Eugene Weekly : Theater : 8.25.11

 

From Bananas to Zombies

Already, by 7:30 sharp, there are seven people signed up to perform. All-inclusive theatre group No Shame Eugene has opened the door for its monthly Friday night show, and literally anything can happen on the stage this night.

At the deadline half an hour later, there are 13 groups signed up for a five-minute performing slot. A little short of the usual 15, but numbers aren’t really the point. “It’s supposed to be an open forum,” says No Shame coordinator Jacob Boyd. “It’s a community.”

The Aug. 5 show kicks off with local musician Ted Czuk, who plays folky tunes for an attentive crowd. No Shame performs the first Friday of every month in the downtown Atrium building, in front of an audience seated in chairs hauled in from a nearby conference room. Despite the makeshift surroundings, the feeling of being in a theatre isn’t hard to conjure.

The family-friendly acts were heavy on monologues, which made up four out of the nine acts. But the soliloquies were broken up by performance pieces like that by first-timer Janet Snyder, who read her poem “Just Fly Me.” Martin the Mime’s bit, “Just A Little Nip,” accompanied by the music of Billie Holiday, was just plain adorable.

When the Jaws theme sounded, the more risqué acts hit the boards. As the title character in “Ask A Viking,” Jesse Wells earned the most laughs for his R-rated answers to audience-written questions. “Apocalyptic Zombie Pranksters” wrapped things up with the epic line, “Screw you guys, I hate this apocalypse!”

The atmosphere after the show was light and friendly. The night was still young. And there’s nothing like watching a skit about insane gas attendants to really loosen a person up. — Brit McGinnis

No Shame performs the first Friday of every month at 8 pm at the downtown Atrium Building, 99 W. 10th Ave.; info at www.facebook.com/noshameeugene