Mortified Live
Casting FAQ
Q:
What is Mortified Live?
A: From stage to page and beyond, Mortified's mission is to use a mix
of unassuming "shoebox artifacts" (childhood letters, lyrics,
notes, schoolwork, novellas, plays, photos, even home movies) to convey
uniquely irreverent and revealing stories about their authors' lives. Visit
our About page for full details
about Mortified in general.
Q:
How do I participate?
A: You request a screening session-- we
also call these "shoebox sessions". Bascially,
you show up with a shoebox of stuff you created as a kid, and we try to
help you determine which stuff will resonate with an audience of strangers.
All we ask is that you earmark about 5-ish minutes of your favorite material
ahead of time. That gives us a great starting place, and we often sift through
all the extra stuff, too. And no, the shoebox is not a literal need.
Q:
What kind of material do I share during a session?
A: Your most embarrassing childhood artifacts (letters, poems,
journals, lyrics, schoolwork, scripts, novellas, comics, home movies)
created when you were young (typically 5-20).
Q:
How much stuff should I share during a session?
A: You should gather about 5 (ish) minutes of material. No need to
time it out, ballpark guesses are fine. Please be sure to pre-select
this. That said, bring along any additional material if you have any. If
you have a shoebox of notes or poems sitting under your bed, bring it just
in case. This comes in handy more often than not.
Q:
Is this an "audition"?
A: No. Our show is curated, but terms like audition or tryout do not speak
to our process and we avoid using them.
Q:
What happens during a screening session (aka: shoebox session)?
A: It's part reading, part interview. You show up with some vintage material.
We ask you some simple questions about it and your life. You read it aloud.
We talk about it. We joke. We chat some more. And that's it. It's inentiontally
very casual and lowkey. Depending on how much time we are able to give,
it can take anywhere from 20-50 minutes depending on how much time there
is. Given the strange and intimidating nature of it, we try to make it as
inviting, fun and nurturing as possible.
Q:
Do you screen all material?
A: Yep. Since there are so many nuances to what makes one's childhood writing
captivating, our selection process is the most important aspect of what
we do. We work very hard to unearth the most compelling content we can find
for our audience.
Q:
What is your criteria for selecting material?
A: We tend to look for stuff that is: honest, ancient (created before the
age of 21), unaware why it's funny, autobiographcially revealing, and shows
a perspective that is uniquely you. That
said, we more than recognize most authors lack personal distance from the
source material and thus, don't have a great objective eye in determing
100% what works for this type of content. So we just ask people when they
meet with us, to simply show up and share stuff they believe works
based on these suggestions, and we happily help them with the rest.
Q:
What is your process?
A: People bring us material. We then theme
that material around a central idea that springs up from the pages of their
life. We're sort of like diary detectives. Mortified's agenda
is ultimately to find the extraordinary stories buried in the pages of ordinary
people's lives. Being a retro show-and-tell is just 1/2 of what we do. To
us, an artifact is only as good as the story it reveals about it owner's
life. So we spend a lot of time talking to each participant about their
life. It's a strange, fun, empowering and very collaborative process.
Q:
Who performs the material?
A: You do. The original author is always our focus. This is a personal,
confessional format and is intentionally not a Vagina Monologues
style project where actors interpret the words of unseen ordinary people.
On occasion, especially with pieces that involve songs or letters, the original
author is joined on stage by other performers. But mostly, it's just you
on a dark stage. This gives each performance an intimate, naked energy.
Q:
Can participants ever rewrite the original wording?
A: Nope. All material must be 100% authentic. We do not add new language
to the source material except for issues such as privacy. Adding new words
to the source material is antithetical to what we've set out to accomplish
from day one. The source material is the #1 star.
Q:
Are there any topics that are off-limits?
A: No. Topics can range anything-- family, romance, bullies, celebrities,
punishments, smoking, making-out, school, career aspirations, world peace,
obsessions, hatred, etc. The more specific it is to your personality, usually
the better it is. There is not really one topic that is better than another.
Just keep in mind, the majority of what is presented to us involves "crushes,"
so we're always on the lookout for a wide variety of topics. We tackle any
subject that kids face... from the PG-rated (crushes, camp, religion) to
the R-rated (addiction, depression, illness).
Q:
Who can request a screening session?
A: It's wide open casting-- any gender, ethnicity, generation, orientation
or profession. We. Want. You.
You might have stage experience, you might not. You might be funny, you
might not. Your resume is totally incidental. We love getting to help everyone
from teachers to actors to architects shine.
Q:
Do you have performance criteria?
A: Overall, we
look for "people who are simply good at playing themselves". Are
you good at that? Sweet. We like you already. Even better? You don't have
to be an comic, actor or singer. In fact, we prefer amateurs. Due
to the nature of our project, we're way more focused on material
than performance in our selection process. We occasionally offer tips here
and there but mostly our advice is to "just be your sweet old self".
Q:
Can
performers provide any context to their material?
A: Yes and no. Context is often the most important aspect about what makes
our pieces work. That said, we try to keep context to occupy only a small
percentage of the presentation, nd we really stress that performers use
context to reveal inforamtion about their life, but not to use to insert
jokes. Our audiences are laughing at material that was never written with
a comic awareness, so being jokey can actually hurt a performance. In fact,
when standups read in the show, we usually have to tone down their
instincts.
Q:
Do you reject anyone?
A: Mortified is curated. We sit down with each prospective participant and
try to find the stories buried in the pages of our their life. When we can
find one that will resonate with our audience, we use it. We work very hard
to find this, talking with people for a long time. If we can't find one
yet, we hope it find it later. Some
of our best material takes several screening sessions to truly discover.
It's just the nature of the type of material we're dealing with. The reality
of our project is that people are simply stuck with what they wrote way
back when.
Q:
How does this screening process differ from "traditional" casting
calls?
A: For starters, it is not an audition or a tryout. We are not looking for
anyone to impress us with their writing ability or performance ability.
Those just aren't factors in what entertains our audience. After all, our
best material has no awareness of its appeal. Thus, ours truly is more of
a heightened screening process. We're not sitting back with out arms folded
waiting for people to "wow us" with talent-- no Simon Cowell-ing
involved. Since the best Mortified material-in-waiting is often buried and
oblivious, and since sharing this material with strangers is intimidating,
we always aim to create an inviting, casual atmosphere to help each candidate
find those hilarious hidden treasures. As such, our screening sessions are
designed to have people come in and share. Simple as that.
Q:
Can I perform something that somebody to wrote "to" me (ex: a
letter)?
A: We look for material that is revealing about you. So
if it fits that bill, we'll happily consider it. But we find it best, with
rare exception, to stick to stuff that you wrote. The performer
should be the focus of the laughter. Laughing at the words of some helpless
person who is not on stage usually becomes mean spirited. That said, if
it's funny, share it with us. There are a few weird ways to make
these exceptions work and we've done it from time to time when we found
the right spin. So by all means, share it.
Q:
Do performers need to memorize?
A: Nope. We do not want you to memorize. Our audience generally does not
respond well to things that are too performative.
Q:
What's it like to participate in Mortified?
A: Most performers get involved merely wanting to make people laugh. But
time and time again, we're told how therapeutic they found the whole process
to be. We've inspired many reunions between long lost friends and relatives
and that makes us feel pretty damn awesome.
Q:
How can I enjoy clips of Mortified in action if I haven't ever been to a
show?
A: Watch our web series, The
Mortified Shoebox Show, for examples. Always proves helpful.
Q:
I'm tempted to participate... but what if my stuff is just not compelling
to audiences?
A: Good news. This is exactly what our screening sessions are there
for. If you are even halfway questioning it, just meet
with us, and we'll help you find the good stuff lurking in your vaults.
Maybe we'll find something. We try to make it as fun and painless as possible.
Q:
I want to perform but... what if I never kept anything I wrote?
A: More often than not, we've learned everyone has something. Yes,
even you. You'd be shocked what you have. A letter. A school essay. A story
you wrote in 3rd grade. A poem. A lame rap lyric. A script. A home video.
Something.
Q:
Can I submit a memoir or essay about a childhood event?
A: We are not a "memoir salon." If you are looking to publish
or performer a shortform memoir, we suggest you visit great sites like our
friends at The Moth or
FreshYarn.com. They rock.
Fresh Yarn's site even has links to memoir/essay reading projects across
the US. Most cities are crawling with "lit salon" style events
nowadays, where you can read such essays or memoirs.
Q:
How often do you hold screening sessions?
A: It's ongoing. And open to all. We are always on the lookout
for great material and new faces. If you don't hear from us immediately,
hang tight, your request will be kept on file until our next round. We're
a pretty small crew. With extremely rare exception, we contact everyone
who contacts us.
Q:
What if I don't live near one of your stage shows? Or if
I am stage shy? Can I still participate?
A: Yes. Just
post your stuff to our Woe &
Tell section. It's totally anonymous, open 24/7 and you can submit anything
from text to photos.
