D. Wayne Mitchell

Mitchell holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alaska Anchorage and a Masters of Arts from Wichita State University.

While at WSU, he was the Director of Theatre and Dance department's Education Outreach program for which he was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student Award in 1994.

He has received two Patricia Neal acting award while performing at the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez, Alaska.

In 2000, he was chosen to represent the United States at the Olympic Arts Festival in Sydney, Australia.

He was the 2002 recipient of the Outstanding Arts Education award by the Anchorage Concert Association. He was the recipient of the 2009 University of Alaska Anchorage Alumni Association Community Service Award.

Jolly Roger King of The Pirates was co-written with his twin brother Shane and Shane's wife Erin. In 2008, Mitchell wrote and directed Legend of the Wolfman, an adaptation of the classic tale.[1][2] Other produced works include Otogibanashi, The Invisible Man, The Pyrates, and The Circus of the Damned.

Wayne has also written commissioned plays for the Last Frontier Theatre Conference and the Alaska Overnighters 24-hour play lab, and the Don't Blink Short Play Festival.

Mitchell has directed numerous plays for Wichita Children's Theatre, Bend Theatre for Young people, Alaska Overnighters, and TBA Theatre, including the ongoing reincarnations of TBA's cirque-nouveau magic show Illusions, originally conceived in 2004. Favored directing projects have included The Cottonpatch Gospel, The Seven Against Thebes, Antigone, The Canterbury Tales, and The Frogs.

Mitchell performs frequently with various theater companies in Anchorage, Alaska, and has received several awards for his on-stage performances. Selected performances include Edgar Allan Poe in The Death of Edgar Allan Poe (2010), Frog in A Year With Frog and Toad (2009), George in The Daemon of Darby Castle (2009), Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (2008), B7 in The Head That Wouldn't Die (2007), Estragon in Waiting for Godot (2003), and originating the role of The Abbot in The Witch of Greythorn. In addition, he has originated multiple roles in both straight and musical shows for the Wichita Children's Theatre outreach programs. [3] [4]

Following his graduate studies, Wayne worked as the tour manager for Wichita Children's Theatre, as well as directing WCT's teen production program "Center Stage." In 1996, he founded and served as the Artistic Director for the Bend Theatre for Young People, in Bend, Oregon. After returning to Alaska in 1999, Mitchell remains a Mentor for Alaska Pacific University's graduate level theater education program. He is a frequent guest lecturer at Universities and Theater conferences on the subject of the New Vaudeville movement and physical comedy. Selected presentations have included the American College Theater Festival, Last Frontier Theatre Conference, The Olympic Arts Festival and the Annual Thespian Conference. In addition, Wayne is also a founding member of TBA theater, a #1 non profit organization.

In 2008 Wayne was married to fellow actor Dana Mitchell and is now a father to his son Jason (born in June 2011) and his step-daughter Grace (born in March 2001) with whom he and Dana continue to perform.

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