For most of us the awkward creations of our adolescence are safely tucked away in the back of a closet or in the deep reaches of the attic. We stumble upon these relics while packing or spring-cleaning, we laugh, cringe, reminisce and then tuck our creations back in the boxes where they live. Then there are the few among us who drag out old journals, letters, poems, lyrics, plays, home movies, and art and present them publicly. Welcome to the world of Mortified, a hybrid of stand up comedy, performance art and show and tell; a meeting of comedy and catharsis.
It all began in the late 1990s when founder Dave Nadelberg stumbled upon an awkward old love letter and began sharing with friends. In 2002 Nadelberg and co-producer Neil Katcher formalized the project as Mortified, which now boosts 9 chapters including Los Angles, New York, Chicago, Austin and even Maimo, Sweden.
The Austin Chapter’s latest performance took place at The United States Art Authority and featured 8 “authors” along with The Mortified After School Orchestra. The Orchestra is an eccentric three piece that performs unique covers of old favorites in between the presentations, this includes a stunning kazoo infused rendition of Wham’s Careless Whispers.
The presentations varied greatly but all contained unifying themes. According to Eric Wallenstein, who presented hard-core lyrics he wrote despite the fact he was never in a band, “Most mortified pieces don’t come from normal well-adjusted kids, and that’s what makes each piece stand on its own … the eccentricities of the maladjusted. But, at the same time there’s always some commonalities between every show, talk of sex and drugs … and always Anne frank. There is at least one Anne frank reference every show (and they always get a laugh).”
Other musical presentations included Jenn Hartman who summed up her motivation: “As for sharing my material, I have no shame! And I realize that the terrible, ridiculous, agonizing songs I wrote as a child, only led the way for some of the wonderful songs I have written as an adult.”
Journals are a large portion of the presentation. Jessica Stookey read from her journal where she documented in detail what she wore to school everyday. “ When I found out how to submit my embarrassing diary entries I decided what the heck, I won’t get selected anyway. But I did get selected”
For more information, performance schedules or to find out how you could be a part of Mortified visit www.getmortified.com.
Words and photos by Charles Ferraro
