Reverend Billy Character Analysis

In an MSNBC News Clip, Bill Talen is shown responding to questions pertaining to his character “Reverend Billy.” He is wearing a white suit and collar, has blonde hair poofed up, and forwardly talks about anti-consumerism and the U.S.’s lack of response to climate change. But this man being interviewed is not actually Reverend Billy, he is Bill Talen, the performance artist- or is he? When asked “why did you create this character?”, Talen responds that “[Reverend Billy] was a character I created 10 years ago, but I have gradually become [him]!” and follows with an overenthusiastic chuckle. By the end of the video, the interviewer is addressing Talen with “Reverend Billy.” Talen’s uncertain identity may seem unsettling to some people, and this

Transformation performance accomplishes exactly what the word means: the performers become somehow different, whether it is in their beliefs, character, or state within society. Often times, transformations are rituals, and an example would be a college graduation. After the graduation “performance” is over, the students have become alumni with a degree. Transportation performances are typically what westerners would think of as theatre. The performer does not change who they are over the course of the act. They remain the same before and after, but must put on a different persona during the performance. Schechner emphasizes the importance of “cooling down” before re-entering ordinary life in transportational performance, to help the performer avoid any mental or emotional stress (Schechner,

He is not actually this religious figure; he created the character by piecing together his on-and-off Calvinist background with a passion for political activism (Lane, 2004). But judging by his interview, it seems that his performance may also be transformational. Talen is certainly not the same man he was when he created Reverend Billy. Perhaps he is transportational and simply not “cooling down” enough, and this explains his apparent confusion. However, Lane argues that Talen’s unwillingness to pick an identity is purposeful. Lane asserts that it allowed the Reverend more freedom in terms of where he protests (Lane, 2004). This may or may not be true, but the identity does allow him to create a unique relationship with his audience. Instead of a traditional transportational performance where the audience understands the division of where “reality” lies, his protests more resemble Indian or Asian performances, where there is no climax or structured storyline, and the audience participates. But in this case, the audience may not even be aware that the Reverend is actually Bill Talen. Therefore, to the audience, this performance crosses into the realm of being transformational. Reverend Billy’s purpose, his on-stage transformation, is to become a character with more followers than he started with: his transformation requires transforming the