Tim Miller Feed Play Analysis

In Tim Miller’s one man play “Rooted” he described his life as being a homosexual activist. He begins to perform telling the audience about the journey of him trying to get his Australian fiancé, Alistair a green card. He knew from very early on that he was going to marry a man, however at the first he assumed it would be his childhood best friend comical how life works. Miller goes into detail of how in his family tree is where he found the hidden histories that gave him strength when confronting homeland security about the man whom he loved dearly. His grandfather fought in the civil war to give African Americans their freedom and he felt his passion when fighting for his basic right of marrying whomever he wanted. In his performance, he

used movement and lighting to set the mood for his performance. When he would start talking about his fiancé he would start walking around on stage in agony. He could still feel the pain that he felt when they were first denied a green card and he knew he would not see his lover for at least a year.

When he was bringing comic relief the lighting would go from a spotlight to a wide range covering. He would go from stage left and right with the lights following him to set the mood. Whether he was telling about how in the fifth grade he cut holes in his pants to play with himself or when his childhood best friend beat him up for saying that they were going to get married the lights set the tone of the performance. My views of performance were expanded because the space that he created on stage gave such an inviting feeling. Miller used his space by stomping, hand gestures, and going off stage and interacting with the audience. Miller’s performance was very effective because of how he presented his story. He made certain that when describing how his background growing up in Los Angeles, California made the difference in how he saw himself, his family, and his fellow LGBTQ extended family. Miller’s artistry allowed his platform to be used for political work and injustices that the LGBTQ community faced. He encouraged reflection about difficult issues and a challenge to change our

worldview. The way the audience reacted to him showed how his method of performance worked. Every minute we followed his story we clapped, laughed, and felt his pain. At first you could see the reservation in the audience because we did not know what to expect, but several minutes into his play his true activism created an atmosphere that allowed for change. I connected to his performance through personal experiences and coming out to my own family and trying to change their perspective on bisexuality with their strong Christian values. If I had to perform my story it would be similar to Tim Miller’s, but I would have used more sound design because I would be better able to express my story by going back to the songs that helped through my coming out process.