Arts & Entertainment
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ANGST
ON PARADE
Teen writings take center stage
in Mortified anthology.
Diana Lieberman
Special to the Jewish News
Beauty overwhelms me
Looking at his face
He is far too heavenly
To live in this place ...
B
rianna Jacobson was only 15
years old when she wrote these
lines, dedicated to Jewish actor
Seth Green. The poem — including the
plea "come back to me my love before
my insides melt" — was intended for her
private and confidential diary, not for
publication.
But if Green, who came to fame as
a cast member on television's Buffy
the Vampire Slayer, wants to see the
entire poem, all he has to do is leaf
through the newly published anthology
Mortified: Real Words. Real People.
Real Pathetic. Published by Simon
Spotlight Entertainment, the book retails
for $14.95.
Mortified is the creation of Dave
Nadelberg, self-proclaimed disappointed
writer and "angst-ologist" The book
consists of 51 authentic excerpts from
diaries, journals, letters and other writing
by teens. All were voluntarily submitted
by their authors, who are now allegedly
grown up — mostly in their 20s and 30s.
Nadelberg, a 1993. graduate of Groves
High School who has sold television
pilots to Comedy Central, VH 1 and UPN,
signed copies of the book earlier this
month at Border's Books and Music in
Birmingham.
"In Mortified, we tackle everything,"
he said. "Schoolboy crushes, several
identity crises, parents undergoing a
divorce, summer camps, homosexuality
and everything in between. Whether it's a
large issue or a small issue to us as adults,
it was a large issue to them at the time.
"It's not always the Wonder Years ver-
sion of growing up; sometimes it's the
Welcome to the Dollhouse version!"
Vanessa Murdock of Toronto, who
read excerpts from her diary at the
Birmingham event, was in love with Joe
McIntyre of New Kids on the Block, while
Jillian Griffiths was obsessed with Duran
Duran (all of them). Mark Phinney's
entries came from a mental hospital,
where he spent three days after threaten-
ing suicide. Steve Scaia wrote to TV sit-
com butler, Mr. Belvedere.
And Jami Rudofsky of Denver submit-
ted excerpts from the diary she kept while
on a teen mission to Israel, where Jewish
history was not her primary concern.
"Boy was today a BIG DAY," she wrote. "We
got up early to go to the North. When we
got there, there were hundreds of young
beautiful soldier boys. I got my picture
taken with the best-looking one."
David Nadelberg, author of Mortified,
with his parents, Judy and Steve
Nadelberg of West Bloomfield, at a
recent book signing at Border's Books
and Music in Birmingham
Real Worcls. Real People. Real Patheti c
Becoming Mortified
Nadelberg, the youngest child of Stephen
and Judy Nadelberg, grew up in West
Bloomfield. His mother taught nursery
school for many years at Adat Shalom
Synagogue, where David worked as a teen.
His duties included buying supplies and
emptying the hamster cage.
Mortified began with an unsent love
letter Nadelberg had carried around since
those high-school days.
"I had this crush on a girl — I didn't
know her then, and I don't know her now','
he said. "In 1998,1 was reading it to some
friends, and they really started laughing!'
It took a few more years for Nadelberg
and several friends — including West
Bloomfield High School graduate Mike
Stern — to begin the Mortified project,
originally a live comedy-reality show in
Los Angeles. Since then, different versions
of the show have appeared in New York,
San Francisco, Boston and Chicago.
Aspiring performers audition by read-
ing their teenage writings to the produc-
ers. If they are accepted for the show,
they are coached to wring the maximum
pathos from their work. Each excerpt is
read on stage by its author, and, although
writings may be edited, no new words are
added.
The book includes writings from sever-
al of the shows, including Nadelberg's love
letter. It ends with a brief section updating
the lives of the authors. All are alive and
comparatively well. Many are pursuing
careers as actors or comedians, which
Nadelberg said is not unusual, given that
the project originated in L.A., where every
other person seems to be a performer.
"I'd love to come to Metro Detroit and
do a show:' he said, "but, right now, we
are still getting our resources together. We
generally spend a month in each place. In
four years and five cities, virtually every
show we've had has sold out, without any
traditional marketing."
Since its beginnings, Mortified has
morphed in unexpected ways. Nadelberg
and some of the other writers have
appeared several times on National Public
Radio and have been interviewed for
Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times and
other publications. Recently, Nadelberg
and one of the other writers read excerpts
to the Wilshire Boulevard Temple Youth
Group in Los Angeles.
"They really responded to it," he said.
"What they got from it is, `Whatever the
drama that is being thrown my way, I can
get through it.— _7!
December 28 200
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