Hometown: Woodinville, WA
Education: BA in Theater and Political Science from the University of Chicago
Favorite Credits: Double Booked at The Public House Theater, Proof at Court Theatre, and Trigger Happy at the Annoyance Theater.
Why theater?: In the Chicago comedy scene the theater provides a place for artists to experiment with the weird, irreverent and messy without network executives or investors intervening to stop the madness.
Tell us about Tribulation: The Musical: It’s the end of the world…and you still need a job. Tribulation follows a would-be-poet stuck at a crappy office job as the world falls apart around her.
What inspired you to write Tribulation: The Musical: I grew up evangelical during the release of Left Behind, a series of books which detailed the events of the Biblical End times. Although the books were intended to be fiction I took them as gospel and worried constantly that we were living in the end of days. That’s the inspiration for the world of the musical. The main character’s struggle at her desk job was just copy and pasted from my own life, not to mention all the artists around me.
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I enjoy good storytelling seeped in dark irony with a touch of non-sequitor insanity. My favorite theater companies in Chicago are the Neo-Futurists and the Hypocrites. Sand is an improv troupe that inspires me every time I see them play.
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Dan Harmon.
What show have you recommended to your friends?: Sand, Burning Bluebeard (The Hypocrites), and the TV show, Rick and Morty
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Eddie Falco in "Shit Get’s Done".
If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Not a play, but I wish I could have seen Robin Williams perform standup live.
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Dressing up like a fancy writer, going to a coffee shop and pretending I’m in the middle of my third novel while I look at funny dogs on the internet.
If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A lawyer.
What’s up next?: I’m mid process on an filthy original musical called Purity Ball: A Father-Daughter F*cK-Fest, which opens at the Annoyance November 3rd.
For more on Molly, visit www.mollyannemiller.com