A Pop Culture Peek at Diaries Through the Decades
Fans of Mortified already know that deep within our childhood diaries and notebooks are the secrets to the facts of life.
But lest we forget, many of those same lessons can be found in The Facts of Life. Here's a clip we found that illustrates the dangers of diving into the pages of someone else's life without an invite. A warning to parents: Blaire Warner does utter the phrase "air brained witch."
No Tooties were harmed in the writing of this post.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Awesome Show Alert: Dead Moms Don't Hug
For those of you in Los Angeles in May, Mortified alum Ariane Price has a fascinating show scheduled. The show features Ariane reading aloud passages from both her own teenage journals... as well as the teenage journals of her mother, who passed away when Ariane was a child. If you're a fan of Mortified's mix of pathos and humor, our guess is that this project's darkly funny sensibilities will be up your alley too.
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"DEAD MOMS DON'T HUG"
A poignant comedy about figuring out how to become a woman and a mother myself... with out my own mom. From losing my virginity in a converted garage underneath a Whitesnake poster, to the horrors of the Brazilian Bikini wax.
The Groundling's Theater
Tuesdays
May 20 & May 27
8pm
323-934-4747
FREE!
Runtime: under an hour
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"DEAD MOMS DON'T HUG"A poignant comedy about figuring out how to become a woman and a mother myself... with out my own mom. From losing my virginity in a converted garage underneath a Whitesnake poster, to the horrors of the Brazilian Bikini wax.
The Groundling's Theater
Tuesdays
May 20 & May 27
8pm
323-934-4747
FREE!
Runtime: under an hour
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
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.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Because Kids Love Portly Middle Aged Men!
Many fans of our first book, Mortified: Real Words Real Pathetic, have expressed fascination with a chapter in which an overweight boy, Steve Scaia, wrote letters to Mr. Belvedere, a sitcom character from the 1980s.
We've always been fascinated with Steve's strange Belv obsession, too. Mostly because it's just kinda weird that a fat, balding, vaguely gay, mustache-ioed, middle-aged man would emerge as a childhood icon.
Fonzie, we get. Mr. T, we totally get. Belv, well, that's just kinda creepy. And yet, the fact remains-- kids truly loved him. For those who crave further proof of this bizarre blip in history, behold this bit of evidence.
We've always been fascinated with Steve's strange Belv obsession, too. Mostly because it's just kinda weird that a fat, balding, vaguely gay, mustache-ioed, middle-aged man would emerge as a childhood icon.
Fonzie, we get. Mr. T, we totally get. Belv, well, that's just kinda creepy. And yet, the fact remains-- kids truly loved him. For those who crave further proof of this bizarre blip in history, behold this bit of evidence.
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