Tamathy Christensen takes count of what needs to be worked on tonight.
“Everyone gets 10 minutes on the clock,” she said.
The workshop begins with 9-year-old Ama Mykyta’s script, which appears to be a continuation of the final Harry Potter book. Then, Fred Roellig, 48, presents his piece about homeless people in Eugene. After Roellig, Mike Anderson presents a skit based on current events. After rehearsing for ten minutes, he gets feedback from a group member that it might be too soon to bring up the recent shooting in Colorado.
The group debates this comment and after a few moments Anderson said, “That’s raw, but it’s No Shame.”@@you have no idea, dude@@
Thursday nights in Eugene, the acting group known as No Shame Eugene meets for their weekly workshop. Two of the four founders of the Eugene No Shame, Christensen and Anderson, set up black curtains and chairs. A large sign reads, “No Shame Eugene: 3 Rules.”
1) All works must be original,
2) Don’t break anything, including the law
3) Five minutes and lights out!
No Shame is a theater group founded 25 years ago at the University of Iowa by students who were tired of the competition to get their work on stage and having to contend against their friends. Iowa had an elite playwright group, and the No Shame founders wanted to create a group where everyone had a chance to write and perform.
On why the group is called No Shame, Christensen said, “We’re not a heckler’s theater … The timer is the only judge, and that’s only on time. We want people to feel like anything they have we want to see. There’s no shame; you don’t have to feel embarrassed.”
Co-founder of No Shame Eugene, Jeff Geiger, attended the University of Iowa and participated in No Shame there in 2000.
“It was great to write a five-minute piece and see it on stage a week later,” Geiger said. “I came back to Oregon, and at a writing group, someone showed up wanting to recruit writers to make a local No Shame.”
That someone was Tamathy Christensen. Before moving to Eugene, she had been apart of a No Shame group in Roanoke, Va., with one of the original founders from the University of Iowa.
“The acts were really varied like No Shame here,” Christensen said. “Some were amazing, and I couldn’t believe such talent was in my town, and then others were really goofy. That’s the way No Shame is: Everybody can play, no matter what you do or how practiced you are.”
Now on Thursday nights, 15-20 people meet once a week to rehearse anything from short plays and stand up to political rants. Dale Light performs his serious piece on running out of the mysterious “it” with Christensen and fellow No Shamer Mark Larson. They are followed by Howard Falk, rehearsing a David Sedaris-like story of how his dad proposed to his mom at a B-Horror film.
The group may joke and tease one other, but they take each other’s work extremely seriously. Some members show up with written pieces in need of actors; one teen attending his first meeting is immediately drawn into the group as he is asked to play one of Roellig’s homeless characters.
The group rehearses for their monthly performance, held during the Lane Arts Council’s First Friday Artwalk.
“We take the first 15 acts that come in the door,” Christensen said. “Even if it’s something that’s been rehearsed here, that doesn’t mean it will make it in the show. We just take the first 15.”
At 7:30 p.m., they organize the show into the kid-friendly first half and the more adult second half. Sometimes, people show up that the group has never seen, and they get to perform. One aspect of No Shame Eugene that is unlike some other No Shame chapters around the nation is that participation and admission is free. This allows No Shame Eugene to bring together people from all over the community.
“We‘ve had homeless come and be part,” Anderson said. “We had a few guys that used to go over to the library to write their scripts. Anybody can be part.”
The spirit of No Shame is that everyone can play, but you only get five minutes, and then you’re done.
“If it’s really bad, you can make it through five minutes of it,” Christensen said. “And if it’s really good, then you’ll leave them wanting more.”
Getting involved in No Shame is easy. “The way No Shame works, you get pulled into every aspect,” Geiger said. “If you’re an audience member, it’s only a matter of time before you get pulled on stage. And if you’re a writer, it’s only a matter of time before someone hands you a script.”
No Shame Eugene’s next performance will be Aug. 3 at the Atrium. Price of admission is of course free and the show will start at 7:30 p.m.; winners of Eugene Weekly’s Next Big Thing Betty and the Boy will open for the acting group. Their workshops are every Thursday night at 7:30 p.m., held in the offices of the new Lord Leebrick Theater at 174 W. Broadway. Check out No Shame Eugene’s past performances on their Facebook page.