“I want to show you my glory box,” Tim Millersaid.

On a stage where the only prop was a green luggage trunk, Millerperformed his one-man show Glory Box for a crowd of 80 to 90people in the Hughes-Trigg theater Friday. Spectrum, a charteredorganization devoted to supporting the gay, lesbian, bisexual,transgender and straight communities on campus, the Women’sCenter and the SMU Theater Department sponsored the production.

Miller, a professor in the theatre department at the Universityof California at Los Angeles according to his personal Web site,created Glory Box to explore his difficulties in growing upas a homosexual, including his relationships with his family andthe hardships of loving someone who is not an American citizen.

“I’ve decided I need a glory box right now in mylife,” Miller said, “because Alastair and I are goingthrough a hard time trying to stay together in a country thatdoesn’t want us.”

Miller detailed the problems he and Alastair discovered whileattempting to make their relationship work, such as how benefitsafforded heterosexual bi-national couples are not always extendedto homosexual couples. “In spite of a Sears catalog ofdifferences between us — nationality, age, accent, music… — we consistently found ourselves pulled closer andcloser,” he said.

Miller also focused on his own battles as a gay man in America.In 1997 Miller was “gay bashed” while attending gaypride in Bozeman, Mont. Several men attacked him as he walked downa street. They called him what Miller refers to as “theF’s” and threw a bottle of liquor at him, which slicedhis hand.

But the audience laughed in spite of the serious subject matteras Miller switched between intimate recollection to biting socialcommentary. He discussed the problems men can have trying tominimize their bellies, calling the male stomach “abattlefield.” He also received laughs after describing hisfeelings before saying, “I love you” to his boyfriend.Miller was so nervous he needed practice sessions to becomecomfortable actually saying the words.

Miller brought the show back to the concept of the glory boxafter outlining a possible future where the United States refusedAlistair entry to the country. The only options for the couplewould be to either end their relationship or for both to leave thecountry, permanently.

Miller received a standing ovation from the audience after theshow. Michael Jimenez, co-president of Spectrum, admitted that hehad no previous exposure to Miller’s work but was glad tohave seen the show. “I found it to be very funny andinspiring. Not to mention a little heart-breaking,” saidJimenez. “I liked his performance so much I’m going totry and see if we can get him to come back next year.”

Debra McKnight, graduate intern at the Women’s Center andadvisor to Spectrum, also enjoyed Miller’s show and itsmessage. “In those moments of authentic and tragic grief heconnected us to our very humanity and called us to act against theinjustice of our society,” she said.

Miller closed the show encouraging the audience as they left thetheater to show their support for couples in similar situations bysigning petitions to support the Permanent Partners Immigration Actof 2001. The bill would give same-sex couples “virtually allimmigration rights now enjoyed by legal spouses.” The billcurrently has 129 sponsors in Congress, according to Miller.”This is the culture war battle of our time,” saidMiller.

For more information about Tim Miller visithttp://hometown.aol.com/millertale/timmiller.html.