No Shame Theatre Roanoke

01/22/2026

Hello to our friends in Atlanta!! https://get.org/noshame/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPfS01leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFzZmozRWpGejVtNHNwaEtGc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmOOi5COApAQ_BUMiYWfb8cO2hqLiZyimEwylUAY9ZRWo6Fqs1czOvgkF4sc_aem_kcwlczzyKVV4Gqs8cwpLyQ

Award-winning professional theatre company producing musicals, comedies & dramas for over 25 years. Also offering family programming, classes and summer camps.

08/02/2025

Well, ya dapper theatre professionals, that was No Shame Theatre #6 and the last one of the playwright’s lab summer session. Thank you all so much for attending. Whether you made it to 1 or were able to attend all 6, we thank you so much. There are lots of things you could be doing on a Friday night and we certainly appreciate that you chose us. We had 3 different locations for performances in the summer. The Hollins University main stage and the upstairs theatre, and downtown Roanoke at Ursula’s Cafe. Thank you all so much for being such gracious hosts! We will see you sometime soon, as we continue our process of blooming under sable skies. As always, let us close with a song:

Your love
lifting me higher
than I've ever
been lifted before
So keep it up
quench my desire
And I'll be at your side
forevermore

The order for the evening of August 1st, 2025 was as follows:

1. Sshhhhh, a short scene about demolishing toxic masculinity written by Wendy Marie Martin, performed by Ben Abbott, Claire Martin, Laura Burns, Dana Goss Dickie, and a slew of other actresses

2. Broken Glass, a monologue about being immune from being damaged by broken glass written and performed by the author Dana Goss Dickie

3. Lenny and Blue 2.0, Taylor Swift’s Timeless meets Dante’s inferno, a short scene written by Mac Mitchell, performed by the author and Claire Martin

4. A short scene between Donzella and Gemma, written by Claire Martin, performed by the author and Adrian Lee Bush

5. Cognitive Functions, a ted talk by John Brill

6. Birdz, a scene from a larger work by Neil David Seibel, performed by Claire Martin, Michael Tobin, and lots of other cool folks

7. Ocean of Ink, a poem about healing written and read by Della Wilson

8. Rash, a monologue about a rash, written and performed by Ben Abbott

9. Rocket Summer, a song/poem about space written by Mack Burns, performed by the author, Harvey Stone, ND Seibel, and Adrian Lee Bush

10. And we closed out the summer session with Playwright’s Lab, a parody song on ukulele about the Hollins lab and the mists of Brigadoon, written and sung by the author Adrian Lee Bush

08/01/2025

Tonight! No Shame Theatre #6 and the last No Shame of the Playwright's Lab summer! Order opens at 8:30. Show begins at 9:30pm on the Hollins Theatre main stage!

07/26/2025

And that was No Shame night #5 in the books. We performed downtown in Ursula’s Cafe. Thank you so much for being a gracious host! We are back at Hollins on the main stage this Friday August 1 for the last No Shame of the semester. Lovely to see some new faces perform last night. The order for the evening of July 26 was as follows:

1. An 18th century romantic comedy piece written by Claire Martin, performed by the author and Michael Tobin

2. The first 5 minutes of George’s play, about fairies and puppets written by Eli Riederich, performed by the author and Gabe Gilbertson with Mack Burns on stage directions

3. A short piece about q***r figures in Greek mythology written by Viktor Nicole, performed by Eli Riederich, Michael Tobin, Mack Burns, and Adrian Lee Bush

4. “Ah, Me - Ah, Fred”, a poetry piece written by Mac Mitchell, performed by the poet Fred

5. Purge, a manifesto monologue written and performed by Mack Burns

6. A poem written and performed by Russell Bush

7. A song on ukulele written and performed by Adrian Lee Bush (they’re married)

8. A poem at the last minute written and performed by the person only known as Della

9. And we closed the evening with a third Asperger’s ted talk by John Brill

07/25/2025

Tonight! No Shame at 11pm in downtown Roanoke at Ursula's Cafe!!

07/19/2025

What a fun eclectic mix of No Shame pieces this was tonight. We were on the main stage of the Hollins theatre in a fun black box setting for the night. We had 11 total pieces. Reminder that No Shame will be in downtown Roanoke at Ursula’s Cafe this Friday so please stay tuned here for details. The order for the evening of July 18 was as follows:

1. A scene from a play written by Eli Reiderich, performed by the author, Gabe Gilbertson, and an extra mystery cast member

2. Yawing, a short monologue written and performed by Mack Burns

3. The Forever War, a short scene written by Claire Martin, performed by the author and Ben Abbott

4. Part 2 of a Ted Talk about Asperger’s presented by John Brill

5. Katie Kasey Goes Go-Kart Racing, a children’s chapter book chapter about Formula 1 racing written and read by the author Krishna Balolong

6. You Fell From the Swing, a second monologue written and read by Mack Burns

7. More excerpts from The Birds, scenes from a play written by Neil David Seibel, performed by Mack Burns, Adrian Lee Bush, Gabe Gilbertson, and Eli Riederich

8. And So… She Did, a powerpoint monologue written by Wendy Marie Martin, performed by Claire Martin

9. Lenny and Blue, a scene from a play written by Mac Mitchell, performed by the author and Claire Martin

10. Preacher, a 5 minute sermon excerpted from dun been thru it, written and performed by Royal Shirée

11. And we closed with Never to Go Back in the Shade, a song on ukelele performed by Adrian Lee Bush

07/18/2025

•update•
No Shame tonight July 18 is now on the Hollins Theatre main stage at 9:30pm. The order to submit a piece opens at 8:30. House opens at 9.

07/12/2025

That was No Shame #3 for the year and we are halfway through our season. We have 3 more performances for the summer. We had a lot of fun and we hope to see you at Hollins for Overnight Sensations on the 12th. The order for the night of July 11 was as follows:

1. An excerpt from a play written by Neil David Seibel, performed by Claire Martin, Ben Abbott, and Gabe Gilbertson

2. Glacier, a short story about saving a life in Glacier National Park written and performed by Dana Goss-Dickie

3. New Heart, a satirical customer service political piece written and performed by Simon Adkins

4. Fat Feminists, a short piece about the dangers of poison ivy, written by Ami Trowell, performed by the author and Wendy Marie Martin

5. Spoken Word, a kind of break up poem written and performed by Gwyneth Strope

6. And we closed out the night with a pirate piece written by Ben Abbott, performed by, Ami Trowell, Gwyneth Strope, Neil David, and Claire Martin

07/05/2025

Hi friends! That was No Shame #2 for the year. So lovely to see so many beaming faces under the lights of the booming fireworks this evening. We have 4 more shows this summer so if you have something you want to show off then this is the place and time to do it.

The order for the night of July 4, 2025 was as follows:

1. A dramatic scene debating the Continental Congress between F***y and Will, written by Claire Martin, performed by Claire as F***y and Mac Mitchell as Will

2. The most important thing to understand about Aspergers, an educational ted talk piece performed by John Brill

3. Scene From Argos, a scene between a queen under stress who brings her family back to life and reason for living. Written by Mac Mitchell. Performed by John Brill and Adrian Lee Bush.

4. An improvised tap dancing set to shake away bad feelings performed by Adrian Lee Bush

5. The Interview, a short scene about what it takes to be a new babysitter. Written by Wendy Marie Martin. Performed by Claire Martin and Ben Abbott.

07/04/2025

Hi! Reminder that No Shame is tonight July 4 in the Hollins Upstairs Studio Theatre at 9:30pm. Order to submit a piece opens at 8:30. House opens at 9. Here's a picture of Phil and Mac for the algorithm.