Become Part of the Mortified Concert Film

BIG NEWS. Mortified is making a concert film... & you can get involved. Help bring Mortified from stage to screen.  Find out how you can make it happen, as well as have your own childhood photo appear in the film. More news to come.

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There Is Nothing Mortifying about "Troop Beverly Hills"

If her wonderful work on PopWaffle offers any indication (let alone her visuals for the intro to our web series), frequent Mortified collaborator Erika Brooks Adickman is a very talented lass. Now she's launching something brand new.  And yes, it's for real. Behold...

Troop Beverly Hills: The Experience
Monday October 5th, 8pm
@ King King
LA, CA
Info: http://beverlyhillswhatathrill.tumblr.com.

According to the event's official site, the TBH's 20th anniversary celebration is  going to be "a sing-a-long, dance-a-long, quote-a-long, and if we're lucky, Shelley Long." What other movie could have a cast that somehow paired a young Carla Gugino, Kellie Martin, Tori Spelling, and (whuh?!) rocker Jenny Lewis. Become an honorary Wilderness Girl and expect to see some fun in-person cameos from members of the movie's cast and crew. Oh, Mary Gross, we can only hope this includes you.

Mortified's Naked Nation

You know that dream you have about being back in high school and having to read aloud an essay to your class... but for some reason you forgot your clothes?

Well, this is the reverse. And whether it's a dream or nightmare is up to you.

Recently, we held a secret Mortified show in NYC. It was a private event held in the upstairs room of a respected restaurant. And it had one twist. Everyone in the audience was going to be eating, drinking, laughing... and buck naked.

The event was hosted by Clothing Optional Dinner, a humble nudist society that hosts social gatherings at bars, cafes and clubs around Manhattan. We were both surprised and flattered to be invited to participate.

Given that Mortified explores the notion of exposing oneself, we naturally found the premise of doing an event before an unclothed audience to be a fascinating psychological experiment. We'd be emotionally naked on stage... while our audience would be physically naked at tables. Turns out, the show was a big hit with both performers (Law Tarello, Brandy Barber, Giulia Rozzi, and Anne Altman) and audience members alike.

For those who're curious, when we asked Clothing Optional Dinner if we needed to strip to our skivvies in order to perform, too, they said we had to be either fully dressed or fully nude. No wishy-washy people in bras or boxer shorts. Needless to say, we not only wore clothes, we got all dolled up for the occasion. A truly strange and wonderful night.

Was there a scientific result? Yes. Whether you're male or female, dressed or undressed, being naked in public shows the world you've got balls.

On a strangely related-but-not-related note, NewTeeVee covered the recent outbreak of naked vloggers spreading (pun?) across YouTube.

Which re-ignites a question that Mortified is frequently asked. In an era of populist media, where is the line between positive self-expression vs. icky exhibitionism? We go to great lengths to protect Mortified from veering into the latter category (it's the main reason we're adamant about vetting all material) and hopefully we succeed.

Regardless, the air in the naked nation is getting a wee bit nipply.

Mortified Goes Goth

For years, we've collected countless notebook entries, journals and poems from kids who wrote obsessively about... The Cure.

At a recent stage show in LA, those tables turned in the best possible way when Laurence "Lol" Tollhurst, one of the founding members of The Cure (and apparent Mortified superfan), actually joined Mortified on stage.

In addition to sitting in with The Mortified After School Orchestra for the night, Lol also helped performer Kirsten Gronfield bring to life an awkward Cure-inspired song that she wrote at age 15. Lol was a great sport and his latest band Levinhurst is worth checking out.

In related news, The Cure is celebrating their 30th anniversary this year. Help celebrate this milestone by wearing lots of black eyeliner to work tomorrow.

Geeks Gather to Celebrate AngstGiving

Got friends in the media? Here's our press release for our big Mortified AngstGiving project. Feel free to spread word!

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Geeks Gather for Mortified's Global AngstGiving Benefit
Comedy Show Mounts Massive Charity Concerts in Nine Cities Worldwide

LOS ANGELES (November 1, 2007) -- Eleven shows, nine cities, two continents, and sixty-five brave adults "share the shame" of their youth to benefit the kids of today.

Marking the biggest event in its five-year existence, acclaimed stage show Mortified celebrates the season of togetherness with Mortified AngstGiving, a global gathering of recovering geeks. From DC to LA to Sweden, the massive month-long series of comedic concerts will donate proceeds to 826 National, a youth education program.

Mortified-- the grassroots comedy collective devoted to exposing embarrassing childhood writings and art-- spent months gathering material for the AngstGiving event. From horrifying heavy metal lyrics to closeted gay journals to harrowing hippie poetry, each discovery captures what makes our lives both unique and universal.

In addition to raising money for charity, the event marks the long-awaited debuts of new Mortified productions in Austin, DC, and Portland (Oregon), as well as its first ever non-English speaking production in Sweden. These join Mortified's already popular chapters in LA, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City and Boston.

Learn more about Mortified at getmortified.com

EVENT SCHEDULE:

Date: Tue., November 06, 2007
City: Washington, DC
Time: 8:00 PM
Venue: HR-57
Tickets: http://www.getmortified.com/live

Date: Wed., November 07, 2007 (Encore)
City: Washington, DC
Time: 7:30 PM
Venue: HR-57
Tickets: http://www.getmortified.com/live

Wed., November 14, 2007
City: Los Angeles, CA
Time: 8:00 PM
Venue: King King
Tickets: http://www.getmortified.com/live

Date: Fri., November 16, 2007
City: Austin, TX
Time: 8:00 PM
Venue: ColdTowne Theater
Tickets: http://www.getmortified.com/live

Date: Fri., November 16, 2007
City: San Francisco, CA
Time: 8:00 PM
Venue: Makeout Room
Tickets: http://www.getmortified.com/live

Date: Sat., November 17, 2007 (Encore)
City: San Francisco, CA
Time: 8:00 PM
Venue: Makeout Room
Tickets: http://www.getmortified.com/live

Date: Saturday, Nov 17, 2007
City: Portland, OR
Time: 8:00 PM
Venue: Someday Lounge
Tickets: http://www.getmortified.com/live

Date: Wed, November 28th
City: Chicago, IL
Time: 8:00 PM
Venue: Green Mill Jazz Lounge
Tickets: http://www.getmortified.com/live

Date: Wed. December 5, 2007
City: Boston, MA
Time: 8:00 PM
Venue: Paradise Lounge
Tickets: http://www.getmortified.com/live

Date: Wed. December 5, 2007
City: Malmo, Sweden
Time: 7:00 PM
Venue: Klubben
Tickets: http://www.getmortified.com/live

Date: Thurs., December 13, 2007
City: New York City, NY
Time: 8:00 PM
Venue: The Tank
Tickets: http://www.getmortified.com/live

ABOUT MORTIFIED:
Ripped from the pages of real life... Mortified is a comic excavation of adolescent artifacts-- old letters, lyrics, journals, poems, home movies, stories and more. Hailed a "cultural phenomenon" by Newsweek and celebrated by the likes of This American Life, The Today Show, Weekly, Esquire, Jane, Daily Candy and more... Mortified celebrates ordinary people and the extraordinary things they created as kids. There are amazing stories buried in the pages of people's lives. Our mission is to simply help find them. The largest and longest-running project of its kind, Mortified produces stage shows, books, and web content. Its latest book, the romantically challenged Mortified: Love Is a Battlefield, hits stores this January. Share the shame at getmortified.com.

ABOUT THE BENEFICIARY:
This year's exclusive recipient is 826 National, an amazing nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students, ages 6-18, with expository and creative writing at seven locations across the country. Co-founded by author Dave Eggers and educator Ninive Calegari, their mission is based on the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success. Learn more about 826's work at 826national.org.

Mortified NYC Moves to Makor

New year. New digs. Same strange show. Come see Mortified NYC christen its spankin new locale JAN 10 or else, well, we'll be sad and forced to write melodramatic poems about how much we miss you.

WHAT: Mortified NY
WHEN: Wednesday, January 10, 2007
TIME: 8:00 PM
VENUE: Makor Theater
ADDRESS: 35 West 67th Street (Steinhardt Center), 10023

TICKETS: getmortified.com/live

Featuring ultra pathetic crap by!!!!
Shawn Hollenbach (poem, essay)
Poppi Kramer (wild sex teen diary)
Margot Leitman (diary)
Laurie Sandell (college app essay)
Toni Leonard (self rigteous diaries)
Boni Joi (love poems)
Hayley Downs (religious journals)
Liz Black (travel journal)

See you there!

And Then Somehow... THIS Happened

Jason Smith is the grinning bald guy seen here in the middle at a recent Mortified show. The other people are awesome, too. But more on them in a sec.

Once upon a time, Jason was a starry-eyed Minnesotan teenager who wrote a short script inspired by the cinematic gem that is Days of Thunder with the hopes of it someday attracting Hollywood names. Years later, the adult Jason realized his script actually sucked-- pretty hard in fact-- and decided to do a reading of it in Mortified. Not ones to let him down, we decided to fulfill his younger self's dreams.

So we secretly invited a few of our very favorite actors to join Jason (not an actor) in a live reading of his teenage racetrack masterpiece 500 Miles to Indy.

And amazingly, they agreed. Behold, the Mortified Community Players featuring (from left to right) James Denton, Curtis Armstrong, Kevin McDonald, Elijah Wood and Busy Philipps. And yes, we are just as confused as you.

Adding to the fun, we decided not to promote this (or any of the night's many surprises) ahead of time. Our way of giving our fans a treat, thanking them for 4 years of fantastic support.

The result was a surreal experience for Jason, for us, and presumably anyone else who is a total spaz for Kids in the Hall, Freaks & Geeks, Better Off Dead, Desp. Housewives or things involving Hobbits.

More info on the rest of this event, its other fun surprises, and why Neil Katcher is such an awesome producing partner who I totally forgot thank on stage because I am a schmuck, coming soon.

Celebrate Mortified's 4th Birthday!

Help celebrate four years of unbridled angst with the grassroots phenomenon that is Mortified!

Yes, this September, the longest running stage show of its kind turns four years old! Crazy, eh? Just think, in just a few more years, it will start sprouting hair in funny places and be able to attend its very own events. So what are you waiting for? Buy your tickets. Tell your friends!

PLUS! As a special birthday bonus treat to our devoted fans... all Mortified shows nationwide in September will giving away cool b-day gifts. How's it work? Simple! If you happen to hear your actual birthday mentioned as a date in one of the journal entries being read during our show, flash us your ID afterwards and we’ll hook you up with some cool Mortified merch or other retro prizes.

It's our way of thanking you for four amazing years of unprecedented success and totally bitchin' support.

In angst we trust.

The United States of Angst

Since launching Mortified many years ago, we've expanded to tons of cities playing to nonstop sold-out rooms. Suddenly, we're everywhere. Here's an update on our latest news from our ever-growing empire of angst.

Mortified Boston moves to its new home -- The Paradise -- on September 27. It's a great venue, great location and we are psyched to be coming there.

Mortified Chicago hits Oct 18 at the infamous Green Mill. We've been in Chicago for a several months digging up truly amazing pieces. We're so excited to finally share them with everyone. The venue is famous for being a favorite hang for Al Capone (wonder if kept a journal?) as well being the official home of poetry slams. Thus, with the addition of Mortified, they're now the home of good poetry... and really bad poetry.

Mortified LA returns from summer vacation Monday September 25 @ King King in Hollywood. We've been stockpiling lots of amazing new stuff to unleash for this event. Excited for the triumphant return.

Mortified NYC is taking a rare month off but tickets are alreayd selling for our Sept 20 show. Our event with This American Life filming us was a huge hit and we can't wait for it to air.

Mortified SF is roaring as usual. October shows are already on sale. If you want to attend, we always suggest people buy tickets ahead of time to our MakeOut Room events, as they are always packed and the venue is often forced to turn away people. Luckily, we do two shows there.

All specific details/times/tickets are coming super soon. Stay tuned -- read this blog, join our list or visit our ticketing page.

Mortified + Found Magazine + Material Girls

This June in LA, it's "MORTIFIED's School's Out Blow Out" event at King King! No more teachers. No more books. Plenty of angst.

After several years of non-stop sold-out shows in LA, Mortified has finally decided to take a much-needed summer vacation (er, at least just in LA; we're still sleepless elsewhere).

To celebrate Mortified's very LAST SHOW in LA until Fall, we've invited two of our very favorite BFFs to join us on stage! Attend either of these two very special events -- one night with a play, one night with a book/zine! In addition, this not-to-miss Mortified event will feature a lineup of some of our most requested performances (plus some people from our NYC show)! NOTE: our June events are @ a new venue for us (KING KING).

ORDER YOUR TICKETS NOW:
http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showCode=MOR11

NIGHT ONE: “A NIGHT OF TEEN ANGST"
When: Wed. June 14, 8pm
Featuring:
* Material Girls (info: a comedic coming-of-age play set in the 1980s)
* Mortified LA (everyday people reading their actual teenage journals)

NIGHT TWO: “A NIGHT OF ACCIDENTAL ART”
When: Thurs. June 15, 8pm
Featuring:
* Found Magazine (info: a show and tell of anonymous "found" relics)
* Mortified LA (everyday people reading their actual teenage journals)

See you at the show. In angst we trust.