No Shame was established in 1986 by Todd Ristau and Stan Ruth, UI students at the time. The stage for its premiere was the back of Ristau's pickup truck parked in the parking lot of the E.C. Mabie Theatre. Word spread, however, and just two years later, Ristau was invited to the H.O.M.E. for Creative Arts in New York to start a No Shame Theatre in New York. Since then, several No Shame theaters have sprouted in Canada and the United States, including in New York, Miami and Chicago. One debuted at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls this fall.
People work No Shame into their lives.
What happens once the performances begin is anyone's guess. One never knows what to expect. There is no precise format, aside from the rule that a skit must be less than five minutes and not harm the stage or the audience. There is no censorship, so No Shame provides skits and songs that cannot be experienced elsewhere. Audience members attend No Shame and get hooked.