Tin Roof"? Well, you can't 
now. Ha!

1. "Oh, Yeah!  Oh, Yeah!  Oh, Yeah!  Oh, Hell Fucking Yeah!  
Get Up --&-- Dance, You Miserable Fucking Bastards!  I SAID 
DANCE!"  by James "Fucking" Horak-M Cassady, A Clarke, 
A Galbraith 

If this was "original" only in the sense that two people there 
felt like they'd seen or heard of something similar before- so 
what? There's reinventing the wheel, and then there's 
reinventing the wheel in 1510 in Tenochtitlan, with all its 
amazing and revolutionary implications. Leaving that aside, this 
was a lot of  fun. 

2. "I'd Be Happy Just Two Aunts With You," by Liva Poole-N 
Clark, AJM River, A Angel, P Rust, A Lawson 

I like these. I like that the audience really hasn't a clue how 
to interpret these pieces. That uncertainty right on the tail of 
Horak's audience-centric piece really magnified the effect of 
this, which sucker-punched them perfectly for...

3. "The Carrot Kids:  Mystery Solvers Pt III:  CNN Headline 
Blues," by Paul Rust-P Rust, M Thompson, S Heuertz, J 
Livermore, DJ Ruden, A Galbraith 

Paul doesn't recreate lame 1980s childrens' shows. Paul 
recreates OUR MEMORY of lame 1980s childrens' shows, which is 
simultaneously much cooler and much creepier. (At the same time 
I have to say if someone recreated my memory of, say, Marisol, I 
would punch them over and over.) Paul's brain is an .88 
antiaircraft gun loaded with phosphorus tracers, and 80s kid 
shows are a Pall Mall. He could be lighting much bigger things 
on fire. (I like fire.) 

4. "Split --&-- Hold," by Al Angel-A Angel, A Clarke, J Erwin 

This was pretty. I was up there, so I can't tell too much about 
how it worked for you, Mr. Audience, but up there reading these 
words and hearing them wash into this wall of gibberish and come 
down again into meaning- it was neat for me. 

5. "Revenge of the Nerds; or Revenge of the Nerds II:  Nerds 
in Paradise," by Dan Hedaya, Nick "Don't Call Me Blue 
Chips" Nolte, --&-- Steve "Don't Call Him Blue Chips" 
Heuertz-S Heuertz, J Livermore, DJ Ruden, P Rust 

Hedaya, Nolte. Famous people at No Shame Theater. This reminds 
me.

Jerry Casale of Devo says if somebody buys him a round-trip 
ticket, he'd like to come out and do a song. If you're rich and 
you like Devo and No Shame, you should cough up a few hundred. 
I'm two out of three on that. Why is Jerry Casale of Devo 
telling me this? You'll die not knowing. 

6. "Halloween is Over, but I Wrote a Thing About It," by Jason 
Nebergall-J Nebergall 

Jason's stage character is adorable. He is also a one-trick 
pony. Herr Nebergall is an obviously talented writer with a keen 
sense for what the audience wants- the first-timers every week 
laugh hysterically. They love him! We regulars do too! That's 
why we want to see him do something completely different next 
week. Wow us again. Bring back the magic, Jason. I embrace you. 

7. "Love --&-- Food Stamps," by Arlen Lawson-A Lawson 

Better than actually remembering what it's like to be a kid, 
Arlen makes us remember too. That's the coolest thing. 

8. "Voices that Care:  This Ain't Yo' Parents' Persian Gulf," by 
Spencer Griffin-P Rust, S Griffin, S Heuertz, J Livermore 

Speaking as one of the few No Shamers who shaved at the time of 
the Gulf War (holy shit!), oy. How do I feel about this one? I 
don't know. I felt like the escalation of horror didn't keep 
pace with the length of the skit and the tempo of the song, so 
instead of growing increasingly shocked (watch the fun-o-meter 
go up!) I grew disengaged and came back a little when the shock 
jumped a notch. The thing I liked best as a shallow American was 
the dead-on selection of B-list celebrities. (Apparently Don 
King toured the site shortly after the WTC disaster. Why? What 
the fuck is that? If I'm engaged in the grimmest, most holy task 
of my entire life, I don't want to see Don fucking King. Go 
screw, Don King.)

9. "Vermophile," by Erin "Tenacious E" King-E King 

Didn't gel. And in retrospect, I feel like I was watching Erin 
(not the character, but Erin) draw out the monologue to psych 
herself up to smash it to bits in our faces. Which explains why 
I never really got into the monologue, which is why when she 
threw us that curveball, I didn't get the whole effect of the 
monologue crumbling into the dramatic bit at the end...I was 
subconsciously waiting for it the whole time. 

10. "Oak," by T Knapp-T Knapp 

Cute, sweet. 

11. "ZACTAMUNDO!" by James Erwin --&-- Nick Clark-C 
Stangl, A Lawson, A Galbraith 

Like all the best theater ever, this came out of a conversation 
on the "Internet". Just like Moliere's Tartuffe!

12. "Dusty," by Bonnie Prudden-C Stangl 

Too short to get a handle on. I like that. I'll carry this dusty 
memory of something blossoming and vanishing. Yeah!

13. "Are You Still Here?" by Aprille Clarke-A Clarke 

There is Theater of Cruelty, there is Theater of Please Allow Me 
To Tie You Down And Make You Watch While I Put Needles In Your 
Puppy, and there is Theater of Aprille Clarke. Why does Aprille 
make the audience squirm so much? Why does she say the things 
that hurt? Why does she then kick it to the side and let loose 
with the funniest one-liners ever? Aprille uses our language and 
our shared humanity like a baseball bat on the back of the head. 
I would ask Aprille to marry me, but I don't honestly know if I 
could live my daily life with a brain like that observing it. 

14. "Chocolate --&-- Liquor," by Neil "Balls" Campbell-N"B" 
Campbell, M Cassady, A Galbraith, P Rust, A Lawson 

Holy cats. 

15. "Blue Win and 100 Scarecrows," by Chris Stangl-C Stangl 

Chris' monologues are so good. Someone else will review this 
better. I pass the buck here. 

So why didn't last night click? I feel like the audience knows 
what to expect from the performers. I feel like the performers 
know what to expect from themselves. I feel like the presence of 
the weighty archives and the recent ruminations on the possible 
establishment of No Shame as an Official Institution have 
burdened us with the heavy responsibility of surpassing those 
before us. I don't know. Let's face it- No Shame's critical 
community is much smaller than the hundreds (hell, thousands) of 
people who rotate through the audience.  What to do? For the 
sake of Art? Oh, this is the question for the ages. 

Time: Sat, 03-Nov-2001 21:46:50 GMT     IP: 152.163.207.193

Dude--you actually worry about surpassing that which went before 
you?

Fugeddaboudit.

Seriously, it weren't all that great back in the age of titans.  
We had more than our share of sucky nights, painful skits, 
dangerous props, low attendance, ego stroking, audience 
alienating, and poopiness without any fun in the poop.

Don't worry about institutions until they are putting the straigh 
jacket on you.

We're not talking about making the No Shame National Monument, 
we're just talking about people who have no shamed actually 
talking to each other about it.

Ok?  

Now go to a junk yard, steal some piano guts and a circular saw 
and start a band.

That's the only advice I can give you.

Wish I'd been there to see the show last night, Iowa City still 
sounds like a great place to be on Friday night.

Toddler the ancient one

Time: Sun, 04-Nov-2001 02:11:16 GMT     IP: 205.244.160.146

0.5. "O, Brother, Where Poop Thou?" by Al Angel-A Angel, 
AJM River 
Cute and quick setup.  Good poop sketch.  Let's see some 
more Jamal Butt please!  All the time.  Point Jamal's Butt at 
the people you love.  Keep Jamal's butt alive.

1. "Oh, Yeah! ÊOh, Yeah! ÊOh, Yeah! ÊOh, Hell Fucking Yeah! Ê
Get Up --&-- Dance, You Miserable Fucking Bastards! ÊI SAID 
DANCE!" Êby James "Fucking" Horak
If Horak wanted to antagonize the audience to the point that 
they couldn't help but react, well, he could have tried a lot 
harder.  Sure there was a little reaction, but there was still the 
separation of these being characters.  If James himself 
would have gone onstage and made the claims these 
characters were making, and done it believably, I think it 
could have gone a lot further.  But maybe that wasn't really 
his plan after all, and my criticism is menaingless.  How 
should I know?


3. "The Carrot Kids: ÊMystery Solvers Pt III: ÊCNN Headline 
Blues," by Paul Rust
I had the displeasure of watching "Change of Heart" 
yesterday.  It was almost unbearable.Two vapid, shallow, 
utterly uninteresting people whose relationship was on the 
rocks went out on dates with two more vapid shallow 
uninteresting people.  The show is hosted unengagingly by 
an unexpressive, vapid shallow woman.  If you have the 
opportunity to be doing any other activity whatsoever during 
"Change of Heart"  I reccommend it.  Why am I talking about 
"C.O.H."?  Well, at the end of the show, the two decide if they 
want to stay together or not.  These two decided to stay 
together, and they kissed.  And the humanity and sincerity of 
that kiss was beautiful.  And that's what the Carrot Kids and 
much of Paul's work is:  a shallow extrior not quite hiding a 
genuine humanity and vulnerability.  It's something altogether 
too childlike to be childish.  This time once again, the CKs 
have brought us a piece which didn't need to be crammed 
with specific jokes.  Everything was funny of course, but 
perhaps even fewer specific attempts at humor could be 
pinpointed here than in the shows it parodies.  And without 
being either a laugh riot or "deep" performance art, or 
serious or moralistic or proselytizing or aything, they capture 
my interrest and command their place in the order.

4. "Split --&-- Hold," by Al Angel
There were some very beautiful tidbits of language hidden in 
among the writing here.  The most interesting part of hearing 
this piece to  me, was the way that a single, unmistakable 
gem of a phrase could bubble up to the top of the 
multilayered muck.  The most obvious, yet most memorable 
of these was 'I love you.'.  And It gets you thinking about the 
value of some words over others.  Why should one phrase 
slip right past you while others could bring a tear to your eye?  
I'm not sure what Al's intent with the 3-way deal here was, but 
the effect on me was amazing.

5. "Revenge of the Nerds; or Revenge of the Nerds II: ÊNerds 
in Paradise," by Dan Hedaya, Nick "Don't Call Me Blue 
Chips" Nolte, --&-- Steve "Don't Call Him Blue Chips" 
Heuertz
I wasn'tstricken by the amazing hilarity of anything here, and it 
seemed like the kind of piece that didn't have a lot going for it 
other than a presumption of riotous humor.  It was a bit like 
"Los Vendidos" minus any satirical commentary about 
anything.  The line 'No Dissasemble' was a refference, true, 
and perhaps the value of subtly bringing up a movie about a 
robot did add some depth to the humor, but ultimately 
seemed like a waste of a potentially good allusion.  I'm not 
saying that there has to be a lot of smart-butt overintelectual 
b.s. for something to be funny.  I think that this might have 
been a lot funnier with a simple tweak on the pacing.  I sound 
pretty negative about it, but I did enjoy this piece.  So there.

6. "Halloween is Over, but I Wrote a Thing About It," by Jason 
Nebergall
I'm definitely beginning to feel the ugly suspicion that 
Nebergall is a one trick pony.  It's a good trick, sure.  And the 
man can write some very funny criticims of Iowa City college 
life.  So far, we've seen that writing being funneled through a 
pricelessly hilarious and unquestionably appropriate 
delivery, but I don't think that that style of delivery will hold him 
up much longer.

7. "Love --&-- Food Stamps," by Arlen Lawson
There was indeed a certain beuty to this story of sneaking out 
late at night.  Especially since I as a child had nothing 
interesting to sneak out to late at night.  I missed out on any 
potential for fun like this.  I want my childhood days back so 
that I can fill them with the hooliganish shenannigans I never 
got a chance for, growing up in the middle of nowhere.  This 
was extremely adept at capturing the sort of post-Norman 
Rockwell dream childhood I wish I'd had.

8. "Voices that Care: ÊThis Ain't Yo' Parents' Persian Gulf," by 
Spencer Griffin
Sure Country Joe and the fish did it, but don't you think any 
military action this misguided, destructive and pointless 
deserves its OWN song?  Sure it wasn't as engaging as it 
could have been, and maybe the whole plot development 
was a little too drawn out, but a sarcastic protest song is 
something my heart's been screaming for these days.  And 
here was one.

9. "Vermophile," by Erin "Tenacious E" King
It bugged me that people laughed during the serious end 
part.  That really bugged me, because I was really charmed 
by the strength with which Erin, like Paul was able to evoke, if 
not mimic childhood.  And when the scary serious ending 
came into it, it was made all the more shocking and troubling 
by the cute pretty childlike vulnerability of the former part.  I 
really admired this piece.  I feel that it used a lot of wise 
judgement and challenged Erin emotionally.

10. "Oak," by T Knapp
This song was one of those pretty songs that are nice at NS, 
but I sure wouldn't like an album of it.  It sat pleasantly in the 
midst of the order with a surprising smattering of fairly clever 
lyrics.

11. "ZACTAMUNDO!" by James Erwin --&-- Nick Clark
James was actually wrong about Tartuffe.  What he was 
referring to was not the 1664 play by MoliŽre, but an IRC 
conversation in 1998 between Dutch performance artist 
Tartuffe and English art production team Andrew Andrew in 
which the idea for a performance piece entitled "Molle Ž Eire" 
was concieved.  The piece debuted in late 1999 at the Tate 
and involved Tartuffe suspended by webbing using a paint 
filled enema to decorate a sofa with his anus.

12. "Dusty," by Bonnie Prudden
I do not remember the content.  I remember Chris' awkward 
monotone and odd slapping.  It was unique but 
tremendously forgettable.

13. "Are You Still Here?" by Aprille Clarke
The most interesting part of this piece was the funny horror of 
patronizing through appreciation of her smoke sculpture.  If 
the entire piece had kept up this same kind of horrid hilarity, it 
would either have made the entire piece rock, or have 
established too much consistency for the piece to be worth 
the bother.

Time: Sun, 04-Nov-2001 02:13:31 GMT     IP: 205.244.160.146



14. "Chocolate --&-- Liquor," by Neil "Balls" Campbell
It was sad and totally funny.  I really have to wonder 
sometimes what  Neil is saying through his text.  His own 
character has been called Neil Campbell more oft than not, 
in his NS work.  And why so frequently his work deals with 
orphans or troubled children?  Neil's work never seems like 
a direct reflection on him, and that makes its source, and 
Neil himself, even more mysterious.  This piece sure had 
Neil being beaten up, for example, and in fact was rife with ill 
sentiment in all directions, but this is not an impression of 
Neil that the piece leaves me with.  Wierd.  This is one of 
those reviews that sucks.  Sorry everybody.

15. "Blue Wine and 100 Scarecrows," by Chris Stangl
Fukken cree-pee!  Wow, this was a piece to give anybody the 
willies.  I don't have any real constructive criticism to offer 
here.  Boy, the whole speech to the girl, that he was gonna 
say he loved her or something, how despeate, how sad, 
how obvious and Greekly inevitable.  Jesus fucking ouch, this 
is chilling.  Ouch.

Everybody pitch in to get that Jerry from Devo here, goddamn 
it.  We need Jerry from Devo!  Make sure he gets here early 
so he'll get in the order that night.  Cuz he won't be able to 
come back the following week, as I understand it.  

Time: Mon, 05-Nov-2001 02:25:33 GMT     IP: 128.255.195.97

I'm going to start posting the announcements now, because many 
of us think it's a good idea.  Now we can forget what was said 
at the beginning of the show and have some place to look if we 
hear something important.  I'll try to get these posted on 
Saturdays.

Agamemnon will be shown in Theater B Saturday and Sunday at 7:00 
pm.  It features No Shame's Mike Cassidy, Aaron Galbrieth, and 
Neil "Balls" Campbell.

Paul Rust will be starring in Woyzeck this Thursday through 
Sunday at 9:00.

Seth Brenneman's band The Rockadiles will be playing at Gabe's 
on Thursay, November 7th.

Sam Negron, Tom Kovacs, and others will be releasing the first 
issue of their new magazine, Artex, in two weeks.  It'll be 
available at Prairie Lights, but you can talk to Tom to get 
advance copies.

Time: Mon, 05-Nov-2001 05:02:16 GMT     IP: 24.4.252.100

Todd, bubi-

You are right, of course. I was chewing on the archives and 
feeling overwhelmed. My response was accordingly skewed.

So let's do this thing! yay, Team No Shame!

-jimbob

Time: Mon, 05-Nov-2001 05:44:31 GMT     IP: 205.244.161.118

Close, but no cigar. Agamemnon is closed.  Forever. Seeing as how 
you posted this message at 8:30 Sunday night, one might presume 
that Agamemnon runs next Saturday and Sunday. However, that 
presumption would be incorrect. You will never again have a 
chance to see a production of Agamemnon starring Mike, Aaron and 
myself. I am so so sorry if anybody got their hopes up.

Also, on Saturday Agamemnon was performed at 7:30, and on Sunday 
it was performed at 3:00. Never at 7:00. And it was in Theater A, 
not Theater B. Your Orwellian rewriting of history will not 
stand, Kovacs! Woyzeck, on the other hand, will be performed in 
Theater B. There are quite a few community theatres around, so it 
helps to say where a play is being performed -- not everything 
takes place in the theatre building. Also, the sunday performance 
of Woyzeck will be at 4:30, not 9:00. 

I appreciate the attempt to post the announcements, Tom, but if 
you don't even have the times and places correct, what good does 
it do? If you would like to see real announcements, just remind 
or ask one of us. Did you even read the last thing I posted? But 
please please please, do not attempt to take the burden up 
yourself.  Confusion need not reign.

Balls

Time: Mon, 05-Nov-2001 15:45:08 GMT     IP: 128.255.111.110

In a bizarre twist of fate, I think I'm going to (at least to a 
partial degree) come to Tom's defense here.

When I take annoucements, I just sort of scrawl them down on a 
piece of paper as I hear them, and when I announce them at the 
beginning of the show, I am open to having any inaccuracies cleared 
up then and there.  For example, I received flawed information 
about when Seth Brenneman's band was playing, so someone corrected 
me.  That's cool.

Anyway, after the show, Aaron and I were putting away chairs and 
Tom lent a hand.  I had just been talking to Aaron about how I 
thought it was funny that people seemed so concerned about getting 
the annoucements posted, yet no one ever asked me for them, so I 
said I'd just give them to the first person who requested them, and 
if nobody did, I'd post them myself.

Tom was said first person.  All spelling errors (this time!) are 
his, probably due to my sloppy handwriting among other factors.  
Inaccuracies are due to trying to fill in the details in the 
sketchy annoucements without having the correct information at 
hand.

Time: Mon, 05-Nov-2001 17:31:42 GMT     IP: 128.255.195.97

Sorry.  I didn't realize the announcements were written in short-
hand until I was posting them.  I always assumed that Aprille 
wrote out the announcements so she could read them as clearly and 
accurately as she does.  Next time, I will ask for clarification 
so as not to make the kind of mistakes I made this time.

Time: Mon, 05-Nov-2001 19:05:58 GMT     IP: 24.6.203.142

   Hold on a second.  My birthday having occurred the Friday 
previous was one of the announcements on that sheet of paper.  I 
do remember.  Yes, it was a sort of joke announcement (And sort 
of whispered while the audience was giving response to the 
previous announcement, at that) but why wasn't that posted with 
the rest?  My assumption was that Tom didn't hear that 
announcement being made, but if he had the paper...
   I'm not saying I'm mad.  I'm just saying who decides which 
announcements are important enough to be left out is all.  That's 
all I'm saying.  Like I'm looking at the paper and I, Tom, 
think, "Well, 'the Rockadiles' is obviously a joke name.  That 
band will not really be performing.  I will not type up the words 
that are that announcement."
   That's all.

Arlen "This post has been absolutely worthless" Lawson

Time: Mon, 05-Nov-2001 23:16:53 GMT     IP: 128.255.55.108

It was my idea, and I'm kinda sorry I even mentioned it.  Now 
everybody's all mad about stupid petty things for no good 
reason, and while I'm glad to be reminded when the 
Rockodiles will be performing, I don't think that it's worth it to 
have it be such a big issue here.  For my own part, I'd rather 
just listen to the announcements with pencil in hand in 
order to remember show dates etc than see everybody 
haggling and huffing and puffing for no especially good 
reason (other than an apparent contest of ego).That's what 
I'll do from now on, and if oher people want to worry about 
announcements getting to the internet, then I no longer want 
any part of it.  I do find it rather surprising that such a 
seemingly simple, obvious, straightforward task has 
become an issue.  I find it - in a word of my own coinage - 
"suckprising".

Time: Tue, 06-Nov-2001 00:53:25 GMT     IP: 205.244.161.117

0.5. "O, Brother, Where Poop Thou?" by Al Angel-A Angel, AJM 
River 

reverse psychology!?!  try reverse psypoopology!!!!!

1. "Oh, Yeah!  Oh, Yeah!  Oh, Yeah!  Oh, Hell Fucking Yeah!  Get 
Up --&-- Dance, You Miserable Fucking Bastards!  I SAID DANCE!"  
by James "Fucking" Horak-M Cassady, A Clarke, A Galbraith 

My intention with this piece was not to antagonize the audience; 
I only wished to engage them.  I couldn't really tell from the 
booth with the lights, but it seemed like I accomplished my goal 
to an acceptable extent.  I wrote this "piece" shortly after the 
board-room "conversation" about the audience reacting to the 
Silas Cricky-Cracky bits, and what behaviors were appropriate in 
the No Shame audience.  I decided to turn the tables and drive 
the point home with a 60 lb. sledge that the audience, including 
any and all reactions it might have, is, in my opinion, an 
integral part of a No Shame performance.

2. "I'd Be Happy Just Two Aunts With You," by Liva Poole-N 
Clark, AJM River, A Angel, P Rust, A Lawson 

I don't know if this was supposed to be funny, but I found it 
so.  Sometimes I sit at home and just stare at the wall and make 
sounds with my mouth.  My neighbors don't talk to me much any 
more.  I wonder if there's any correlation.  This piece reminded 
me of that, and also made my brain remember songs by Nine Inch 
Nails.  I think that Trent Reznor is funny.  Which is why I 
laughed.

3. "The Carrot Kids:  Mystery Solvers Pt III:  CNN Headline 
Blues," by Paul Rust-P Rust, M Thompson, S Heuertz, J
Livermore, DJ Ruden, A Galbraith 

I suppose that my appreciation of this skitch would have been 
bolstered greatly had I witnessed the first two parts.  That 
said, I enjoyed it.  Paul Rust's work has a beautiful innocence 
to it.  I always feel a bit younger after seeing Paul perform.

4. "Split --&-- Hold," by Al Angel-A Angel, A Clarke, J Erwin

I love it when words are subjugated to the moment.  When a 
feeling or a thought or place or time is evoked without a clear 
understanding of the words that brought about the response.  I 
couldn't catch most of the words in Al's piece, but I still felt 
a little lonely and lost afterwards.  This and Liva "Clark" 
Poole's piece both have this power, "Aunts" through inane 
repetition of a phrase and "split -&- hold" through the reading in 
a round.  And while I'm sure Al's prose was very well executed, 
I believe that this was a wonderful way to present it and I'm 
happy it was so.  The words can stand on their own, but why 
should they have to?

5. "Revenge of the Nerds; or Revenge of the Nerds II:  Nerds in 
Paradise," by Dan Hedaya, Nick "Don't Call Me Blue
Chips" Nolte, --&-- Steve "Don't Call Him Blue Chips" Heuertz-S 
Heuertz, J Livermore, DJ Ruden, P Rust

I loved the creative non-sequiturs and the rewards that the 
robots would reap.  I also loved the goofy sounds that the 
robots made.  But the pacing was a little slow, the allusion to 
Short Circuit seemed a little overbearing, and the ending left 
me thinking "they couldn't figure out how to end it, so they 
made the robots not robots.  Whoopee."  All in all, it was a 
cute sketch, but could have used some revision.

6. "Halloween is Over, but I Wrote a Thing About It," by Jason 
Nebergall-J Nebergall

It's funny because it's true.  I wish I could hit the nail on 
the head like that.  I've never seen this guy's "Jason Nebergall 
with a squeaky voice" character before, so it was fresh to me.  
Maybe, in future pieces, he could flesh out this character more 
into an actual person that we could empathize with.  As it 
stands, it's just a funny guy doing stand-up (albeit funny) 
about funny things that we're all familiar with.  Which is 
great, but I guess I would like it more if there were more to it 
than that...

7. "Love --&-- Food Stamps," by Arlen Lawson-A Lawson

...like an Arlen or Stangl monologue.  There's a whole helluva 
lotta truth out there to be roped in and hog tied and used in a 
monologue.  It doesn't necessarily have to be autobiographical, 
or even that familiar, but if you can find some kernel of 
reality that can be expanded upon and skewed with a specific end 
in mind, then your bits are much more engrossing.  Arlen's 
writing makes me laugh in the middle, and shiver when it's 
through.  I wrote a piece a while back that I never performed 
(for personal reasons) that started out "a dried rose smells 
almost exactly like a fresh rose, except that the smell of a 
fresh rose has something nostalgic, almost sinister about it."  
Arlen keeps bringing dried roses to No Shame.  They're beautiful 
and fun and a bit silly, but there's always that dark undertow 
of melancholy pulling the narrative along.  Which makes Arlen's 
stuff that much more entertaining.  I still can't figure out 
what you and Chris were up to.  Give us a hint.

8. "Voices that Care:  This Ain't Yo' Parents' Persian Gulf," by 
Spencer Griffin-P Rust, S Griffin, S Heuertz, J Livermore

It made me laugh, and I think that's all it was intended to do.  
If not, then I agree with what has been posted before.

9. "Vermophile," by Erin "Tenacious E" King-E King

I commend Erin for trying something bittersweet, because that's 
the hardest stuff to write.  I think that it would have been 
more effective if  it was memorized, because the stage action 
often distracted the pacing.  The drunken father character could 
have been fleshed out more and used for laughs less, because it 
made the ending seem out-of-place.  I don't know nothing, though.

10. "Oak," by T Knapp-T Knapp

Um, yeah.  I really didn't like this.  The music was pretty, but 
the lyrics were emotion without poeticism (e.g.:  rhyming "I 
sigh" with "I cry").  Sorry.  I listen to all kinds of sappy, 
sad, post-post-post punk music, and I guess this just didn't 
measure up to my standards.

11. "ZACTAMUNDO!" by James Erwin --&-- Nick Clark-C Stangl, A 
Lawson, A Galbraith 

I think that the fact that I had screwed up the lights a bunch 
already made this piece a bit funnier.  And I got to yell.  
Other than that, I really didn't catch enough of it to say 
anything about it.

12. "Dusty," by Bonnie Prudden-C Stangl

Another of those pieces that leaves you with a thought that 
you're not sure how it got there.  I don't remember anything 
about this other than the fact that I liked it.  Which, in this 
case, is not a bad thing.

13. "Are You Still Here?" by Aprille Clarke-A Clarke

If I didn't have the light booth copy in front of me, I wouldn't 
have caught that there were three different characters up on 
stage until about half way through.  Other than that, I love the 
way April can make me gasp in astonishment and chuckle heartily 
in the same breath. The imagery that she utilizes (e.g.: a 
vagina full of aphid-eating ladybugs) is like a weird fetish, 
but in a funny way.  On a sort-of-related note, have any of you 
ever been bitten by one of those litle orange bugs that look 
like ladybugs but aren't?  I hate those things.  They're called 
asian small beetles or something like that.  One of them tried 
to eat my arm today, dammit.  I squashed it, but good.

14. "Chocolate --&-- Liquor," by Neil "Balls" Campbell-N "B" 
Campbell, M Cassady, A Galbraith, P Rust, A Lawson

If Neil Campell hadn't been born, then I wouldn't get to laugh 
so much on Friday nights.  

15. "Blue Wine and 100 Scarecrows," by Chris Stangl-C Stangl

Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick.  Chris says this to me in his 
writing: he says, "Here is beauty.  Cram it in your gibbering 
piehole and choke on it, motherfucker."  And all I can do is sit 
back and oblige.

What's the collaborative secret, Chris and Arlen?  What did you 
want us to know that we can't suss out?  Is it obvious, and I am 
a dullard?  Crap.  I need a nap.

Time: Tue, 06-Nov-2001 01:18:38 GMT     IP: 24.6.203.142

  Nick, my stupid petty thing was said tongue-in-cheek, as I 
thought was fairly obvious, as a joke about same intensity of 
discussion over kind of a small issue.  And Neil's stupid petty 
thing is actually pretty darn valid.  And I don't think anybody's 
mad.  And I don't think it's a big issue.  And I think any 
contest of ego is projected by you.  Up until my light-hearted 
mockery of it and your condemnation, the "issue" was comprised of 
three posts, one clarifying, one apologetic, and one both.
   I think I don't like the way things get inflated on this board 
room.  In general, I mean.  And, on an only vaguely related note, 
I think I don't like the way that people say here mean-spirited, 
underhanded, and unconstructive things that they would not say in 
actual factual life.  It makes me sad because I think the 
boardroom could be a tool for communication and valid criticism, 
which it doesn't really seem to be right now.  Yeah, right now, 
it seems more like a place where people can go all Friskee on 
each other.

Arlen

Time: Tue, 06-Nov-2001 04:05:58 GMT     IP: 208.129.184.164

Rockadiles?...this Wednesday?...not thursday...coming?..are you?

Time: Tue, 06-Nov-2001 20:33:44 GMT     IP: 24.178.150.8

on wednesday night at 11pm in the pentacrest there will be a 
rousing game of capture the flag.
that is all.

Time: Tue, 06-Nov-2001 22:00:25 GMT     IP: 128.255.60.116

Geez, Nick, I think you may be blowing things a wee bit out of 
proportion here.  Who's mad?  I look over these posts and see not 
one written in anger. Some confusion, perhaps, but nothing that 
wasn't easily straightened out. The comment about ego contests 
completely baffles me.  You'll have to explain that one to me, 
because all I see are posts and corrections to posts. Is it any 
different from when Aprille posts the order and people write in 
to correct spelling, or name who was in a piece, etc? Is it 
egotistical to correct mistakes?  

I agree that it's ridiculous a simple task has grown so 
complicated, but even that seems to have been sorted out now. 
Problem: Aprille writes announcements in her own shorthand. 
Kovacs posts them as is, not knowing how to interpret them. 
Solution: Aprille should probably be the one to post the 
announcements. I believe she has said again and again that she 
wouldn't mind doing so.

I don't feel any more apologies or inquiries need be made, from 
anyone. Let's assume, for now, the whole thing has been worked 
out.  Contrary to the bulk of posts on the issue, it's REALLY not 
that much trouble. 

Balls

Time: Wed, 07-Nov-2001 17:05:35 GMT     IP: 128.255.109.28

I am posting this question on the board, because I think there 
are some people here who are able to answer it.  I hope they do.

:5. "Revenge of the Nerds; or Revenge of the Nerds II:  Nerds 
:in Paradise," 

:[humanoid robots make different hilarious noises; comedy 
:sketch]

Is this or is this not the first sketch that makes reference 
smegma to appear at No Shame for two years?

Recognozing my own contribution to the many nights of Smegma 
Shame we lived through in those times, I must say that I am not 
at all eager for them to come back.

This has been your mom, 
--Al

Time: Fri, 09-Nov-2001 00:34:37 GMT     IP: 205.244.162.80

....cut off the end of my review.  I thought it all would fit.  Yah:


13. ?Are You Still Here?? by Aprille Clarke-A Clarke

If I didn't have the light booth copy in front of me, I wouldn't
have caught that there were three different characters up on stage
until about half way through.  Other than that, I love the way
April can make me gasp in astonishment and chuckle heartily in the
same breath. The imagery that she utilizes (e.g.: a vagina full of
aphid-eating ladybugs) is like a weird fetish, but in a funny way.
 On a sort-of-related note, have any of you ever been bitten by
one of those litle orange bugs that look like ladybugs but aren't?
 I hate those things.  They're called asian small beetles or
something like that.  One of them tried to eat my arm today,
dammit.  I squashed it, but good.

14. ?Chocolate --&-- Liquor,? by Neil ?Balls? Campbell-N ?B?
Campbell, M Cassady, A Galbraith, P Rust, A Lawson

If Neil Campell hadn't been born, then I wouldn't get to laugh so
much on Friday nights.

15. ?Blue Wine and 100 Scarecrows,? by Chris Stangl-C Stangl

Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick.  Chris says this to me in his
writing: he says, "Here is beauty.  Cram it in your gibbering
piehole and choke on it, motherfucker."  And all I can do is sit
back and oblige.

What's the collaborative secret, Chris and Arlen?  What did you
want us to know that we can't suss out?  Is it 

Time: Fri, 09-Nov-2001 00:36:56 GMT     IP: 205.244.162.80

I think the last time I used the word smegma in a sketch was way
back in '98.  I really don't remember much from way back then.  My
brain cells have suffered 3 years of college since.

Time: Fri, 09-Nov-2001 02:34:16 GMT     IP: 205.244.160.176

9-17-99.  "Bear Smegma Has Chunks of Smegma in it." by 
Nick Clark.

This is only a little over 2 years ago.

Time: Fri, 09-Nov-2001 05:03:32 GMT     IP: 128.255.202.75

It was quite a rousing game last evening.  well done blokes.

Time: Fri, 09-Nov-2001 16:13:27 GMT     IP: 128.255.107.115

And I don't recall when I did it, but it seems like it might have 
been in the last year or so, but I did one that forced Ryan 
Greenlaw to talk about Magellan circumcising the globe and the 
resultant smegma.

Pardon the fogginess of my details.  

Time: Fri, 09-Nov-2001 22:04:18 GMT     IP: 198.214.101.119

Hello fellow No Shamers,

I'm taking Grampa Todd's advice and checking the other boards 
(actually have been for a while before his advice, but I haven't 
posted much). I'm a veteran of Iowa City's No Shame (1990-1994, 
and I was on the board in '93 and '94) and have just started a 
No Shame in Austin, Texas. We've had a pretty successful run 
thus far, but we've taken a break for a few months for a couple 
of reasons. One, we had sort of run out of momentum as far as 
attracting performers, and two I'm committed to several projects 
in the next few months that were interfering with my ability to 
continue to rouse the troops and bang the drum and insert other 
motivational metaphor here.

We've been having a lot of discussion on the Austin message 
board recently about the direction No Shame will take when we 
resume in January. I'd love to hear what you compatriot No 
Shamers think and would love to hear advice on how to make No 
Shame as kick ass as it always should be.

PS-If any of you happen to be on the RAT theater list, one of 
Austin No Shame's brightest lights, Ratgirl, has just set off a 
veritable conflagration of theater related discussion. Tune in 
here: http://lists.whirl-i-gig.com/mailman/listinfo/rat-list

Time: Sat, 10-Nov-2001 00:52:40 GMT     IP: 205.188.196.33

This is a little off the subject, but a nonetheless interesting 
side note, Mike Nichols, when he was on Inside the Actor's 
Studio, confessed his "least favorite word," was indeed, smegma. 

Just thought you'd like to know. 

Time: Sat, 10-Nov-2001 08:43:16 GMT     IP: 63.95.18.147

No Shame Theatre

11/9/01

ANNOUCEMENTS:

sum Woyzeck, featuring Paul Rust and J.C. Luxton, will be 
performed Saturday, 11/10 at 9 p.m. and Sunday, 11/11 at 
4:30 p.m., University Theatres.
sum If enough money can be gathered to buy him a round-trip 
plane ticket, a member of Devo will come to No Shame.  
See James Erwin for details and to contribute.
sum Dance Gala is happening this weekend at Hancher.
sum Arlen's 21st birthday was two weeks ago OR October 26.
sum Saturday, 11/17, Paul Rust's band My Business Failed in 
Three Weeks will be performing at Theta Beta Potata, 7 p.m.  
See http://www.adita.org for directions.

0.5. "L'Aretino nei suoi ragionamenti sulle cortigiante, le 
maritata e...i contenti poop" by Al Angel-A Angel.  [There is 
no one to poop in Al's mouth; he eats a Snickers; 
monologuito]

1. "Aylah Ugly No Bear Baby," by Jake Livermore, John 
Henry, Muller, Paul Rust-P Rust, ??, M Thompson. [Movie 
critics discuss the value of the numbers 1-10 (inclusive); 
comedy sketch]

1.5 "Grape Ni-Hi," by Jugglys-Juggly Brad, Juggly Steve.  
[Jugglys perform 5-Ball Endurance; Brad wins; skill 
performance]

2. "Thank God for Cheez Whiz," by James Brown-J Brown, 
D Fairchild.  [Two guys eat Cheez Whiz on lots of things; 
comedy sketch]

2.5 "The Pop Machine," by Tom Kovacs, Sam Negron, -&- 
Rikki Honnold-T Kovacs, ??, ??, ??, S Heuertz.  [Some 
people get a pop machine off a guy, then hide the body; 
comedy sketch]

3. "Sibling Rivalry -&- Bowl of Tanted Cherrios," by Jeff 
Kite-?? , ??.  [Guys discuss what adjective suits one, 
whether or not he really knows what pee tastes like; comedy 
sketch]

4. "The Carrot Kids:  Mystery Solvers Pt. IV:  International 
House of Mischief," by Paul Rust-P Rust, M Thompson, 
Boylyssa, S Heuertz, S Brenneman, ??, A Lawson.  [In the 
final installment, Scott finds out it was Bo Jackson all along; 
comedy sketch]

5. "That Impossible Hand Puppet," by James Erwin-C 
Okiishi, J Erwin, A Lawson [That hand puppet is just 
impossible; people talk about it; comedy performance]

6. "Something About Charlotte's Sexual Mystery -&- My Own 
Insecurity Presented in a Confusing Blend of Color -&- 
Noise," by T. Knapp-T Knapp.  [T sings a song and plays a 
keyboard over a pre-recorded keyboard tune; musical 
performance]

7. "Farmer Lick," by Arlen Lawson-A Lawson [A tells stories 
of himself and a farmer; caramel runs as a thread; 
monologue]

8. "A Little Late," by Christopher Okiishi-C Okiishi, A Clarke, 
C Tung, C Larabee, A Burton [Chris can't get his money 
back at the movies; it turns out he's in hell; comedy sketch]

9. "Pardon Me While I Have a Strange Interlude," by Al 
Angel-A Angel, A Clarke, A Lawson, C Okiishi, N"B" 
Campbell [No one likes or makes out with or  beats up Arlen 
because he's so minority; comedy sketch]

10. "There's Nothing Sadder than a Sad Pirate," by Jason 
Nebergall-J Nebergall [J shows a picture of an old 
fisherman and says it's him and also a sad pirate with a 
dead penis and whiskey inside; monologue]

10.5.   "Jesus Christ Powerbar," by Elliot Stapleton, Bill 
McKenna, -&- Seth Brenneman-Boylyssa, Seth Brenneman, 
??, ??, P Rust.  [Cardboard elf/santa cutouts are so dirty; 
sweet Jesus is there too; comedy blackout]

11. "That Was Just Stupid," by Willie Barbour-W Barbour 
[Sweaty drunks make unsafe sex choices; monologue]

12. "Sheep Wool," by Robbie Heath-A Angel, Juggly Brad, 
??.  [Violence and friendship are so easy to confuse; 
comedy performance]

13. "Situated Under the Tongue," by Aprille Clarke-J Erwin, 
A Clarke, N"B" Campbell [A does time travel and 
sublimation; J and N"B" read in unison and do movement; 
monologue/sketch]

14. "A Really Killer Piece," by Neil "Balls" Campbell-N"B" 
Campbell, P Rust, M Cassady, J Nebergall [N"B" hates 
Paul, everyone hates Jason; comedy sketch]

"I Got Two Sisters," by Chris Stangl-C Stangl.  [C beats a 
coffee can and tells about adventures with his two sisters; 
solo performance]

Time: Sat, 10-Nov-2001 17:28:59 GMT     IP: 24.5.238.196

Some weird things happened when I cut and pasted that 
from Word.

For one thing, those were supposed to be bullets before the 
individual annoucements.

Also, Chris Stangl's piece was number 15, of course.

One of the ?? guys (the one who was in the piece with Paul 
Rust where they talked about numbers 1-10, also a Carrot 
Kid) is J Livermore.

Time: Sat, 10-Nov-2001 18:30:58 GMT     IP: 24.4.252.100

Jerry Casale is $67.71 closer to coming up. (!) Thanks to 
everybody for pitching in. There will somewhat more creative 
fundraising at the next show. 

I only review some of these pieces because I only feel like 
devoting a tiny part of my brain to reviewing right now. That 
means that you have to review! Are you reading this? Stop, 
goddammit! Do your own review! Reviewing skills are important in 
today's information society! Stop consuming! Think for yourself, 
fucker! FUCKER!

0.5. "L'Aretino nei suoi ragionamenti sulle cortigiante, le 
maritata e...i contenti poop" by Al Angel-A Angel.  

So funny, this. You saw the Snickers bar, and you thought to 
yourself, "He'll do it!" and he didn't! And then it happened 
again! Ha! Oh, oh, oh. 

2. "Thank God for Cheez Whiz," by James Brown-J Brown, 
D Fairchild.  

About three times as long and one quarter as shock-funny as this 
premise required.

2.5 "The Pop Machine," by Tom Kovacs, Sam Negron, --&-- 
Rikki Honnold-T Kovacs, ??, ??, ??, S Heuertz.  

I was all like, "This isn't promising," and then it was! Such a 
payoff. 

3. "Sibling Rivalry --&-- Bowl of Tanted Cherrios," by Jeff 
Kite-?? , ??.  

Stangl said it all when he said, "The script says pie, but he 
changed it on stage to urinal cake! That means he _would_ know 
the taste of urine! It completely destroyed the internal logic of 
the piece! That's not good dramaturgy." 

4. "The Carrot Kids:  Mystery Solvers Pt. IV:  International 
House of Mischief," by Paul Rust-P Rust, M Thompson, 
Boylyssa (Bill McKenna), S Heuertz, S Brenneman, ??, A Lawson.  

The pick of the Carrot Kid litter! It justifies everything. 
Except maybe the Holocaust and the 1878 Berlin Conference, which 
remain inexcusable. 

6. "Something About Charlotte's Sexual Mystery --&-- My Own 
Insecurity Presented in a Confusing Blend of Color --&-- 
Noise," by T. Knapp-T Knapp.  

If Einsturzende Neubaten had actually been Bjork, and Bjork was a 
boy, and Bjork had the singing talent of Blixa Bargeld, but the 
voice of Bjork, except a boy? You wouldn't sit through that for 
six minutes either.

8. "A Little Late," by Christopher Okiishi-C Okiishi, A Clarke, 
C Tung, C Larabee, A Burton 

The writing was tight, but much more interesting for me was the 
Dan Brooks level of mother-figure hostility expression. Jinkies, 
gang!

10.5.   "Jesus Christ Powerbar," by Elliot Stapleton, Bill 
McKenna, --&-- Seth Brenneman-Boylyssa, Seth Brenneman, 
??, ??, P Rust.

The best visual joke I've ever seen ever. Anywhere, ever. Last 
night, prop comedy was redeemed.

Time: Sat, 10-Nov-2001 19:13:54 GMT     IP: 128.255.107.251

I will make a review.  Short.  Because you are lazy.
Yes.

:2. "Thank God for Cheez Whiz," by James Brown-J Brown, 
:D Fairchild. Ê[Two guys eat Cheez Whiz on lots of things; 
:comedy sketch]\

I disagree when James says that it was 3 times too long.  
More like 12.  This joke ran out after the first 6 or so lines.  
And it wasn't a very interesting joke to begin with.

:2.5 "The Pop Machine," by Tom Kovacs, Sam Negron, --&-- 
:Rikki Honnold-T Kovacs, ??, ??, ??, S Heuertz. Ê[Some 
:people get a pop machine off a guy, then hide the body; 
:comedy sketch]

Not a point five.  You hear me?  NOT A POINT FIVE!  This was 
longer than my "real" "piece."  And the only thing that made it 
worthwhile was S. Heuertz's, which was totally fun 
(improvized?).  Otherwise, the set-up was too long and 
hackneyed.

:6. "Something About Charlotte's Sexual Mystery --&-- My Own 
:Insecurity Presented in a Confusing Blend of Color --&-- 
:Noise," by T. Knapp-T Knapp. Ê[T sings a song and plays a 
:keyboard over a pre-recorded keyboard tune; musical 
:performance]

I must admit I liked the keyboard stuff.  But not for that length 
of time.  After a while, it was irritating, and the vocals most 
definitely did not mesh well with it.  And I'm not sure any 
vocals ever could.

:10. "There's Nothing Sadder than a Sad Pirate," by Jason 
:Nebergall-J Nebergall [J shows a picture of an old 
:fisherman and says it's him and also a sad pirate with a 
:dead penis and whiskey inside; monologue]

Jason reminds me of Stephen King.  But only in one major 
way: neither seems to understand the concept of "editing."  
This mono, as well as the letters mono, would have been five 
(or less) brilliant minutes of joy if it had been pared down.  It 
was a great page legnth idea (with that small font J. uses), 
not a great almost two page idea (while Stephen King will 
take an okay one page idea and turn it into a seven hundred 
page best-selling load of comsumerist frenzy) (You know?  
Forget I mentioned Stephen King at all).  Also, the last third 
seemed really disorganized, which did nothing to help the 
situation.  Yes.  But still, awesome.  Awesomer than you, 
anyway.

:12. "Sheep Wool," by Robbie Heath-A Angel, Juggly Brad, 
:??. Ê[Violence and friendship are so easy to confuse; 
:comedy performance]

A very sort of basic cliche, and for that reason not very 
interesting.  I did like a bunch of little things that happened, 
but they were all stuff that we (mostly Brad) improvized.

Did I not mention YOUR "joint"?  Do you wish I did?
--Al

Time: Sat, 10-Nov-2001 20:12:10 GMT     IP: 128.255.195.202

10. "There's Nothing Sadder than a Sad Pirate," by Jason 
Nebergall
  
  The most entertaining piece came from that prodigy Nebergall 
once again. I'm not sure why but the fisherman picture did 
something for me and i'm glad Jason chose it rather than pretend 
he was the old pirate. We were given something funny to look at 
and pin the story to.  Yes, the idea isn't totally original... 
many people have had their way with pirates. (And if anyone 
remembers the good pirate monologue from last year with the 
audience participating in the "yarrr" making. Might have been 
Neils.) And many No Shame critics will describe it as shallow 
humor, as they do many fine pieces. But Hey! The real critic is 
the audience and this skit took the cake last night. My cheeks 
are still red and hurting from intense laughter. I wouldn't mind 
seeing this again. Is it possible to have two monologues by the 
same writer/performer at best of?

  Amir

Time: Sat, 10-Nov-2001 21:19:57 GMT     IP: 128.255.109.28

:But Hey! The real critic is the audience and this skit took the 
:cake last night.

Well, I reject the idea that "the real critic is the audience," 
but if we go ahead and pretend that this is true, we will find 
that--in reality--Jesus Christ Powerbar took the cake.  It took 
that cake, ate it all, leaving not a crumb for anyone else, and 
pooped it right into your mouth.  And I watched you, chewing on 
that cake poop with the ferver of a five year child who can't 
wait to get to the center of her tootsie pop.

Breast cancer,
--Al

Time: Sat, 10-Nov-2001 22:13:10 GMT     IP: 24.6.203.142

The Story of a Pirate Story, A Play
By Arlen Lawson

Amir - Late teens to early twenties, personality largely unknown
Arlen - 21, total jackass
Al - 21 or 22, pooplover
Chris Stangl - 23?, makes you want to jack off

   Lights up.  There is an online discussion board.  All 
characters exist in text posted on this discussion board, and the 
nature of what they post tends to differ dramatically from the 
nature of what their real-life counterparts declare .  This may 
stem from the fact that they post their messages after having at 
least briefly considered their thoughts on a subject, or it may 
come from the strangely liberating sense that things said there 
don't really count and would have no real repercussions in the 
physical realm, as often they don't.

Amir
Yes, the idea isn't totally original... 
many people have had their way with pirates. 
And many No Shame critics will describe it as shallow 
humor, as they do many fine pieces. 

Arlen
I hate this commonly held belief that the No Shamers are 
pretentious or something.  When has a No Shame critic dismissed a 
piece as shallow humor?  Ever?  Maybe you have an example and 
maybe I will feel stupid, but it seems incredibly unfair to 
expect a person not to like a joke for joke's sake just because 
he or she doesn't write a joke for joke's sake piece.  The 
criticism of Jason Nebergall is not, "That man is just funny and 
nothing else and that is dumb."  It is... well, Al could you 
repeat what you said?

Al
Well, sure thing, Arlen.  Let's see, what I said was, basically...
It was a great page legnth idea, not a great almost two page 
idea.   Also, the last third seemed really disorganized.

Arlen
Right, right, right, Nebbie needs to edit.  You got it, Al, you 
hit the adolescent on the head.  Like a drunk will say more than 
a couple funny things in an hour if you listen to him, but nobody 
wants to listen to that drunk for an entire hour.  Leastwise, I 
don't.

Chris Stangl
Neither do I, Arlen.  Neither do I.

Arlen
Chris Stangl?!  Chris Stangl, ladies and gentlemen!

   Chris breakdances.  Lights slowly fade.

The End.

Time: Sat, 10-Nov-2001 22:30:27 GMT     IP: 172.149.158.57

whats all this about jerry casale?  is there a fundraiser going 
on to get him to come to iowa city?  eh?

seth

Time: Sun, 11-Nov-2001 06:02:00 GMT     IP: 12.75.100.250

I was just lately thinking of the upcoming best of for this 
semester, and it occured to me that sketches from dead week last 
year are eligible. One sketch in particular that I'd like to see 
again is Let's Learn How Presidents Died, --&-- Eat Tapioca
by Chris Stangl. It was hilarious! The performance was great, 
with Chris shoveling tapioca into his mouth with his hands, in 
between the tidbits about presidents. Yes, I think we should see 
this one again.

Time: Sun, 11-Nov-2001 06:03:52 GMT     IP: 24.19.20.108

YES YES!!!  That's probably the funniest thing I've seen at No 
Shame.  Honestly!  I want to see it at best of as well.

Time: Sun, 11-Nov-2001 15:41:32 GMT     IP: 24.5.238.196

Unless there's some weird thing that forces us to change it, 
it's looking like there will be two more regular shows 
(counting next week), then Dead Week, then BONS.  So if 
you have something really great, get it done in the next two 
weeks.  If you have something really shitty, put it down Al's 
throat.

To recap:  11/16:  Normal

Time: Sun, 11-Nov-2001 15:44:05 GMT     IP: 24.5.238.196

To recap:  11/16--Normal
                   11/23--Thanksgiving break
                   11/30--Normal
                   12/7--Dead Week
                   12/14--BONS
 
I don't have a calendar in front of me; this was figured strictly 
on a counting-on-fingers basis, but I think it's right.
 
Also, note to users of this board:  tab + enter posts your 
message, even if you weren't ready for it to get posted.

AC

Time: Sun, 11-Nov-2001 16:36:47 GMT     IP: 128.255.202.75

so... what you're saying is...

11/16: Normal
11/23: Break
11/30: Normal
1/7: Dead Week
1/14: Best of

or is that wrong?

Time: Sun, 11-Nov-2001 16:38:55 GMT     IP: 128.255.202.75

completely looked over aprille's second post. i realized later 
she gave a breakdown of the weeks to come. stupid, todd browning 
me.

Time: Sun, 11-Nov-2001 20:52:21 GMT     IP: 24.6.203.142

   So, not this last Friday, but the Friday before, Chris and I 
did that thing that nobody picked up on.  Both those scripts are 
online, now.  They have been for a little while, really, but 
maybe you don't scroll down on your way to this board room 
anymore, or maybe you have it in your favorites list or 
something.  So maybe you didn't know.  There will not be a quiz 
or anything, but they're there if you want them.

Arlen Lawson

Time: Mon, 12-Nov-2001 03:24:47 GMT     IP: 24.4.252.100

I will be raising funds at the next No Shame, and perhaps the 
next after and then again and just maybe again unless everyone 
pours a lot of money into the Devo fund (viz. last post). He 
asked for three weeks notice, so I'm thinking right now it's 
looking like season opener for January, unless the Board would 
like to pay for tickets and allow me to reimburse. *shrug* That's 
someone else's decision. Yep! 

Time: Mon, 12-Nov-2001 04:14:48 GMT     IP: 64.12.102.27

Is there seriously some plot to bring him to No Shame? Because 
if there is...well, some of you might not remember Halloween a 
few years ago, when I dressed as a member of Devo, complete with 
my red Energy Dome. If course, I'm also a gullible geek who 
watches too much football; and I'm not at No Shame anymore. But 
seriously, is this a real thing?

Time: Mon, 12-Nov-2001 05:16:06 GMT     IP: 128.255.195.202


  I just noticed this now, but I meant to say that many no shame 
critics MAY describe... not WILL. Not that it matters too much. 
But let's blow my words way out of proportion. It's funnier this 
way, isn't it? 

  I enjoyed your play, Arlen.

Time: Mon, 12-Nov-2001 05:33:25 GMT     IP: 128.255.202.75

and no, not renaissance man like danny devito's extremely 
popular "dead poets society on a military base movie." allow me 
to explain...

remember when kurt cobain killed himself? sure, you do. it 
happened on the day i threw my 13th birthday party. on that 
day, mtv decided to idolize/martyrize cobain by playing 
numerous nirvana videos. i watched those repeated videos 
intently. beforehand, i never got into nirvana. they were just 
same strange band my oldest sister listened to. but after 
watching all those videos, i realized how great they were. i 
bought every album and enjoyed them. i still do. yes, i do.

but what'cha gunna' do when those albums run out? like most 
fans, i bought the albums of those numerous bands that nirvana 
advocated and said they ripped off.

i also decided to get my fix by buying ex-nirvana drummer dave 
grohl's new band foo fighters' albums. their second album 
dissapointed me, but their debut... it's still good.

holy shit! what's this have to do with jerry casale?

well, he directed foo fighters' "i'll stick around." it's a hip 
video. if you don't remember it, it had a big, tentacled 
creature annoying the band as they play. 

my point? not only is jerry casale a former member of devo, but 
he's also a pretty cool video director. that's kinda neat. 
right? right? 

(i walk away crying. "why doesn't anyone care?" i ask between 
sobs)

Time: Mon, 12-Nov-2001 06:12:31 GMT     IP: 128.255.202.75

I was just looking at the who's who on the web page and found 
that noah schaffer has posted semi-nude pictures of himself.  A 
must-see for all the ladies!!!

Time: Mon, 12-Nov-2001 13:54:40 GMT     IP: 216.243.220.117

For the last time: Yes. Jerry Casale. Yes. 

Time: Tue, 13-Nov-2001 03:30:13 GMT     IP: 128.255.175.179

Let me start by saying two things:

1) Really strong show Friday
2) Before starting this post, I read the previous ten posts, and 
I saw some stuff about no shamers coming off pretentious, etc.  
I have seen this before, and people always ask for examples, and 
no one ever gives any, and that's the end.  Well, I also get a 
rather pretenstious vibe from 40% to half (somewhere in there) 
of No Shame regulars.  I have no examples.  This is not legally 
binding.  I will not back up this statement.  It's just a vibe 
that I get.  Maybe if people are CONSTANTLY calling you 
pretentious, you should look at yourself and ask "Hey, do I 
maybe think I'm better or smarter or more theatrical than 
anybody who isn't a regular at No Shame?"  

Now, part of a review.

0.5. "L'Aretino nei suoi ragionamenti sulle cortigiante, le 
maritata e...i contenti poop" by Al Angel
--I liked this a lot.  Good end to the series (I think it's the 
end?)

1. "Aylah Ugly No Bear Baby," by Jake Livermore, John 
Henry, Muller, Paul Rust-P Rust
--like the idea of two quasi-famous ballplayer reviewing movies 
(paul sort of looks like orel), and i liked the idea of 
reviewing the rating system.  thought it was a little too long.

1.5 "Grape Ni-Hi," by Jugglys
--very impressive.  i've tried to learn five before, and it's 
nearly impossible.  very talented men we're watching every week.

2. "Thank God for Cheez Whiz," by James Brown
--too long.  not greatly original.

2.5 "The Pop Machine," by Tom Kovacs, Sam Negron, --&-- 
Rikki Honnold
--liked the end a lot.

5. "That Impossible Hand Puppet," by James Erwin-C 
Okiishi, J Erwin, A Lawson 
--great idea.  glad that it wasn't all that long.

6. "Something About Charlotte's Sexual Mystery --&-- My Own 
Insecurity Presented in a Confusing Blend of Color --&-- 
Noise," by T. Knapp
--those high notes weren't very fun, and it didn't go with the 
keyboard. not worth lugging in a giant insturment for.

7. "Farmer Lick," by Arlen Lawson
--i remember it being funny and good, but not any more

8. "A Little Late," by Christopher Okiishi
--one of the best non-comedy sketches i've ever seen at no 
shame. about got chills at the end, it was so creepy.

10. "There's Nothing Sadder than a Sad Pirate," by Jason 
Nebergall
--good stuff.  jason is funny.  and his letters piece needed 
absolutely no editing.  the length added to the humor.

10.5.   "Jesus Christ Powerbar," by Elliot Stapleton, Bill 
McKenna, --&-- Seth Brenneman-
--clever title, clever gag

Time: Tue, 13-Nov-2001 04:59:10 GMT     IP: 24.6.203.142

Calvin say:
I have seen this before, and people always ask for examples, and 
no one ever gives any, and that's the end.  Well, I also get a 
rather pretenstious vibe from 40% to half (somewhere in there) 
of No Shame regulars.  I have no examples.  This is not legally 
binding.  I will not back up this statement.  It's just a vibe 
that I get.  Maybe if people are CONSTANTLY calling you 
pretentious, you should look at yourself and ask "Hey, do I 
maybe think I'm better or smarter or more theatrical than 
anybody who isn't a regular at No Shame?"  


Arlen say:
What?

Arlen also say:
   I have several beefs here, and am resisting the urge to 
number, letter, or bullet them.
   There is a difference between CONSTANTLY being called 
pretentious by all acquaintances and coworkers and occasionally 
reading on an online discussion board in posts made often by 
people who will either not identify themselves or don't really 
know any of the people they're accusing on a personal level that 
No Shame, as a generalized lump, is pretentious.  
   Also, I doubt that anybody has ever organized their chart of 
the worth of people into "regulars at No Shame" and "non-regulars 
at No Shame."  (For the record, anybody who keeps coming back is 
a regular and anybody can keep coming back.  Unless he stops 
coming now, Nebergall is already a regular.)  And do you _really_ 
get the sense that longstanding No Shamers think they are better 
than, smarter than, more theatrical than other people?  How do 
you get that?  I watch the same show you do and I don't get that.
   And, really, what is it about a person actually being 
pretentious that makes us all angry?  I've thought about that as 
far as my own reactions are concerned and what I've come up with 
is that I'm a terrible human being who begrudges others both 
happiness and personal fulfillment.
   But that's a side note.  Let's get back to what you said.  
That's a pretty hurtful unsupported vibe you got there, buddy.  
And it's got a pretty wide spray.  How 'bout you list No Shamers 
you find pretentious, so as not to aim what is a very mean word 
at twenty-odd people you don't intend to hit.

Arlen

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 04:31:50 GMT     IP: 128.255.193.252

I think the fact that one regular No-Shamer (I'm not going to 
name names) regularly acts disinterested in pieces, rolls their 
eyes, and overall displays a disrespectful attitude towards non-
regular performers while they are on stage.  I personally have 
witnessed this the last 4 or 5 times I've gone to the show, so 
it was not a one-time event.

 Well, I reject the idea that "the real critic is the 
audience," 

In addition, comments such as these could easily be taken as 
pretentious.  The term 'the audience' also includes the other 
performers.  Considering that we pay money to see a performance 
every Friday, I think it's fair to say that our opinions should 
matter.  If a piece gets the audience going, grabs our 
attention, and gets us to laugh, I think that should be a sign 
of the success of a piece, regardless over whether a couple of 
people (I definitely don't mean *everyone*) in the first row 
greet it with an occasional eyeroll and a meticulous scribble in 
the notebook.

Also, the way that events are blown out of proportion on this 
board also add to that image.  The 'posting of the notes' 
debacle from a couple weeks ago is a good example of that.  
Although I'm sure it was not intentional, Neil's initial 
reaction rubbed some people, including myself, the wrong way.  
While I'm sure Arlen has good intentions, his original response 
(re: Jason has done it again) came off a bit... haughty.  I 
realize it was meant to be humorous, but it was harsh enough 
that it didn't quite sit well with me.

 Right, right, right, Nebbie needs to edit.  You got it, Al, 
you hit the adolescent on the head.  Like a drunk will say more 
than a couple funny things in an hour if you listen to him, but 
nobody wants to listen to that drunk for an entire hour. 

That's more than a bit condescending.  Let's not forget that the 
opinion of "Jason needs to edit" is just that - an opinion.  The 
general audience perception was that it was a pretty good 
length, and there wasn't much sense to nitpicking something that 
was overall very much enjoyed.

I'm not saying that anyone is pretentious.  I don't know any of 
you well enough to say that.  But I felt that it was only fair 
that someone let you know what impression some of us are 
getting.  Board stuff is board stuff, and I realize that, so I 
place little importance on that.  But if No Shamer X would show 
a little more respect during other people's sketches, it would 
be greatly appreciated.  It was noticeable enough this last week 
that many of us noticed it and seperately commented on it after 
the show.  It definitely put a damper on my enjoyment on the 
show, and when a regular performer shows that kind of attitude, 
it unfortunately casts a negative light on the rest of the 
performers as well.

My 2 cents worth...

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 04:43:18 GMT     IP: 128.255.193.252

Crap... didn't proof-read that... numerous grammatical errors, 
an unfinished sentence or too... and my bracketed quotes didn't 
come out bracketed.

Eh, regardless, I still feel that it got my point across.

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 07:06:25 GMT     IP: 24.6.203.142

Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving
and revolving at 900 miles an hour,
It's orbiting at 19 miles a second, so it's reckoned,
the sun that is the source of all our power.
The Sun and you and me, and all the stars that we can see,
are moving at a million miles a day,
In the outer spiral arm, at 40,000 miles an hour,
of the Galaxy we call the Milky Way.

Our Galaxy itself contains 100 billion stars,
it's 100,000 light-years side-to-side,
It bulges in the middle, 16 000 light-years thick,
but out by us it's just 3 000 light-years wide.
We're 30,000 light-years from galactic central point,
we go round every 200 million years,
And our galaxy is only one of millions of billions
in this amazing and expanding universe. 

The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding,
in all of the directions it can whizz,
As fast as it can go, at the speed of light you know,
twelve million miles a minute, and that's the fastest speed 
there is.
So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure,
how amazingly unlikely is your birth,
Pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space,
because there's bugger all down here on Earth.

I am REALLY Eric Idle

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 07:25:47 GMT     IP: 63.228.160.69

hi eric idle. you are so damned pretentious.

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 07:49:37 GMT     IP: 205.244.161.109

I'll review a few pieces here and skip a few.  I don't feel the 
need to explain why.

0.5. "L'Aretino nei suoi ragionamenti sulle cortigiante, le 
maritata e...i contenti poop" by Al Angel
Nice defeat of the formula.  Interesting exploration of the way 
that the things we dread most in life are the things we miss 
the most once we find ourselves without them.

1. "Aylah Ugly No Bear Baby," by Jake Livermore, John 
Henry, Muller, Paul Rust
Seemed mostly improvised.  as a result, seemed ovelong 
and poorly constructed.

1.5 "Grape Ni-Hi," by Jugglys
Well, aside from the feat of keeping 5 balls in the air, there 
was nothing particularly exciting to watch here.  I got the 
feeling that they really were counting on the audience to 
provide some physical attempts at screwing them up, and 
we failed.

2. "Thank God for Cheez Whiz," by James Brown
Adsurd humor hinges on unpredictability, and this was only a 
list.  Listing creates predictability and defeats absurd humor.

5. "That Impossible Hand Puppet," by James Erwin
See above review, only remove refferences to list.

6. "Something About Charlotte's Sexual Mystery --&-- My Own 
Insecurity Presented in a Confusing Blend of Color --&-- 
Noise," by T. Knapp
As an indie/ lo-fi freak, I am the last person to criticize a song 
on the basis of a technical failing.  Tom's voice was not quite 
up to the highest notes, but you could imagine the song he 
wanted to create, and it sounded good.  This is the 
relationship I have with most of the records in my collection;  
the idea of the song is wonderful, and the failings make it 
human.  Knapp's expensive looking equipment did little for 
his indie cred in my mind, but if I can appreciate it, why 
should I limit it with labels?  I have had this song stuck in my 
head.

8. "A Little Late," by Christopher Okiishi
I was dissapointed by the revelation that he was in hell.  For 
hell it was pretty tame, thougn for an afterneoon at the 
movies it was hell.

10. "There's Nothing Sadder than a Sad Pirate," by Jason 
Nebergall
At the risk of repeating a negative criticism to the point that it 
sticks beyond its applicability, this piece did little to convince 
me that JN is other than a One Trick Pony.  I would sooner 
say that his trick learned a new trick than that he did.  Be that 
as it may.  This piece was the funniest of the night, except 
maybe:

10.5. Ê "Jesus Christ Powerbar," by Elliot Stapleton, Bill 
McKenna, --&-- Seth Brenneman
I want to kiss these brilliant young men.  They do the most 
fantastic blackouts that anyone ever did.  By the end of this, 
capping off Nebergall's piece, I was laughing so hard the 
undeniable physiological changes had overtaken me.

11. "That Was Just Stupid," by Willie Barbour
And then Willie did a low-key monologue about sex.  It was 
interesting and paced to allow easier following than much of 
Willie's work.  It was an amazing experience to see this piece 
when my mind and body were in such altered states of 
awareness as a result of the previous 2 pieces and a single 
beer (which, btw, is all it takes for me.)

13. "Situated Under the Tongue," by Aprille Clarke
Really fascinating and exteremely Aprille without the 
disgustingness or gross ex of her most ev'ry piece.  It was 
my fave Aprille of the semester.

15. "I Got Two Sisters," by Chris Stangl
reminded my of songs like "Older Sisters" by the 
Subordinates, and "2 Sisters" by Ben Lee.  Made me wish I 
had sisters in `stead of brothers.

Paul Rust's old solo album is available.  It rocks.  thought you 
should know.

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 14:40:11 GMT     IP: 205.244.160.92

Hey, wait a seccy seccy second.  That is SO weak-willed and 
weaselly, to post anonymously (I really don't like the feature 
of this board room that makes anonymous posting possible, 
but we work with what we've got and rely on other people's 
honor-always a dangerous proposition).  

Then, to post anonymously about a specific person whom 
you won't even name?  Talk about the height of cowardice.  If 
you're going to talk smack about somebody, at least have the 
ovaries to say who, ok?

I admit, it did get me a little paranoid that No Shamer X might 
be me, because I know I rolled my eyes on stage at one point 
last week.  This was not because I hate non-regulars or 
audience members or whatever-it was because a part of 
my piece that went perfectly in rehearsal got messed up 
during performance.  It was an eye-roll of frustration, 
obviously not a big deal because No Shame isn't expected to 
run perfectly, just a little "hmph."

I also sometimes don't pay attention during other people's 
pieces, but it's not because I think I'm somehow superior to 
them-it's because I'm in a piece that's coming up and I'm a 
little nervous about it.  If a monologue is getting tedious, it's 
very easy to scan through the scripts on one's lap rather than 
pay attention.  I think this refers to the same phenomenon 
Carolyn mentioned in her post:  the misinterpretation of 
vulnerable emotions (nervousness, shyness) as a lack of 
regard for others; conceit.

Now, I'm sure Carly Simon would have a field day with the 
above paragraphs, since maybe Anonymous was referring to 
someone else.  Regardless, the posts impact on my life has 
come and gone in moments, what with the lack of respect I 
have for people who won't publicly stand behind their 
opinions.  I mean, really.  The people who write for No 
Shame stand in front of you every damn week and completely 
open themselves up; not all writing at No Shame is 
autobiographical, but writing by nature is personal, even 
more so when it is delivered by the person who wrote it 
(usually the case at No Shame).  That's pretty sad that 
Anonymous feels free to criticize the character of people who 
do such brave things on a regular basis but won't do it 
him-/herself, even in such a small way.

One more point, then I'm moving on to more poop-related 
things.  (Literally!  Figuratively!  Crap!)  If you sense disdain or 
lack of attention from No Shame regulars while non-regulars 
perform, I can virtually guarantee that it is NOT because said 
performer is not a regular.  It's because the performer's work 
isn't very good.  Most people aren't good when they start.  
The more they write, they better they understand the nature of 
the No Shame beast, and the better they are able to feed it.  
They keep writing, keep fine-tuning, keep experimenting, and 
before you know it, they ARE regulars.   This is a 
correlation/causality thing.  Nobody's sitting in the audience 
saying, "But, this chap is not among the people I am 
accustomed to seeing at No Shame.  Therefore, his writing 
is undeserving of my respect and attention."  It's more like, 
"Oh, gosh.  Well.  This isn't very good, now is it?  Crap, I'm in 
the next piece, maybe I should look over my lines."

OK, quite enough.

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 16:53:48 GMT     IP: 64.113.72.144

NO SHAME SUCKS BALLS YOU GUYS NEED TO GET LAYED

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 17:02:21 GMT     IP: 209.56.113.15

Posting anonymously isn't cowardice, lobbing cruise missiles from 
thousands of miles away, now that's cowardice! Am I right folks?

Ok, now that I have the attention of all you communist shitheads, 
yes April, No Shamer X is you.

I don't know if you rolled your eyes during one of your pieces, I 
never pay attention to your pieces. The eye rolling I observed 
independent of Audience Member A, was all at other people's 
pieces. It was not simply lack of attention; it was genuine 
disgust in the performances of others, specifically that lame ass 
Cheez Whiz crap, Nebergall, and that homo with the keyboard.

I know how much you socialist cocksuckers hate anonymity. So in 
the interest of enforcing work according to ability, and to save 
you the time of writing another paragraph on your hatred of us 
weak willed weasels, Let's just say I'm Nebergall. You all hate 
him anyway.

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 17:02:39 GMT     IP: 128.255.193.252

First of all, that's a completely ridiculous statement to say 
that it is weak-willed to post anonymously.  The general attitude 
I talked about yesterday makes it tough enough for me to ever 
want to perform myself.  If I were to add to that by giving you 
my name, it would completely prevent me from ever being able to 
do so.  A comment is a comment.  As long as I'm keeping the 
criticism constructive and above the level of personal attacks, I 
feel this is completely valid.

While we're on the subject of criticism, yes, the person I was 
referring to is you.  And no, the eye-rolling and disinterested 
look in question did *not* occur your piece.  It happened during 
various pieces, and more than once.  There were times when the 
audience laughed at things you didn't find funny, and I saw you 
turn around with a disgusted look and scoff.  More than once.  As 
I said before, it was rude, disrespectful, and I wasn't the only 
person who noticed it.  When talking to people after the show, it 
became obvious that it wasn't just people who were sitting in the 
same section as me either who noticed.

~~If you sense disdain or lack of attention from No Shame 
regulars while non-regulars perform, I can virtually guarantee 
that it is NOT because said performer is not a regular.  It's 
because the performer's work isn't very good.  ~~

Yes, Aprille.  Statements like this are why people like me feel 
that you come off as egotistical.  Notice how I said "come off 
as."  I just don't like this idea that "good" and "bad" are 
something that are universally accepted and concrete.  I've seen 
plenty of new performers and skits the past few weeks that have 
been enjoyed by the audience a great deal.  I don't think that 
whether or not they're new has anything to do with it.  If we 
laugh, it's probably funny.

If you would have looked at my last letter before flying off the 
handle, you would have seen that I wasn't criticizing anyone's 
character.  Perhaps if you could have taken the post with a grain 
of salt, you could have gotten something positive out of it.  The 
complaint was that no one offers examples when calling No Shamers 
pretentious.  So I offered an example as to why that impression 
is sometimes given.  I didn't say you *are* egotistical, I said 
that your actions the past couple of weeks have given that 
impression.  Like I said, you can take this all with a grain of 
salt.  You can choose to either fly off the handle at the fact 
that I don't feel the need to tell you my name (what good would 
it do anyway?  why do you need that information?), of you can 
look at it from the standpoint that an audience member has felt 
the need to tell you that not only himself, but others (just 
overhearing random people talk about the show afterward) noticed, 
and were upset by the same things that I mentioned.  It's your 
choice.

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 18:55:04 GMT     IP: 209.56.113.15

I apologize; I should have said "communist cocksuckers" 
and "socialist shitheads." The alliteration would have really 
driven my point home, but I failed.

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 18:59:56 GMT     IP: 128.255.108.177

I don't think anyone really believes that the No Shamers hate 
Nebergall, and I don't see any point in dragging his name 
into this.  That would just create unnecessary problems.

And Aprille, after giving some more thought to your message 
about anonymity, I came up with some more thoughts.  
Firstly, anonymity can be used for two purposes on this 
board.  One of those is to deliver constructive criticism 
without causing that person to feel uncomfortable should 
they ever decide to write a skit.  The other is what you see 
above.  I hope you realize the difference.  In addition, I see no 
reason, in my case, to tell you my name, my address, my 
social security number, the name of my cat, etc., just 
because I decided to add to an ongoing discussion.  You 
could have remained anonymous in the situation by just 
reading my post and taking from it what you felt was valid, but 
you *chose* to forfeit that.  In addition, I have never been told 
by anyone that my actions during a performance were 
distracting and/or disrespectful to the performers.  I blend in 
with the audience.  If something is funny, I laugh.  If 
something is serious, I pay attention.  Should that ever 
change, and my behavior cause someone else to lose their 
enjoyment of the show, then I would no longer have any 
reason to be "anonymous."  What I noticed with you was a 
specific attitude and specific actions caused by a specific 
person.  If it was something that was being done by 
numerous people, I would have stated it as such.   But I felt 
there was no need to generalize a specific situation.

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 19:08:57 GMT     IP: 209.56.113.15

It's cool how we anons always post at the same time.

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 19:47:06 GMT     IP: 63.95.18.98

OK, so my first reaction was to get angry and defensive and 
say, "In the old days of No Shame Theatre, the audience 
threw bottles at performers they didn't like or whose work 
they didn't like.  By comparison, the occasional eye-roll, 
snort, or other communication of dislike seems relatively 
benign."

And, as if by magic, I just did.

On the other hand, I've been thinking a lot lately about how 
criticizing people's character is a fruitless activity, because 
they never get the point that some actual improvement might 
be needed and they just get mad and defensive.  I don't 
want to be a person like that.

So, in the spirit of self-improvement, I thank you, Anonymous 
Audience Member.  I was genuinely unaware that my 
actions were causing people discomfort, and I will seek to 
modify these actions in the future.  When I'm at No Shame, 
I'm sitting with my friends (insert obligatory "you have 
friends?" joke), and sometimes I forget that I'm not Tom 
Servo in MST3K, free to express whatever reaction I feel 
without consequence to others.  More than anything, I 
suppose I'm thinking, "Wow, cool Chris Stangl/James 
Erwin/Alyssa Bowman/Arlen Lawson probably didn't like that 
joke.  I bet if (s)he sees that I didn't like it either, (s)he'll see 
how smart I am and invite me to lots of parties."  This is 
lame and exists purely in my insecure, lameass 
subconscious.

I also forget that not everyone is a natural exhibitionist, and 
it's very emotionally risky for some people to perform.  I 
guess it's pretty shitty for me to publicly encourage new 
writers to perform, then turn around and behave in a way 
that contradicts that.

For what it's worth, I liked Nebergall's piece this week, and if 
I acted disdainfully toward it or him, I didn't mean to.  I hope 
whoever noticed that just misinterpreted my actions.  

A personal note to you, Anonymous Audience Member:  will 
you please introduce yourself to me on Friday?  I'm not mad 
anymore, and I certainly won't be on Friday.  You really did 
make me rethink my own behavior, and it would be nice to 
know who you are.  And don't worry, this is not an ambush.  
All my friends are little art weinies.  In a good way.

AC  

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 21:50:41 GMT     IP: 64.113.72.144

Aprille is the Very Important Person of the day. Aprille is cool.

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 22:19:50 GMT     IP: 24.4.252.100

Wow, so that's a lot to read, huh kids?

Anyhow. I really have to second the comments of Carolyn, first 
off. As much as I try to be giddy and outgoing on Friday nights, 
mostly I'm off in lala land. So that said.

Is No Shame a clique? We honestly do try not to be. Back in the 
days when I was starting out at No Shame, whew! look out! It was 
months before I was invited out to The Mill by the secret No 
Shame Club. Not 21? Too dang bad. Now, we all go out to Village 
Inn. And yes, you are invited to come out to the Village Inn. I 
promise we're nice people. We share pancakes. We includes you, 
especially if you have spare pancakes. Pancakes are yummy. 

I would like to inject a personal note here. My criticism, 
especially last week, has been getting away from what it should 
be, namely constructive. If you read this and you think I hate 
you, I don't. Re-reading, I realize that I have written 
discouraging things about some very promising new performers. I 
admire your guts, I admire your talent, and I do want you to 
come back. I think about how I hang on every word in this room 
for criticism of my pieces, and how much it sucks to get panned. 
I feel bad about passing that feeling around just so I can feel 
witty for a few minutes. So, my apologies for that. From here on 
out, I will do everything in my power to inject some balance 
back into what I say about the performances of others.

yep.

Jimmy.

Time: Wed, 14-Nov-2001 23:05:34 GMT     IP: 128.255.175.179

If I had known everyone was going to get so mad, I would never 
have mentioned anything.  I'm really not all that worried about 
people being pretentious.  I was just backing up Amir's claim 
(about 47 posts back) about a general vibe that seems to be out 
there, and something that a few people have noticed.  It's way 
not worth getting bent out of shape over (this is directed at 
anonymous audience member).  By the way, audience member, you 
can say bad things and they still let you perform, as long as 
you're in line early enough, so quit worrying about that. 

Life is just way too short to have such lengthy web debates. For 
the record, I never noticed Aprille looking all disgusted or 
whathaveyou.  But I was in the back row last week, so maybe she 
did.  It's not important.  She's been nice to me when I've met 
her, and I'm going off that. 

Alright, I'm outie, 
Cal

Time: Thu, 15-Nov-2001 00:29:54 GMT     IP: 128.255.107.230

Can I not leave you kids alone for a few day?  Jesus Christ.

Okay, so I'm posting to clarify a point that I feel was 
misunderstood a while back.  I would have done this sooner, but I 
only just read all of this shit now.

When I say:
:Well, I reject the idea that "the real critic is the 
:audience," 

I am not suggesting that the opinions of those in the audience do 
not matter.  Or that these opinions cannot be turned into 
criticisms which can be contructive.  What I am saying is that if 
one works only to please the audience (which was what I felt that 
phrase implied), one is only pandering.  Which is boring as hell 
to watch, and I think that everyone feels that on some level.  

:Considering that we pay money to see a performance 
:every Friday, I think it's fair to say that our opinions should 
:matter.  

There is a part of me that just can't let this statement alone.  
No one's opinions should matter because they pay money.  Do you 
see how fucked up the world is right now (and has been for 
countless years upon years)?  This is partly because the opinions 
of people with money (large quantities, in this case) are taken 
way too seriously by way too many people.  An audience's member's 
opinion should matter because it is honest and valid.  And by 
valid, I more or less mean "qualified."  Is there a well 
concieved reason for this opinion?  Then it is valid.  A very 
smart person once told me, "Every person is entitled to their 
opinion and to able to express that opinion.  However, with that 
entitlement comes the responsibility to explain oneself."  And I 
agree with this.  It is not enough to say "this is not very 
good," one needs to explain why.

And you know...?  Somehow, I've come around to my big complaint 
with the "reviewing" that goes on around this message board.  Few 
people ever try to say something contructive along with their 
opinion of a piece.  Maybe I don't do such a great review myself, 
but this is why I only reviewed a very small number of pieces.  I 
only had things to say--which I felt to be helpful in any way--
about those.

:Jason needs to edit" is just that - an opinion.  
:there wasn't much sense to nitpicking something that 
:was overall very much enjoyed.

You're damn right that's an opinion.  That's all any of us have.  
And of course there is sense to critiquing something that went 
over well--to encourage the writers and performers to continue to 
better themselves.  For a creative person not to grow is a kind 
of death (one that often results in a great deal of pandering).

All of this stuff was written a long time ago, and know none of 
you care, but damn it, I have no life to speak of.  So there.

I bleached a man's hair, just to watch him dye,
--Al

Time: Thu, 15-Nov-2001 01:36:45 GMT     IP: 128.255.193.252

~ :Well, I reject the idea that "the real critic is the 
:audience," 

I am not suggesting that the opinions of those in the audience do 
not matter.  Or that these opinions cannot be turned into 
criticisms which can be contructive.  What I am saying is that if 
one works only to please the audience (which was what I felt that 
phrase implied), one is only pandering.  Which is boring as hell 
to watch, and I think that everyone feels that on some level. ~

Yes, but we as an audience are not sheep.  If someone is 
pandering to us for laughs, with all due respect, I think that we 
are intelligent enough to respond to that in kind.  I reject the 
idea that we are sheep, that's all.  Besides, if the real critic 
isn't the audience, who is?  That question alone sets up some 
sort of hierarchy.

~ Considering that we pay money to see a performance 
:every Friday, I think it's fair to say that our opinions should 
:matter.  

There is a part of me that just can't let this statement alone.  
No one's opinions should matter because they pay money.  Do you 
see how fucked up the world is right now (and has been for 
countless years upon years)?  This is partly because the opinions 
of people with money (large quantities, in this case) are taken 
way too seriously by way too many people. ~

Wow, that's certainly a complete distraction from the 
conversation.  Take a second to think about what you just said.  
First of all, I scour my room for loose change every week just to 
find a buck for Friday's show.  So I don't hardly see the 
comparison between myself and Bill Gates.  Bill Gates has power 
because he has a lot of money.  I mentioned that I pay a dollar 
to see No Shame every week.  (I might add that it's well worth my 
money.  I even donated to the Devo cause.)  Let's try and keep 
the scope of this discussion outside of Intro to Poli Sci mode.

~ :Jason needs to edit" is just that - an opinion.  
:there wasn't much sense to nitpicking something that 
:was overall very much enjoyed.

You're damn right that's an opinion. ~

My point exactly.  It was presented in a factual sense, which is 
the only reason I said anything.  I really wish that you had 
actually read the words that I wrote, instead of making 
inferences.

~ For a creative person not to grow is a kind of death (one that 
often results in a great deal of pandering).  ~

Yes, as someone who faces and deals with this dilemma every 
single day, I understand.  I'm just saying that just because a 
couple people think he (or anyone else, for that matter) needs to 
edit means that it would be "best for him" as an artist or 
whatnot.  On the flip side, the opposite is also true.  It's 
ultimately a decision that he (or whoever) needs to make on their 
own.

And for Calvin, I hardly think that I have flown off the handle 
or anything else.  If I didn't enjoy the show, I'd just stop 
coming.  I'm just offering my opinions.  Everyone is free to take 
from them what they choose.

Time: Thu, 15-Nov-2001 01:58:19 GMT     IP: 128.255.193.252

In case you haven't gotten it, I dropped you an e-mail (at your 
university account).  I thought it would be better to respond 
there.

Time: Thu, 15-Nov-2001 02:28:17 GMT     IP: 24.4.252.101

AL: Absurd cockatrice! Preening ballast! Purest bosh and petty 
trifles!

JAMAL: Truth, I say!

AL: Truth, you say! Truth is a mirror held before the heart of 
man! A splendour and triumph wrested from the bosoms of Heaven! 
a treasure of crystal regard and delirious fragrance! What you 
offer, sir, is no truth, but a ruffian's gilded shite!

JAMAL: A ruffian I may judge myself, but gilded or not thou must 
tell me!

Jamal, sirrah! Drop thy trousers and present for regard thy 
fundament!

AL: NAAAAAAY!

Time: Thu, 15-Nov-2001 02:29:04 GMT     IP: 205.244.161.230

It is easy for people who have performed at NS for a year or 
more to forget that the first three pieces or so that a 
performer performs at No SHame can be really killer.  I think 
there's a tendancy to think "Well, we're all so nice and friendly 
and this is such a warm, welcoming environment in which to 
do performance art/ jokes/ monologues/ puke in a jar."  But 
when you're new, it's not.  All the other people who do shit are 
not yet your friends.  They're a lot of strangers who don't know 
or care much about you yet.  That is really tough.  The best 
way to get over it?  Get to know those people.  It might take 
slightly more effort than usual, since most of them are really 
nerdy and shy, but they are also genuinely nice, helpful and 
generous people.  Regulars, think hard about your very first 
NS piece.  I was sooo nervous.  Nowadays, the NS stage is 
pretty comfortable to me.  It's a responsibility of those who 
are comfortable performing at NS to take into account the 
level of discomfort a first timer must be experiencing.  It's 
also a responsibility to take first timers' uneasiness into 
account when reviewing on the web board.  This doesn't 
mean avoid telling a first timer about weaknesses in 
her/his/its piece, it means you have a responsibility not to be 
discouraging. Everyone has a responsibility to not be 
discouraging.  Unless we're discouraging lynchings or 
something.  But I think you all understand what I mean.  If not, 
or if you disagree, please email me, and we'll talk.

love
-n

Time: Thu, 15-Nov-2001 02:38:44 GMT     IP: 128.255.107.230

:Besides, if the real critic isn't the audience, who is?

The writers and performers have the last say in what they do.  
For that reason, and by necessity, they must be the real critics 
of their work.  Otherwise, growth is not possible.

:I'm just saying that just because a 
:couple people think he (or anyone else, for that matter) needs 
:to edit means that it would be "best for him" as an artist or 
:whatnot.  On the flip side, the opposite is also tru