Mortified Live

Hailed a “cultural phenomenon” by Newsweek and celebrated by This American Life, Entertainment Weekly, Time, Wired, The AV Club, The Today Show (twice), and beyond, Mortified celebrates stories revealed through the strange and extraordinary things we created as kids.

Witness adults sharing their most embarrassing childhood artifacts (journals, letters, poems, lyrics, plays, home movies, art) with others, in order to reveal stories about their lives. Hear grown men and women confront their past with tales of their first kiss, first puff, worst prom, fights with mom, life at bible camp, worst hand job, best mall job, and reasons they deserved to marry Jon Bon Jovi.

“These readings capture just how wrong-headed we can be back when we were teenagers.”
– Ira Glass on This American Life

Since 2002, Mortified has been curating teen angst artifacts from people like you. The project began when founder David Nadelberg discovered an unsent love letter he wrote us as a teenager. The letter sparked an idea and he sent an email to friends asking if anyone wanted to share their childhood writings on stage. That email went viral and soon, responses poured in from strangers near and far. Over a decade later, what started with a single letter transformed into a movement that included a range of participants (ad execs, architects, stand-ups, salesmen, writers, receptionists, actors, and attorneys) excited to “share the shame” from LA to DC to Amsterdam. We encourage people everywhere– even those with no interest in appearing on stage– to unearth the strange stuff they created as kids and share them with at least one person. You’d be surprised what you discover in the process.

There are a million stories buried in the pages of people’s lives. Our mission is to help people find them.

FUN FACT! Kids who were born when Mortified began are now old enough to be keeping their own adolescent diaries.

Also check out other Arts events in Brooklyn, Kids events & activities in Brooklyn, Entertainment events in Brooklyn.