A Public Embarassment: MORTIFIED! Live Hits Chicago Sept. 13
By Marielle Shaw in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 6, 2014 8:00PM
It’d be hard to make it to adulthood without having kept company with embarrassment. Everyone’s had their fair share of face-palming, ruddy-cheeked run-and-hide moments. If you’re, say, an introverted yet overly silly writer, for example, you might have enough material to fill a book. (Including that time you fell face-first into a Denny's due to your wild and ridiculous gesticulations to friends.) And because embarrassment is a shared experience, it’s great fodder for conversation, and, if only for a moment, a great way to equalize the playing field socially. Suddenly, the svelte starlet in the sparkly gown is the girl who accidentally dyed her dog purple as a kid, and we can relate.
We love hearing these kinds of stories, and sharing them, even if it is a bit harder. It’s a source of catharsis, a way to say “I survived,” have a laugh at your own expense, and move on. This is the idea behind MORTIFIED! Live, which will make two appearances at Schubas next weekend, one at 6 p.m. and one at 9 p.m. The show asks regular people to find “embarrassing artifacts” from their childhood, then show and tell the stories associated. It’s good for a laugh, sure, but the producers of the show are hoping that each piece reveals a great personal story, too.
The September 13th show at Schubas will feature pieces by Carolyn Breit, Reilly Gill, Steve Sacks, Kirsten Schaffert, Corey Schalke and Nikki Stanek and is hosted by Shay DeGrandis, an artist whose work accurately reflects the ultra-personal theme. The Blue Ribbon Glee Club will also be at the show as a special guest. Pre-sale tickets have sold out for both shows, but there will be tickets available at the door depending on space.
Like it or not, we’re all going to trip over our own feet at some point. Might as well make it a good story, right? That’s what we hope to see with MORTIFIED! Live at Schubas.