Meet Sarah Elizabeth Mitchell | Actor / Producer / Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Elizabeth Mitchell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah Elizabeth, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I fear for some of us it really isn’t a choice as much as it is a compulsion.

I did youth theater training programs back home and started acting in theater for grown ups in the ‘90s when my own age was in the single digits. When I was 9, I was happily cast as a Munchkin in a production of “The Wizard of Oz.”

Before that I was dressing up as a princess and swirling around my living room in a costume improvising opera. I would put on elaborate melodramatic plays with my toys as the cast and me as some kind of auteur writer / director / puppeteer improvising performances.

As a pre-teen and teenager, I continued to study acting and be cast as the lead in plays in the performing arts department at my preparatory school. I decided to make entertainment my profession and applied to college for theater.

I was accepted to Bard College and completed my 4 year BA program majoring in the performing arts where I studied both acting and playwriting. A number of plays that I wrote were staged by the department and I got to have a hand writing for other actors.

For a semester, I was lucky to go to London to study Shakespeare and landed the lead in our end of term play as Ysuelt in Tristan & Ysuelt which went up at the Ovalhouse.

After graduating, I attended the National Theater Institute’s Theatermakers Program where we wrote, directed and performed a play every week as an ensemble.

I moved back to New England, where I grew up, and started auditioning in the local film & theater scene.

I performed as Runt in ‘Disco Pigs’ at the American Repertory Theatre in Boston before landing a role in a play off-Broadway called “With Love.”

As I continued to audition, I started to explore acting for the screen, completing what must have been a record number of student films in the film department at Emerson College. I had little background in film and most of my training was in theater, so this was my unofficial “film school” to make the transition from acting on stage to screen acting.

I took to film as a medium like a fish to water and started auditioning with the local offices casting film & TV. A number of Hollywood productions would come to New England to film in our beautiful historic locations or to get a real Boston landmark backdrop. There is a film tax incentive in the region that offers a tax break to productions that shoot locally and hire local talent. I was the beneficiary of many auditions for such productions and it was through this that I had a window into Hollywood-scale, larger budget productions.

I was cast in the first union film I auditioned for, “Chappaquiddick,” a powerful and political biopic which came to be called the first “Me Too” movie, detailing the death of a young woman in Massachusetts in 1969 during what is now known as the “Chappaquiddick Incident.”

My scene was opposite lead actor Jason Clarke and was a long shot with a walk-and-talk that would have cold-opened the film, except it was cut because it confused people in focus groups, apparently. However, I earned a screen credit and my SAG-AFTRA card through being Taft-Hartleyed by the production.

I continued to audition in New England for increasingly notable films including several Best Picture winners at the Oscars, namely “Little Women” and “CODA.”

I grew cognizant that the pool of roles I could audition for were limited to local hire opportunities so I decided it was time to uproot myself and made the move to Los Angeles where I have continued to make films and audition here for every (NDA-protected) opportunity I can.

Since moving to LA, I have been in many short films which have played at festivals such as Hollyshorts where I am a 3 times alum where “Spin Cycle,” a short film I played the lead role in, won “Best Shot on Film” given by Eastman Kodak.

I was in an ad campaign on horseback for Travel Paso which ran on 90 billboards in LA for years and as a television ad spot.

To any directors or producers who may be reading this article:
My dream is to be cast in some feature films and television roles as soon as I can audition for them! Let’s work!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Resilency is key! I think the recent challenges include issues we have all been experiencing these past five years as an industry overall: how the pandemic halted production for some time in 2020-2022, the guilds striking in 2023 which had a residual impact on production in 2024. We have been in a turbulent time economically and politically but I am determined to keep making more art than ever before as a reaction—I hope my peers will join me.

After the recent wildfires, we had been experiencing a deluge of productions going outside of California to film. I would like to encourage productions to #StayinLA and bring work to this region to help us recover from this disaster. Thankfully there are some new tax incentives in place in California to help us keep production here…good things are coming.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
SCN 1 INT. DAYTIME — RESTAURANT

Picture kicking off the day with a fabulous late brunch, indulging in delicious treats and mimosas. Next, we’d hit the vibrant streets of Melrose for some exciting shopping, discovering unique boutiques and trendy stores. Afterward, we’d embark on a thrilling hike to catch a breathtaking view of the iconic Hollywood sign, feeling like stars as we soak in the panoramic scenery.

SCN 2 EXT. NIGHTTIME — HOLLYWOOD

As the sun sets, we’d glide down Hollywood Boulevard for a glamorous dinner at a chic rooftop pool with a bar & restaurant, enjoying the city lights and a sophisticated atmosphere. Then, it’s time to get glammed up for a movie premiere at one of the swanky theaters nearby, mingling with celebrities and feeling the magic on the red carpet.

Once the credits roll, the party begins! We’d join the lively afterparty, dancing the night away and making unforgettable memories with new friends. It’s a day filled with adventure, glamour, and endless fun!

Roll credits

Fin.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Circe & Her Charms is my jewelry brand and I’d like to give a little shoutout to her — despite being a fictional character from Greek Myth, Circe represents a woman making her own way in the world and alchemizing her own life by her own designs. I’ve poured a lot of my own heart and soul into the brand and hand making the jewelry. I hope interested folks will peruse my wares! You can do so at circeandhercharms.com

Website: https://www.circeandherccharms.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah.elizabeth.mitchell

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-elizabeth-mitchell

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahElizabethMitchell

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/sarahelizabethmitchell

Other: https://www.imdb.me/sarahelizabethmitchell

Image Credits
Sarah Elizabeth Mitchell photographed by Deltron (@deltronbaps); styled by Tal Huerty (@talisshort) with dress & gloves from Throwbacks Vintage (@throwbacksvintage), hair & makeup by Nea Dune (@neadune). The Circe & Her Charms images and candid pictures were taken by Esther Jolee (@powrpuffcurls).