Mitchell Polin is a professor in the Department of Theater and Dance.  He earned his B.A. from Trinity College in 1996, and an M.A. in Performance Studies from New York University in 1998.  Since 1998 he has acted as artistic director of the “Ordinary Theater”, which explores the non-narrative theater and its relationship to the theoretical issues of performance.  The theater places a particular emphasis on the application of the 'remix' in live performance. In addition to his performance work he served as archivist for the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute from 1998-2000 before joining the faculty at Trinity in 2001. 

His fields of interest include:  American experimental performance, radio and sound theory, Art Brut and non-mimetic performance styles, new media studies, and linguistic experiments in the European avant-garde.  His current research is examining the impact of new sound and video technologies on narrative and sign structure in performance. 

He brings to his teaching a background in performance studies and an emphasis on building a historical and theoretical foundation for work in the performance space.  The theater history classes that he teaches at Trinity provide a forum to discuss and discover an evolution of theatrical practice and thought. 

Director, Ordinary Theater:

• Polin, Mitchell A. Joys of Fantasy (writer/director/set design), Twelve21, New York, NY, Summer 2009.
• Polin, Mitchell A. Our Town Revisited (writer/director), Academy of Music, Northampton, MA, Spring 2009.
• Polin, Mitchell A. May Flowers (writer/director/set design), Artifacts 20th Century, Florence, MA, Spring 2008.
• Polin, Mitchell A. Mustard (writer/director/set design), La Mama e.t.c., New York, NY
  Original performance based on Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Spring 2006.
• Polin, Mitchell A. The Return of Odysseus (original work), El Bohio, New York, NY
  Workshop of performance based on play by Stanislaw Wyspianski.  Imaginary interviews with various historical/mythological figures such as Virginia Woolf and Prometheus, Summer 2001.
• Polin, Mitchell A. The Meeting (original work), Bank Street Theater, New York, NY
  Eight existential figures meet in an ‘alien’ space, Summer-Fall 1999. 
• Polin, Mitchell A. The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice, Stella Adler Conservatory, New York, NY An early 20th century play about the conflict between human beings and technology during the industrial revolution, Winter 1998.

Director, Solo Performance:

• Polin, Mitchell A. Pussy Trouble (Michael Burke, actor and writer), Dixon Place, New York, NY
  Director/Sound Design, Summer/Fall 2005.
• Polin, Mitchell A. Cucumber Dreams (Michael Burke, actor and writer), National Tour
  Director/Sound Design, Summer/Fall 2005, Spring 2006.
• Polin, Mitchell A. Exile, (Lesley Farow, actor and writer)  Ko Festival of Performance, Amherst, MA
  Director/Sound Design, Summer 2004.

Director, Happenings:

• Polin, Mitchell A. A Happening for Nine People, Washington Square Park, New York, NY.
  Various events performed during a nine-hour period in Washington Square Park designed to highlight everyday events, Summer 1998.

Guest Lectures:

• Polin, Mitchell A., and Lesley Farlow. On performance of Exile given at Ko Festival of Performance. TCCTR Faculty Lecture Series, Trinity College, Fall 2004.
• Polin, Mitchell A. “Black Mountain College and the American Artistic Explosion.” Invited lecture, Trinity College, Hartford, CT, Spring 1999. 

Guest Residencies:

• Moscow Art Theater/Moscow Art Theatre School, Moscow, Russia
  Invited by director and actors of Moscow Art Theater to lead series of workshops on post-modern theater aesthetics based on Faust!!! presented at the Moscow Art Theatre, Summer 2005