Born more than 18 years ago at the University of Iowa, No Shame Theatre was designed as an alternative venue for writers, actors, and other artists to push the edge of their craft, to try something new. The open performance venue carried the motto "Dare to Fail" (but try not to) as an encouragement for artists to develop the most innovative, exciting, work possible.

The first show was held in the theatre building parking lot. The back of a green pickup truck served as the stage, and a motorcycle headlamp providing the lighting. Between each act, the motorcycle would rev alongside the applause in order to keep its battery charged. High quality, low production values ruled, as scripts were (and are) frequently first rehearsed less than an hour before show time.

Now in its 18th season at Iowa, No Shame still attracts packed houses every Friday night at 11:00 pm. Meanwhile, No Shames have cropped up across the nation. Shows have appeared at The Public and PS 122 in New York City; in Miami's South Beach (where it was voted "Best Alternative Theatre Venue" by Miami's New Times); in Chicago, Austin, Orlando, Cleveland, Alaska, Charlottesville, Virginia, and other cities across the country. And No Shame Theatre premiered last year in Portland, Oregon, making it the fourteenth active chapter in the country.

No Shame has been featured in TDR (The Drama Review), The Miami Herald, New York Times, Orlando Sentinel, Austin Chronicle, Iowa Press Citizen, New Times, and other major local and national publications.

It has been the subject of Masters' Theses, news reports, parody, imitators, and more. And just last summer, No Shame was invited to perform at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. We've been invited back again this year.

Actors who worked in No Shame Theatre have gone on to star in feature films, network and cable television series, nationally broadcast soap operas, Off-Broadway, and more. No Shame writers have written major feature films, been staffed on numerous television shows, and created series, as well as award winning plays; they've won Emmys and Obies and other major national awards.