Meet Mitch Connelly

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mitch Connelly a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Mitch, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

“While it is always best to believe in one’s self, a little help from others can be a great blessing.” – Uncle Iroh, Avatar: The Last Airbender.

At the end of the day, resilience must come from within. Dealing with doubt, with insecurity, with fear – it’s all part of the artist’s journey, and, strangely, I take heart knowing that it’s something many of us struggle with. Unfortunately though, that struggle doesn’t have a cure-all answer. I often think about this life as an act of faith; believing in your Voice as an artist; trusting that, given enough determination and adaptability, your dreams can come true.

That all being said, the source of my faith is undeniably fostered by my community and by story. There are of course the stories I grew up with, like my favorite, The Lord of the Rings; narratives in heightened settings about monomythic struggles of good against evil; but as an adult & an artist I’ve come to be inspired by the creativity of the storytellers who crafted those tales. Most of all though, I’m inspired by the stories of those in my life; of the people I see all around me putting one foot in front of the other & overcoming the mundane adversities of everyday life.

Taking The Lord of the Rings as an example (it is my favorite story after all) of the impact of a story; I am consistently inspired as a storyteller by it & stories like it; stories that captured my imagination as a child. When I was but a youngling, I had a pure, uncritical love for it simply because it opened up a fantastical world for me to play in & resonated with something in me that I could feel was profound; though might not have been able to articulate. Creatively, it fuels me to this day and has left an undeniable handprint on the kinds of stories I want to tell. The real reason it has staying power as I get older though; it’s an allegory for mental health. Oftentimes the road does get more difficult as you get farther along, your steps do get heavier, and you need people around you with different skills & perspectives to help you. Just as Frodo wouldn’t have gotten far without Sam, I know I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I have without my friends & family to help me along.

Ps. If anyone is really in need of a cathartic pep talk; check out Sam’s Speech from the end of The Two Towers. I cry every time.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Well, first and foremost I’m an Actor! I’ve been acting professionally since high school, mostly in theatre. I’m from San Diego originally, where I attended the Coronado School of the Arts in their Musical Theatre & Drama department. I went on to study at UNCSA, The University of North Carolina School of the Arts, a conservatory-style classical acting training program, where I earned my BFA in Acting.

UNCSA led me to New York, where, as well as doing smaller plays, commercials, & summer stock, I began performing stand up comedy. During the pandemic I decided to make the move back to California and continue my career in Los Angeles; that led me to the Upright Citizen’s Brigade where I studied improv, and to A Noise Within, a wonderful theatre company in Pasadena that I’ve been lucky to work with many times over the last few years.

In addition to auditioning, writing, & performing around LA; the thing I’m most excited to talk about would be Stardust & Saddlebags, a D&D podcast I’m developing with my friends! It’s a Fantasy-Western focused on a continent’s power struggle over a precious resource known as Stardust. I’ve been running this game for the last couple of years and we’ve recently decided to start recording it and putting it out there! So that’ll be coming soon to wherever you normally listen to your podcasts!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

If I were to give any artist advice on what qualities they should keep as their North Star; I’d say you need determination, creativity, & vulnerability.

Determination seems obvious, but is perhaps the most “easier said than done” quality of the bunch. As a teenager I was advised by my uncle, a guitarist in his 60’s who’s been playing music professionally since he was 17, to not allow yourself a fallback plan; because if it’s there, you’ll inevitably end up taking it. If you genuinely love your craft and believe in your Voice as an artist; put all your eggs in that basket. Why not? You’ve only got one life.

Creativity is the lifeblood of an artist. Martha Graham has a wonderful quote; “It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.” I think about that a lot, particularly the notion of “keeping the channel open.” I view it as a reminder to keep creating; to keep honing the skills that are directly applicable to my craft, yes, auditioning & writing & what have you; but also to chase creative passion wherever it leads. Take up an art form that feels tangental to your “main focus”; you never know what you might learn. Consume art that feeds your artistic, creative soul; for me that takes the form of films, books, video games, TV shows, & music; but it’ll look different for everyone! The important thing is to keep your creative soul alive and curious. As my favorite actor put it:
“You’re only given one little spark of madness, you mustn’t lose it.” – Robin Williams

Lastly; vulnerability. We had a saying when I studied acting at UNCSA; “My vulnerability is my strength.” Acting is an art form that is particularly predicated on bringing your honest self to the work; if you’re not honestly living through those circumstances, an audience will always be able to tell, & the piece will fall flat. However, I believe vulnerability is a quality that transcends across art forms. The truth is always interesting. Be it writers, musicians, directors, visual artists, actors; audiences show up to witness something true on display; to experience something that they resonate with & will hopefully stay with them forever. That communion can only occur when the artist bears their honest soul for their audience; and that takes a courage I will always admire. Being vulnerable with an audience of strangers is not easy; but that’s what makes us artists.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

Earlier in my life & career, ‘round about college when I was studying acting, I definitely had a mindset of specialization, or “min/maxing,” to use a D&D term; putting all your “skill points” into a focused set of skills while neglecting others, in the hopes that you’ll become so specialized it’ll yield stronger results than casting a wide net. My thought was; if I became the best actor I could, worked hard, and showed dedication & aptitude for the craft; that would take me where I want to go. Further along on my path I’m taking a different approach. I’ve found that an artistic career, much like life, is not a meritocracy; and this industry loves a hyphen.

I’ve spoken a couple times now about the importance of determination. Determination; one’s commitment to a course of action; deciding ahead of time that you will not be swayed by choppy waters and rough winds; is absolutely necessary when embarking on the life of an artist. That being said; I strongly believe that adaptability needs to go hand in hand with determination. Don’t keep trying the same tactic over and over if it isn’t working. Change your strategy, learn a new skill, try a new approach.

Absolutely not knocking anyone who uses an old-fashioned, straightforward approach. You can actually slam your head up against the industry wall until it breaks through constant auditioning and self-submitting; I’ve seen it work for certain folks. For myself though, I’m going for a more Air-Bender approach; go around the problem, try a different tact, get creative. That mindset is ultimately what led me to stand-up, improv, and D&D; I definitely feel that my life is richer for that.

I don’t regret choosing to “specialize” as an actor; in most respects it’s been incredibly beneficial to have a strong foundation of an artistic craft. It’s given me a background to lean on as a performer, & I can always count on the fact that, when I’m handed a script, I’ll be able to handle it. That foundation almost serves as the thesis statement for my artistic career; whatever I do, I know that ultimately I do it to further my career as an actor & get myself closer to telling that next great story. But, especially as the world of entertainment (and the world on the whole, if we’re being honest) expands exponentially, I think it helps to approach an artistic career from multiple angles. One of these approaches is bound to break through eventually, and the hope is that I’ll be a more well-rounded human being for it when the time comes.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @WayTooMitch

Image Credits

Photo Credits: Jill Petracek (1-2), Matt Portner (3-4), Beth Connelly (5-7), & Craig Schwartz (8).