MIKE MILLAN TALKS ‘BUYER & CELLAR’

It’s providing an escape from the hellish world that we are forced to endure nowadays. I think escapism doesn’t get as much credit as it deserves. We are re-entering the world with so much new knowledge, experience and trauma and it feels like no one is really talking about it or healing from it. Its very “business as usual.” However, I genuinely believe laughter is the best medicine and since most people cant really afford healthcare in America, might as well come to a show and laugh for an hour. It’s not only good for the spirit but you might have abs by the end of the show.

What do you feel like you’ve learned about Barbra that has surprised you?

Not only about her career and her staple performances, but about her determination and drive. She is a performer who demands respect and isn’t afraid of being heard. As an actor, we are often silent and silenced (to quote the Oprah meme) so being able to inhabit Barbra’s confidence and fearlessness in taking up space has been a really important lesson for me.

What excites you most about playing role? How does the performance challenge you and, on the flip side, how does it reward you?

The most exciting thing about playing this role is being able to show audiences just how multifaceted I am. I have spent the majority of my career as an ensemble member in musicals. Shrinking in the background until they need the brown guy to come out and say his little lines or whatever. This show has me playing with my full toolbox of theatrical tools. I am using skills that I have developed throughout my 15 years of pursuing theatre, comedy, writing and directing which is such a gift. It feels like a sort of final exam after all of my years of studying. Also, this is a show and a role that has been predominantly played by gay white guys and to be able to really provide my perspective as a queer latino person and have the show uncover a different layer by just having ME say the lines instead of a white person, has been really rewarding.

How have audiences been reacting to this show? What’s something you’ve learned about this show because of/through a theatergoer’s response?

They wait after the show is over to talk to me and chat about their experience with the show, or share funny Barbra stories and I love that. The beautiful thing about this show is that it is just a great story that I am telling to an audience. Its performed but not performative, I break the fourth wall, talk to the audience and share the experience with them and that has been really eye opening. Most shows that I have done have had a sort of barrier between me and the audience and I am realizing how much I love experiencing the show with them as opposed to telling them how to feel and I think the response to that form of storytelling has been amazing. I genuinely feel like I make new friends every time I do the show and it seems like the audience feels the same way.

Who or what continues to inspire you most as an artist and why?

Real life stories and people tend to inspire me the most. I’m not very impressed by other people’s success because there are so many factors that lead to that success, but I am really inspired by people that create their own destinies. People born from virtually nothing, no connections or life lines, and work hard to make something. Like Ms. Streisand. I think that is the coolest, most difficult and inspiring thing that an artist can do.

What is your favorite part of Buyer & Cellar?

My favorite part of the show is the last fifteen minutes, not only because I know that its almost over and I can finally stop talking for a second, but also because I spend the first 45 minutes or so building the story up, setting up relationships and stakes and all of the exposition, but the last 15 minutes is all payoff for that work. I can live in the moments and experience the joy and the pathos and the shifts as a human in the world, not just as a narrator. I start talking directly to the audience a bit less and start living as the characters more. Plus there are a few fights between characters, and having to portray two different people and justify their points of view in a fight is a SUPER fun challenge for me.

What does queer theatre mean to you personally and where do you think it should head?

Queer theatre means everything to me. Queer people have always been on the forefront of theatre and story telling so it feels like queer culture is wrapped up in theatre, like you can’t have theatre without queerness and vice versa. There are very few things that we as queer people can claim the way we can claim theatre and I think that is really beautiful and one of the main reasons I love Celebration Theatre so much. In the same breath, I think gay white males have been at the forefront of that for a very long time and as much as their work is appreciated and important, I think we’re missing out on our fullest potential by not considering the many nuanced identities that can live under the queer umbrella. There are SO many stories that haven’t been able to be amplified and I look forward to the strides that we are trying to take as a community to allow for such diversity and progress.