Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Seth Mitchell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Seth, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

When I first started out as an actor, I had no idea what I was doing. I had no family or friends who were part of the entertainment industry and therefor had no guide posts to know whether I was making good choices to start laying the foundations of a career. I was blessed early on to meet Ted Melfi (who has since gone on to direct films like St. Vincent and Hidden Figures) and we produced a few short films together. It was on Ted’s sets that I first cut my teeth as an actor in a professional setting. If I’m honest, as exciting as it was, it was nerve-racking and I felt like a bit of a fraud.

After my first day of shooting, Ted called me unexpectedly, and I’ll never forget his words – “call your parents and tell them you made the right decision to become an actor. You spent the day working across from actors who have been doing this for decades and you held your own.” They were simple words for him to say, but they meant everything to me.

Anyone who has chosen the artistic life knows that the journey has many ups and downs, and often it can feel as though there are many more downs than ups. However, I can say on the harder days, when I wonder if I should give up and doing something “normal,” Ted’s words have stuck with me – “you made the right choice.” It took five minutes of his time to give me the encouragement that has carried me forward for years. The artists journey is often a solo one, but Ted’s small act showed me how much we need each other along the way. So, take a few minutes out of your day today, and call, email and text a fellow creative and remind them that they’ve made the right decision to follow this path.

Seth, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I wasn’t raised to be a creative – I was very much meant to be a lawyer, or administrator of some kind. I grew up in a family that valued logic and reason. but I could never escape the idea that I was meant for the world of imagination, storytelling, and play. My family was supportive of my creative hobbies, but I’d be lying if I didn’t feel a pressure to take the practical route. I’m still not quite sure how I had the nerve to tell my parents that I was going to pursue acting, rather than law school after graduating from Pepperdine University, but somehow I did. It was exhilarating until I realized that I was on a career path I knew nothing about, in a business in which I had no connections, and pursuing a life dependent on a skillsets I had barely begun to explore.

I was blessed to meet Ted Melfi early on, and learned so much about writing, story, and collaboration as we created numerous short films together. I also learned the hard lesson of how difficult it was to get an independent film off the ground as we developed a few independent films together. Eventually, I went on to start my own production company and develop, produce and act in my first two feature films. If I’m honest, as exciting as that was, the hamster wheel of Hollywood took its toll, and I found the fun of creativity was crushed by industry expectations.

After as a result, I took a detour of a few years and worked for a church as I considered going to seminary. But that childhood longing still called for me to return to my creative soul. I dipped by toe back into the world of imagination at Impro Theatre in LA, where I improvised full length plays in the styles of Chekhov, Jane Austen, Tennessee Williams and other playwrights/authors. It would be hard to overstate how grateful how much I appreciate the four years I spent in that theatre – it was there that I learned just how exciting and exhilarating collaboration is, found my strength and vulnerability as an actor, and most importantly, connected with my artistic voice in a way I had only dreamed of before.

Those years and discoveries were such a gift when I found myself in Austin, TX wondering what my life could look like this far from LA and NYC. I was in a new land where what I did next was completely and totally up to me. So I dug into what I learned at Impro, and found myself experimenting with new projects and new ideas based more so on what felt personal and vital as opposed to what might help move my career forward. I’ve performed my own cabaret, written and released my own music, filmed short after short with new friends, and am now developing feature film projects again. I think that scared college grad who kept thinking he should abandon this path and take the LSATs, would be a bit overwhelmed, but more so encouraged to know that taking that initial leap into creativity would lead him so many unexpected adventures.

As I continue to find my freedom in the creative, it’s my endeavor that my audience, in whatever medium, would find both an escape into whimsical tales that bring laughter and hope, and stories that allow their hearts to process the unspoken emotions of heartbreak and disappointment. The pursuit of the creative has allowed me the gift of connecting with my own heart and passions, and I hope that those who watch or listen to my work will walk away feeling, in some inexpressible way, that they know their own hearts that much more.

Have you ever had to pivot?

At the end of 2019, I was making plans for my next year. In the years previous, I had been enjoying improvising plays in various styles like Jane Austen, Chekhov and Tennessee Williams at Impro Theatre in LA, as well as diving back into singing, having been classically trained in college. I decided that in 2020, I would more earnestly pursue a life in theatre, and become bicoastal in NYC and LA so that I could audition for Broadway and regional theatre while keeping the foundations of the career I was building in LA.

Then, of course, COVID hit and life itself, it somehow felt, shut down. For a variety of reasons not entirely related to COVID, by June of 2020, I found myself living in Austin, TX. It was a change I never expected, but sorely needed. However, not only was the majority of the industry shutdown, the path forward as an actor was not nearly as obvious as it was in LA or NYC.

I felt lost, frustrated and while I had immense peace about my new home, I couldn’t help but feel that, from a career perspective, I had driven myself straight into a dead end. Once I got over myself, though, I discovered that it was time for me reconnect with my own artistry, the stories I wanted to tell and stop allowing my industry to dictate what success was for me. It started small, with producing a concert and performing songs for new friends who were gracious enough to support me by buying tickets, and then writing my own cabaret and performing it at the Soho House in Austin. A year later, I was back in LA, writing and recording original music with a friend. From there, I was producing short films again, and now have two feature films in development that will be filmed in 2024, as well as my debut album coming next year.

I’m the busiest I’ve ever been as a creative, and it was all birthed from a moment in my life when I felt as though there was no path forward. As hard as that beginning of this chapter was, it removed so many distractions, and reconnected me with my purpose as a creative and storyteller. So often we give outside circumstances, people, etc power over our lives, when in truth, you’re in charge and you can create something today. Just take the next step, no matter how small it may seem. You may not know where it will lead, but sometimes the unknown is the most exciting part of our journey.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I only have one tattoo (for now); just a simple word in a typewriter font on my left forearm- “known.” There is a longer story behind it, but I got it as a simple reminder to myself that I am known by my friends during a period of life that I felt unseen. One of my favorite parts about any creative project is that I get an opportunity to dig into the mystery of what it means to walk this life; the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s become the most apparent to me in writing music – how do you express a few layers of the human experience with maybe 50 words and a few chords?

One of the answers to that question is to be vulnerable about yourself – to honestly tell the emotional and sometimes literal journey of your own life so that your audience can know you. That said, I’d rather someone walk away from listening to one of my songs, not thinking about me, but instead pondering whatever memories, feelings, or questions that popped up as they listened.

Take my first two singles. Neon Rose is simply an expression of what it feels like when you give yourself completely over to the ridiculousness of love at first sight. I’m not a person who finds love easy (does anyone?), and I co-wrote that one as a way of putting down my cynicism and just allowing my heart to hope for that instantaneous connection and surrender to someone new. Please Don’t Leave, on the other hand, is an expression of what has felt like in my life when I’ve taken my mask off with loved ones, and been honest about my internal struggles, hoping that that my vulnerability wouldn’t bring rejection.

Both of those songs required me to dig into my own experiences and confront feelings that I’d rather leave buried. They required me to get to know myself a bit more. My hope in doing so, is that vulnerability of the words will lead the listener to be as honest with themselves about their own struggles with love, or to grant them the comfort that they aren’t alone in building up the courage to share a secret with a friend.

I guess what I’m trying to say, is that I do my best to know myself as I put myself into my work, so that my audience will walk away feeling the way I do when I look at my tattoo – just a bit more “known.”

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sethdavidmitchell
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Y6d8bLfcUbiOxD4cILniO?si=YMP0QLfsQ72Bvznn98gv-Q

Image Credits
Matt Kallish, ABM Photography, Enowen Photography