SUNNY MITCHELL

Sunny Mitchell is a director, choreographer, instructor, vocalist, guitarist, and entertainment developer. Her career has included many principal and solo roles during her tenure with the Sacramento Ballet and Broadway at Music Circus (formerly California Musical Theatre). Sunny holds a BFA, specialization in choreography, from UC Irvine and an MA in Education from CSUS. Other titles include Adjunct Faculty at CSUS, Assistant Choreographer for Broadway at Music Circus, and a number of titles in education with Broadway Sacramento and Sacramento Ballet. Other affiliations include Theatre Ventures International, under the guidance of Dennis Nahat, Stephens College in Missouri, Musical Theatre Intensive Sacramento, Sacramento Shakespeare Festival, Leighton Dance Project, El Dorado Musical Theatre, and various dance studios, fundraisers and fashion shows. Sunny is a proud member of Actor’s Equity and the founding director of Sunny Mitchell Theatre Projects (SMTP), a platform for developing theatrical works that are alive, creative, and imaginative. Developing a marketing palette for her own arts projects, she has also contracted with local small businesses for website builds and social media support. Sunny is a vocalist, guitarist, and manager for two country roots bands, Granite City Ramblers and The Wildwood Roses (the only ever Carter Sisters tribute band). The Wildwood Roses had the honor of singing with third generation Carter family members, Carlene Carter and Lorrie Carter Bennett, in Hendersonville, TN.  Ms. Mitchell received grant funding from Sac Metro Arts and has created residencies for such esteemed artists as WS Holland, Lorrie Carter Bennett, Ronnie Williams, and Vicki Langdon (showcasing her Carter and Cash memorabilia for a 50th anniversary celebration of Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Album). Sunny’s recent endeavors include producing, directing and performing in large music concerts celebrating country roots music. In 2016, American Legend: A Tribute to Johnny Cash’s Life in Song, pulled together over 20 artists from across the state of California in a benefit for Folsom's own Johnny Cash Art Trail, and earned her the City of Folsom's 2016 Arts Achievement Award. Ms. Mitchell’s proposal on “Country Music in the Classroom,” based on her 2017 Cultural Equity grant through Sac Metro Arts, was selected to be presented at the Johnny Cash Heritage Festival at Arkansas State University. Ms. Mitchell, along with The Wildwood Roses and other community members,  founded the Wildwood Performing Arts Foundation, with a focus on using the performing arts as a vehicle for education, with direct emphasis on the unique tapestry of our American heritage.  Under the auspices of the foundation, Ms. Mitchell has offered songwriting workshops, poetry contests and music programming to students in Sacramento county and neighboring communities. Also under the foundation, she has developed a grassroots music festival, Folsom Americana Fest, that will see its third season in 2023. Sunny most recently partnered with the city of Folsom to host John Carter Cash and other esteemed guests for the 5th Anniversary Folsom Cash Art Trail celebration. Ms. Mitchell teaches jazz dance and musical theatre dance at Folsom Lake College and recently took on a brand new position at John Adams Academy EDH as a Visual and Performing Arts Mentor. Sunny currently books music for Willamette Wineworks on Sutter Street and her most recent project was recently released - a holiday video for the merchants of Historic Folsom District. Her projects for 2024 include more dates with Granite City Ramblers and special guests Doug Colosio and Chelsi Johnson, as well as producing and co-directing Peter Pan  in John Adams Academy's brand new performing arts space.