Exploring Sex, Shame, and Transformation in Amy Rutherford's Mortified

This paper presents written support material for Amanda Roveda's direction of an augmented audio experience of Amy Rutherford's stage play Mortified for the Department of Theatre's 2021 Theatre@York season. The directorial approach for the production is outlined in the research paper, focusing on the exploration of sex, shame and transformation inherent in the script. The director's journal excerpts and the epilogue detail the significant challenges encountered by the director, the student cast members and the student production team in the pivot from an in-person theatrical event (originally planned for York's Faire Fecan Theatre) to an immersive audio format cast, designed, rehearsed and recorded remotely, necessitated by the exigencies of Covid-19. Finally, the paper reflects on the accomplishments of the director and her team in a unique period of creative adaptation to new circumstances, as well as the areas which might have been strengthened in this tumultuous journey.