Mortified D.C. Two Year Anniversary Show
Where: Town Danceboutique, 2009 Eighth St. NW
When: 8 p.m. Oct. 21 (doors open at 7 p.m.)
Info: $10 in advance, $15 at the door; show is 21 and over
For more information on the show, and how to participate in future events, visit www.getmortified.com.
Somewhere, they are buried.
In the back of a closet, or in your parents’ garage, there are written memories of how you felt as an awkward teenager or child growing up. They come in the form of confessional diary entries, angst-riddled poetry and love letters never sent.
These embarrassing works of a younger self have such a comedic quality, there’s only one thing to do.
Share them with the world.
This is where Mortified comes in.
“Ripped from the pages of real life,” Mortified provides a venue for those wiling to share their old, embarrassing journal entries, poetry, letters and any other work written when they were younger.
Mortified originated in Los Angeles seven years ago, the brainchild of Neil Katcher and Dave Nadelberg. Nadelberg initially found an old love letter, and the idea to share works from the past grew from there.
“You can understand who they are,” said Katcher, who lives in L.A. “You recognize yourself in these people.”
The next area Mortified show is Wednesday at Town Danceboutique. It is the second anniversary of the local Mortified chapter.
“I noticed I had a lot of the important pieces for Mortified,” said Adam Ruben, 30, of McLean Gardens in D.C. He cites his lack of popularity growing up and the fact he wrote a lot of things down as a kid as keys. Wednesday’s show will be the third he has read at.
“I guess in one sense, there’s a universal element to it,” Ruben added.
Universality plays a key part in Mortified, which has also released written collections of works, as well as web clips. That everyone has at one time experienced certain emotions makes laughing at other’s perceived anguish more of a case of laughing at one’s self.
“It’s actually really unifying,” said Robin Katcher, 37, of Silver Spring. She’s Neil’s sister, and started reading for Mortified D.C. since its inception. “Everyone walks around afraid they don’t fit in”
“What makes it so funny, we’re hearing ourselves through adult ears,” she added.
Neil Katcher finds people of all ages and walks of life participate, but also says there has to be some time distance between the reader and their work. There is also a vetting process, where Katcher or someone else in Mortified will sit down with a possible participant and comb through their writings to find the real gems, as well as construct a context so the audience can better understanding what the mindset of the writer was.
Katcher said one of the reasons adults are willing to share the private thoughts of awkward teens with strangers is the cathartic appeal of doing so.
“It allows you to see yourself at a distance,” he said. “It’s very therapeutic.”
