No shame, some gain

February 18, 2010 by Bryant Nguyen 

New theatre group invites you to check your conscience at the door

Jumpstart the weekend with a show full of spontaneous acts and performers low on shame this Thursday night.

The first 15 brave performers to sign up at Insurgo Theatre Movement eager to perform will get the opportunity to act in the new weekly event, No Shame Theatre.

“That is why it is no shame. It’s shamelessness,” said Troy Heard, the producer of No Shame Las Vegas. “Whether it is good or it is bad, it is a testing ground. Something can be complete and utter crap on the page but until you put it up in front of an audience you don’t know whether it works or not.”

The rules are simple: pieces must be original, pieces must be under five minutes, and pieces must obey the law.

Performers and playwrights are welcome to participate in the event and should submit their piece at least an hour before the show starts. From there the pieces will be cast and rehearsed until the evening’s show.

“It’s anarchy,” Heard said. “Like I said, sometimes there is great stuff and other times there’s utter crap. But that’s the joy of it because you never know what you get.”

Anything goes when it comes to the type of performance pieces. Heard has seen almost everything including dancers, monologues, rants, juggling and puppets.

“I’ve seen hysterical sketch comedy, original songs, acrobatics and contortionists,” Heard said. “But I haven’t seen any magicians yet.”

There are no prizes to be won from performing, just a good time with no consequences.

“It is not a talent competition at all, and that’s the basis of No Shame,” Heard said. “The philosophy is that you can come and do whatever and you’re not being judged and you’re not competing. It is a creative environment where you can develop as a performer.”

No Shame Theatre originated in the back of a pickup truck at the University of Iowa in 1986. Since then, No Shame has spread across different states setting up various divisions and most recently here in Las Vegas.

“I just moved out here from Georgia and the theatre company started a chapter of it,” Heard said. “It was very successful to the universities out there and having the students participate. I was very surprised that Las Vegas does not have a No Shame with the wealth of talent in this city.”

That is when Heard approached John Beane, the artistic director of Insurgo Theatre Movement, about the possibility of opening a chapter of No Shame in Las Vegas.

“It was something I haven’t had contact with before,” Beane said. “I think it is a great idea. So when I heard about it, we talked about what can happen in these five minute pieces. It’s got a little danger to it which we like.”

The event begins at 10:30 p.m. and sign-ups to perform begin an hour prior to the start of the show. Admission is $5 at the door including performers.

“Everybody is an audience member whether or not you participate,” Heard said. “There are 15 acts so if you are in an act then you are an audience member for the other 14 acts. You’re in the audience and when it is your time to go then you hop up there and do your thing.”

Expect to see everything that is possibly imaginable and unimaginable to happen on stage because there is no shame in that.

“It’s that vital unsure dangerous quality about it that makes it interesting,” Beane said. “It is an anything goes situation as long as no laws are broken, the theatre is not broken, and no people broken then everything is fine.”