Rick Mitchell

Rick Mitchell serves as Professor of English at California State University, Northridge, where he teaches Playwriting (ENGL 310) and Creative Writing Studies (ENGL 652). An award-winning dramatist, his theatrical works have been performed internationally at venues including Highways Performance Space (Santa Monica), Actors' Theatre of Louisville, Metropolitan Playhouse (New York), Orlando Shakespeare Festival, the Blank Theatre (Hollywood), Samuel Beckett Festival (Las Vegas), and Brecht-Haus (Berlin). He has also directed community-based playwriting workshops in Puerto Rico and as a City of L.A. Artist-in-Residence.

His academic credentials include:

• Ph.D. in English/Creative Writing (playwriting & performance studies emphasis), University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 1999
• M.F.A. in Playwriting, Brooklyn College, 1992
• M.A. in English, Southern Connecticut State University, 1990
• B.A. in Sociology (minor in Drama), Manhattanville College, 1981

Mitchell's creative and scholarly work centers on experimental theatre, American drama, and performance theory. He has authored significant publications including Disaster Capitalism; or Money Can't Buy You Love: Three Plays, Brecht in L.A.: A Play, Ventriloquist: Two Plays and Ventriloquial Miscellany, and the critical anthology Experimental O'Neill. His peer-reviewed research regularly appears in national and international journals, focusing on intersections of political economy and theatrical form, as evidenced by Edward James Olmos' description of him as a "great American Playwright" whose work is "funny, provocative, and stunningly poignant."

Though described as award-winning, no specific honors are documented in available records. His professional activities extend to NEH Summer Seminars for U.S. Professors in Buenos Aires and San Juan, reflecting international scholarly engagement. Community-based drama initiatives constitute a significant dimension of his practice, demonstrating commitment to applied theatre beyond academic settings.