Conversations with Mitchell Beard

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mitchell Beard.

Mitchell, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I came to Nashville for school at Belmont University. I’m graduating with a degree in musical theatre and looking forward, I hope to continue performing as much as I can but one of the things that have brought me the most joy through college is songwriting. I have always loved performing and for the longest time thought that was what I had to do. I grew up in Seattle, WA and from a pretty young age I was involved in “the arts”.

My parents put me in piano lessons at 5 years old and I guess that is really where it started. All of my siblings ended up dropping out after a few years but my parents wouldn’t let me and I am really glad they didn’t because I wouldn’t be where I am if they had let me quiet. In middle school, I started writing and transcribing my own music and that was I think the moment I really learned to fall in love with music.

I wrote my first little musical my senior year of high school for a one-act festival they were putting on and realized that this was what I really loved to do. I auditioned for a few schools and ended up choosing Belmont because of their strong music background. Since being at school, I have learned from some of the best in the industry. One of my favorite teachers has been Tony Moreira, my composition professor.

I spent quite a bit of time working on the music for my most recent show, The Demon Corps, with Dr. Moreira and he has been such an amazing teacher and cheerleader. I have to attribute any success to the people that helped me get here. I haven’t gotten anywhere on my own and I think I would be remiss if I didn’t mention some of those people.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think the hardest hurdles are still ahead of me. The entertainment industry is brutal and I am young. Up until this point, I have heard pretty of “no”s but I have learned to cherish every yes.

I know that sounds a little sappy and I guess it is but I think it is really important in this industry to know your worth and remember those times when you have found success. It’s not like a lot of jobs where you interview, get the job and work for years before you ever have to think about looking for another job. Every contract is relatively short and you are always auditioning or applying. The risk is relatively high but the reward is very sweet.

The largest struggle for me up until this point was getting my work heard. I don’t think many artists realize that to be successful, you have to be pretty business savvy. I definitely didn’t think I would. I figured “let my work speak for itself” right? But the truth is if you don’t give your work a platform to speak, it is speaking to no one.

It’s kinda like that whole “if a tree falls in a forest” philosophy. Successful artists have to be expert networkers and that is what I have learned in my time here in Nashville. Getting your work heard requires rolling up your sleeves and knobbing those elbows.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a composer/songwriter here in Nashville. I just graduated from Belmont University with a degree in musical theatre and would ultimately like to write musicals for a living. The majority of my songwriting experience has been in writing for musicals and that is what I would say I specialize in.

It is definitely a very niche genre and can be extremely difficult to do full-time right out of school. I love telling stories through written words and music. I recently produced a 50min musical at Belmont titled “The Demon Corps” and would say that is a project I am most proud of. The show follows Kyle, a new recruit at a tempting firm in hell, as he starts to tempt his first victim.

The show comes to its climax when Kyle has to make a decision about his victim, ultimately leaving him without a job. I like to explain the show as a love child of “Screwtape Letters” and “the Good Place”. I think the thing that sets me apart from a lot of artists is my passion to write redemptive and dare I say Christian stories with a secular backdrop.

I don’t want to shy away from any of the messy material but I also what to be able to tell stories of hope that give audience members something to smile about when they leave the theater. I wouldn’t say that I am a “family-friendly” writer in the sense that I would filter anything or dumb down any rough dialog but I think all of my stories have the ability to speak to a wider audience than just other people my age.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I also love making movies.

I am very passionate about the art of story-telling through film and TV and the ways that it differs from the theatre. I think it can open up incredible possibilities that aren’t possible on stage. My friends and I have made countless shorts and a few of them can be found on my youtube channel.

I love to laugh and one of my favorite things to do in my free time is to write and produce short comedy sketches with actor friends.

Contact Info:

• Email: mitchryanbeard@gmail.com
• Website: mitchbeard.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mitch_beard/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004297965614
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4KZ9_BmXA4Z7_uf5b_Ysog