Before becoming a lecturer in the English Department of California State University, Mitchell worked extensively as a playwright and professional comedian and ventriloquist. He performed throughout the U.S. and Caribbean, also appearing on television. Previous plays include: Urban Renewal, Potlatch, Cruising the Caribbean: Old Pleasures in the New World, Behind-the-Scenes, Brecht in L.A., The Composition of Herman Melville, and American Labor.
