'Mortified'

The crew is always looking for new show participants, he said, and prefer to include people with no acting background.

"When you can identify with someone, it makes everything feel less lonely and that we're all closer together," Nadelberg said. "A big part of the show is empathy, mixed with a little bit of sympathy."

A documentary about the show was released in 2013 called "Mortified Nation," and there is a possibility for a second film about the show to be made, Nadelberg said. The "Mortified" podcast, which will include recorded live shows, is expected to debut in early 2015. Mortified partnered with Public Radio Exchange, or PRX, for the podcast.

Pierce Purselley, co-producer for the live "Mortified" show, said the event highlights "the strange and weird things we do as kids." Purselley said he does not have many memories of his childhood, which is part of what inspired him to become part of the show. For many participants, reading their stories aloud becomes a bucket list item, he said.

"It's also very cathartic for a lot of people," Purselley said. "There is always a little bit of that kid in all of us still, and it's sometimes fun to look back and see who we were and who we are now."

Purselley said he frequently meets with people who are interested in participating in "Mortified" and receives dozens of entries via email. He and the "Mortified" team work with participants for months prior to a show, helping them choose excerpts to read but never rewriting or creating new material. About seven to eight people participate in each show.

"There's been a big buzz here in Austin," Purselley said. "We've sold out for the past two years."

The show has had so much success in Austin, he said, that the "Mortified" crew is considering opening chapters in Houston and Dallas.

"Mortified" is also planning on hosting a Valentine's Day–themed show on Feb. 13 and 14 at the Spiderhouse Ballroom.

"[The show is] about togetherness and compassion," Nadelberg said. "The only reason people are laughing is because they are cheering for that kid that wrote that awful stuff that we're now mocking. But we're not just mocking it; I think we're celebrating it in this weird way. In some ways it's a beauty pageant for that awkward inner child."

Share your embarrassing stories

Dig up embarrassing childhood artifacts such as letters, lyrics, journals, cassettes, artwork or plays

Request a producer's session on the website

Meet with the Mortified crew, who will help find excerpts to share on stage

Read the excepts on stage for the live show

Participant spotlight

Andie Flores, a second-grade teaching assistant and freelance writer, is scheduled to participate in the "Mortified" live show in Austin in December. Flores will read from a diary that she and her two friends wrote in when she was 17.

"The 17-year-old me is not someone I have revisited in a really long time, or have wanted to or have thought much of," Flores said. "This whole experience was a good way to meet 17-year-old me and say, 'Hey, it's OK. It's going to be OK.'"

As a teenager Flores said she loved music and said she played guitar in a band named The Outer Space Lounge Band of Love. She said there are some excerpts about music that she will read for the live show in December.

Flores said she has never seen the live "Mortified" show but is looking forward to participating.

"Mortified" live show in Austin, Dec. 5 and 6, 7:30 and 10:30 p.m., Tickets: $12 (in advance), $15 (at the door), Spiderhouse Ballroom, 2908 Fruth St., www.getmortified.com