Least Likely To Succeed: Tales From a Midwestern Homeschooler
Tristan Miller
New York based comedian Tristan Miller shares their experience growing up homeschooled in Minnesota!
"Miller's Humor is unique." - The Otago Daily Times
“Captivating And Charming in equal measure" - Art Murmurs
“Surreal, Brilliant, and Highly Relatable." - TheatreReview
Venue: Bryant Lake Bowl
Tagged For: Comedy, Storytelling
Content Warnings: Adult Language
Ages 12-15 and up
After Tristan Miller landed on my radar with his 5-star stand-up show “Manic Impressive” at the 2019 Fringe, he returned again for the first virtual pandemic Fringe in 2020 (a comedy podcast project with his friend Tucker Daily Johnston called Focus Testing). In the windup to that virtual Fringe I wrote the following:
“It wasn't until I saw Tristan Miller’s preview in the traveling artists showcase prior to opening night of the festival last year that I realized, "Oh, yeah, I definitely want to see that." His stand-up comedy show ‘Manic Impressive’ was supposed to be dealing with fun subjects like bipolar disorder and depression, and given that my mother had just died a month before the festival, I wasn't entirely sure I was up for it. But while Miller may be a comedian with a mission, he's still a comedian first and a very funny one. My tweet review at the time was ‘to be brief, Tristan Miller’s stand-up show Manic Impressive was... both :) An entertaining, informative and quite circuitous tour through a brain that can make his life challenging sometimes - 5 stars.’ Basically after that introduction, I'm down for whatever he's doing next.”
All that’s still true.
That’s the thing about drafting these lists prior to any previews happening. Sometimes you miss a gem in the flurry of dozens of offerings where you’re just making your best guess. But the upside is, once you know, you’ve got an easy top of the list for the next time they appear on the Fringe schedule.
Do I also find it amusing that I’m giving the #1 slot to a show called “Least Likely To Succeed?” Absolutely, that’s just a bonus.
Oddly enough, as I was drafting this, Tristan started messaging me - just in case I hadn’t already noticed he was coming back with a new show.
Why yes, Tristan, I did notice. (Hopefully, he’ll be pleasantly surprised. I told him he was on the top 10 list, I didn’t mention I’d slotted him in at the top already.)
He mentioned this year’s show is “a new hour of stand up” and that it’s “a lot lighter than Manic Impressive! It’s nice to be working on something more goofy.”
I remember smiling and laughing a lot during “Manic Impressive” and laughs were hard to come by for me in the summer of 2019 (as previously stated) so I was doubly grateful for Tristan’s skills as a comedian.
Tristan’s bio on the Fringe site this year says: “As a comedy performer Tristan has been featured in The Devil Fest and Devil Cup Comedy Festivals along with the Minnesota and Kansas City Fringe Festivals in the USA and The Dunedin, Wellington, and Nelson Fringe Festivals in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Tristan's material runs the gamut of mental health, identity, religion, politics, social issues, along with a grab bag of characters and impressions!”
If you need further convincing, Tristan’s social media feeds and YouTube channel have lots of examples of his humor and other insights.
The Bryant Lake Bowl is a little trickier to get to this year because of construction on Lake Street, but shows like Least Likely To Succeed: Tales From a Midwestern Homeschooler are the kind of thing that make it worth the extra effort to get to the venue. And I shall. If you need a laugh, I’ll hopefully see you there.
Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.
While I have your attention, please VOTE :)
Minnesota is currently in the early voting period
for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate,
Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to
vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait
until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)
Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th.
We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your
vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and
gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.
As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.
Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.
For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.
Vote. Raise your voice. We're not going back.
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