Actor  ·  Playwright  ·  Solo Performer

Mia
Paschal

Theatre   ·   Film   ·   Voice

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Mia Paschal

About

Mia Paschal

The Story Behind
the Performance

Mia Paschal is an actor, solo performer, and playwright who moved to San Francisco after living in Paris and Milan. She studied theatre at Harvard University under renowned director David Wheeler.

Identity — especially as defined by inherited culture — is at the heart of her work. Her plays for solo performance are inspired by her fascination with cultural migration patterns — people, ideas, language, art — whether across geographic borders or social strata, and how the collision of one or more forms can give birth to an entirely new perspective.

She is even more intrigued by how we define and create ourselves, what compels us to break free from societal and cultural restraints, however forbidding or accepted they may be.

She has performed at venues across the Bay Area and beyond, with commissions from the Oakland Museum of California, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the city of Kiel, Germany.

5
Solo Shows
3
Commissions
14
Marathons

Selected Credits

Stage & Screen

Theatre

Forever Wave (radio play)
Calliope, Missus Kincaides, Maggy
Estrella Suerte · dir. Nicole Gluckstern
The Antiquarian's Family (staged reading)
Countess Isabella
Cutting Ball Theatre · dir. Rob Melrose
Twelfth Night
Viola
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre · dir. Whitney LeBlanc
On the Sixes (cabaret)
Singer
DIVAFest · dir. Sean Owens · composer Don Seaver
Standby; War; Shoes
Diane / Various / Ensemble
A Loud Little Handful · dir. Emily Koch

Solo Performance

some life
Solo Performance
SF Fringe Festival · dir. Emily Koch · Best Female Solo Performance Award
This Lily Was (Fontana)
Solo Performance
SF Fringe · Marsh Rising · Rogue Festival · Iowa Fringe · Best Female Dramatic Solo Performance Award
Along the Path of Larks and Swallows
Solo Performance
Rogue Performance Festival · SF Fringe Festival · Theatre Bay Area CA$H Grant
Heartbreak Velocity
Solo Performance
The Marsh · EXIT Theatre · Night of Ideas, SF
The Slaughterhouse Trapeze
Solo Performance
The Marsh Performance Initiative

Original Works

Plays & Writing

2019 – Present
"My Blood and Sugar Dannebrog"
An in-progress play inspired by Denmark's involvement in the slave trade. Excerpts performed for the Brown Handler Residency (fellow, 2019–2020) and the EXIT Theatre's Subversion series.
2014
"Heartbreak Velocity"
A play about love, sex, and linguistics, developed through David Ford's New Voices Festival at the Marsh. Performed at the Marsh, EXIT Theatre, Salon San Carlos, Tell It On Tuesday, and at the Night of Ideas, San Francisco, 2020.

"Pure poetry in Heartbreak Velocity — Paschal glides between characters, voices, moods, English, French, Italian with graceful fluidity." — Jaguar Bennett

"Mesmerizing. Mia spins a seemingly stream-of-consciousness monologue that is masterfully written and thoroughly captivating — like being in a wonderful dream-state; I didn't really want to wake up." — Nate Butler

More ›
2008
"Along the Path of Larks and Swallows"
A dark comedy on contemporary romantic love, stylistically inspired by Joseph Cornell's collages and the linguistic playfulness of cartoonist George Herriman. Premiered at the Rogue Festival and SF Fringe Festival 2008. Recipient of a Theatre Bay Area CA$H grant.

"Paschal combines poetic lyricism with a piercing, uncompromising intelligence, and possesses a stage presence that is both graceful and fierce. Magnificent." — Xavier K., SF Fringe

"She delivers another beautifully written and performed show… Paschal's forceful stage presence can be hypnotic." — Donald Munro, Fresno Bee

Theatre Bay Area CA$H Grant

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2006
"This Lily Was (Fontana)"
A portrayal of a woman drawn to suicide since childhood, influenced by Greek and Roman mythology, biblical references, and traditional blues lyrics. Premiered at the 2006 SF Fringe Festival. Also performed at the Rogue Performance Festival and Iowa Fringe Festival 2007.

"Mia Paschal transcends her pain and reigns triumphant. This spectacle is pure poetry in motion. Whatever you do, if she's performing within a 100-mile radius of where you are, you have to see it." — Jacqui Barnes ★★★★★

"This show is serious business. Shot through with intense personal confession and executed with pitch-perfect precision — Mia Paschal's performance is a beautiful, wondrous thing." — pc munoz

Best Female Dramatic Solo Performance — SF Fringe 2006

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2004
"some life"
A solo performance examining self-perception and identity through the experiences of a Black female in contemporary America. Directed by Emily Koch. Premiered at the SF Fringe Festival; subsequently produced at EXIT Theatre's DIVAFest and Afro Solo Festival.

"A beautiful, bittersweet show — at times humorous but always poignant and above all, universal. Mia is a joy to watch and the writing is absolutely brilliant." — Yvonne P. ★★★★★

"She crawls up the walls and under your skin, and you won't leave without having laughed and then found your own reflection in one of the facets of her show." — Greg B.

Best Female Solo Performance — SF Fringe 2004

More ›

Commissions & Projects

Beyond the Stage

2007 — DIVAFest Cabaret
Songwriting: DIVAFest Cabaret
I was honored to be asked to contribute some songs to the 2007 DIVAfest Cabaret. It was fun to try my hand at songwriting — addictive, actually — and even more thrilling to see what Don Seaver and the singers did with the lyrics; they were amazing. I'm still writing lyrics, and I hope to have the chance to write for a cabaret again, and soon.
Songwriting
SF Weekly · May 2, 2007
The true star of the show, though, is first-time lyricist Mia Paschal. Using a broad range of styles, Paschal has no trouble transitioning from a scorching ballad titled "You Don't Love Me Yet", to the finale — a fun alphabetical tirade bashing men with lines like "P is for the prick who texted me goodbye."
— Nathaniel Eaton, SF Weekly · "DIVAfest Cabaret: Sassy & Seductive"
"you don't love me yet"
moonlight long behind me and so here I am again drowning in tequila and the eyes of dreamwrecked men a train cuts through the city, its whistle blowing far silence melts and sharpens the light behind the bar faces fade away now, tangled voices in their wake praying that the daylight will erase my last mistake bitter laughter suits you and the darkness even more turning round to kiss me in the shelter of the door
(chorus) it may never happen but for a moment yes it was revolving round each other for a moment just because you don't love me yet and yet you love me still you don't love me yet maybe you never will
caught within the thorned walls of desire and distaste crushing darkened memories to impale our hearts in place night gave voice to small truths blind and silent in the day and sunlight finds us tangled in a sleep-unveiled embrace stranger hands have held me and much kinder lies were told kinder hands will hurt me and much stranger truths unfold drowning in dark memories of all the men before and the train rides on, its dying song cuts me to the core
(chorus) it may never happen but for a moment yes it was revolving round each other for a moment just because you don't love me yet and yet you love me still you don't love me yet maybe you never will
stranger hands have held me and much kinder lies were told kinder hands will hurt me and much stranger truths unfold drowning in dark memories of all the men before and the train rides on, its dying song strands me here once more
© 2007 Mia Paschal. All Rights Reserved.
2020 — City of Kiel, Germany
"Sometimes all we want is, to dream ourselves back home"
A virtual reality installation commissioned by the city of Kiel, Germany, inspired by life during the pandemic.
Public Commission
2013 — Oakland Museum of California
"Trevlig, the Bay Bridge Troll"
Commissioned to write and give a public reading of a short story about the mythological Bay Bridge Troll.
Museum Commission
2013 — SFMOMA
"My Jim Dine Valentine"
Commissioned by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to write and perform a narrative piece about works in the permanent collection, inspired by Jim Dine's "Blue Clamp."
Museum Commission
Published
"If Love Were Something I Could Do"
Poetry published in The Copenhagen Review. Also translated Pierre Restany's monograph on artist Remo Bianco, L'immaginazione al potere, chosen by Restany himself.
Poetry & Translation

Recognition

Awards &
Nominations

2 wins
3 nominations
2 organisations

Highlights

Won
✦
SF Fringe Festival
Best Female Dramatic
Solo Performance
This Lily Was (Fontana)
2006
"Mia Paschal transcends her pain and reigns triumphant. This spectacle is pure poetry in motion. Whatever you do, if she's performing within a 100-mile radius of where you are, you have to see it."
— Jacqui Barnes, SF Fringe Audience
Won
✦
SF Fringe Festival
Best Female
Solo Performance
some life
2004
Top Pick
◇
Fresno Bee
Top Five Pick,
Rogue Festival
This Lily Was (Fontana)
2007

Full Record

Year Award Project Category Result
2006
SF Fringe Festival Award
San Francisco Fringe Festival
 This Lily Was (Fontana) Best Female Dramatic Solo Performance Won
2007
Fresno Bee Critics' Pick
Fresno Bee
 This Lily Was (Fontana) Top Five Pick, Rogue Performance Festival Selected
2008
Fresno Bee Critics' Pick
Fresno Bee
 Along the Path of Larks and Swallows Top Ten Pick, Rogue Festival Selected
2004
SF Fringe Festival Award
San Francisco Fringe Festival
 some life Best Female Solo Performance Won
2008
Theatre Bay Area CA$H Grant
Theatre Bay Area
 Along the Path of Larks and Swallows Spring Grant Recipient Awarded

Skills & Training

Beyond the Craft

Running

14 full marathons, 2014–2026, including three Boston qualifiers. Placed first in age group, Oakland 2025.

In 2025 alone: Oakland · Berlin · Chicago · NYC — the last three marathons in six weeks. Currently training for Sydney 2026.

Boston 2026 NYC ×2 Chicago Berlin San Francisco ×5 Oakland ×2 Stockholm Copenhagen ×2 Sydney 2026 ↗
Ten years of Argentine tango training
Ballet and modern dance training; American and International Ballroom dance
Stage combat — armed and unarmed
Swimming — crawl, breaststroke, backstroke; PADI certified SCUBA diver
Free weights — extremely competent

Languages & Other

Excellent Italian (CELI 4) and French — spoken, read, written. Intermediate Danish — spoken, read, written. Standard American; IPA.
Songwriting — lyrics for cabaret and stage
Excellent with children and cats, and dogs love me

Further Training

A.C.T.: Voice, Speech, Musical Theatre, Shakespeare, Meisner Technique, Improv, Alexander Technique, Film & Television
Solo Performance Workshop — David Ford, The Marsh
Film & Television; Scene Study — Ed Hooks, Bill Hickey, David Wheeler
Singing & Vocal Coaching — Loryn Barbeau; Monologue Coaching — Kimberly Mohne
Screenwriting — Denise Bostrom
Improvisation — Shaun Landry, Jo McGinley, B.A.T.S.

Contact

Let's Create Something
Wonderful Together

For casting enquiries, collaborations, and commissions.