Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tristan Miller. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tristan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I produced and toured a solo comedy show called Manic Impressive, which is about my experience living with Bipolar Disorder.

I started doing stand-up comedy as a way to learn to communicate with people about my condition without frightening people. I believe that laughter can often be the first step towards understanding, and from understanding comes empathy, and empathy, change.

The logistics of creating the piece were as such where I had been given a residency with a now-defunct performing space called Artefix, for which I am eternally grateful. This allowed me to once a month write new material on the subject until I had enough to fill an hour, from there I toured it to the MN Fringe Festival with hopes of taking it to Edinburgh Fringe the following year of 2020. Which, obviously, did not happen.

From there I toured it to Aotearoa (New Zealand) in 2023 and have since recorded it as a special for release soon.

What has made the project so meaningful to me isn’t just the fact that I get to express my own feelings regarding the condition but also to hear how cathartic the show is for other people who live with Bipolar Disorder when they see it. I think that laughter is often a balm for the harshest of wounds and none more so than the wounds one personally feels.

Also performing the show is just a blast! It is so much fun to explore one’s mind for an hour and share the weird, wild, and silly bits as well as bring a lightness to the darker ones. The show runs about an hour traditionally and only 45 of those minutes are truly planned with 15 minutes there for me to either try out jokes that are new or to improvise and that’s really what keeps it fresh and exciting for me.

The audience response has been incredible. People have started therapy because of seeing my show and more importantly followed me on social media.

Tristan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a multi-disciplinary artist with a focus on devised comedic work, which is to say I love improv.

I started my career in entertainment as an actor and still hold true to the belief that acting is my primary function. Everything I do comes from that desire, drive, and devotion to performing.

I started off in classical improvised sketch comedy and physical theatre, you know like every stand-up comic does! But, that core has run through everything I do from falling down funnily during a stand-up set to falling down funnily during a movie.

I’m not just good at falling however, I also am great at talking much to the chagrin of my family when I visit them. I host a few podcasts, but the main one is called Focus Testing. In Focus Testing a guest and I improvise the plot of a film based on a random prompt and chat about movies and improv. I’m looking to turn this into a live show soon!

I’ve also worked as a mental health advocate with organizations such as Same Here and Sound Mind and produced a podcast about mental health and its relation to the arts called Positive And Negative.

I also host a show in NYC that I’ll be taking on tour called Leap Of Faith, which is an improvised stand-up show. Think scenes from a hat from Whose Line Is It Anyway, but with stand-ups instead.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Yes! Make Your Art No Matter What is a pivotal book for me! Beth Pitkins put together an excellent series of essays that have impacted the way I view and appoach my creative practive, including calling it a creative practive.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

A lot of people don’t take into account that you’re working at least two full-time jobs as an artist. You’re working on the one you need to live and then you’re working on your career, often these things are in conflict and you have to worry about putting bread on the table and also looking after your soul.

If the artists in your life seem stressed out, this is probably why.

There’s also no guarantee that it will ever change and that you will be an artist full-time, which is devastating to hear but is true.

So, give a little grace, go to a friend’s show, sign up for their Patreon or Substack if you have an extra five bucks, it’s hard out there.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tristanjmiller.com
• Instagram: @tristanjmiller
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TristanJMiller1
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TristanMiller1
• Other: https://tristanmiller.substack.com