BIO / GALLERY | mindybell

Mindy's Bio

I grew up north of Dallas in McKinney, Texas. My love affair with music began before I was born, quite literally. My mom recounts (in a story that I love) that when she was pregnant with me and standing in church singing hymns, I would kick and jump around in utero whenever the music played. It wasn't long after I started speaking that I started singing -- usually just to myself -- and it wasn't long after I learned to read and write that I started writing poems. I was a quiet kid, but singing and writing were always two ways I felt comfortable expressing myself.

After attending a small private school in McKinney for 10 years (with a high school graduating class of 22 people!) I was amazed to be accepted into Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. At Vanderbilt I had the wonderful opportunity to earn a liberal arts degree with concentrations in English, History, and Music, graduating in 2010 summa cum laude. After college, I stayed in Nashville to try my hand at songwriting and to learn more about the music business. While taking songwriting classes, I interned with the independent music publishing company, Bug Music (now part of BMG), and rehearsed as an actor for a new country musical "One Kiss Cafe."

After "One Kiss Cafe," I moved back to the Dallas area and focused my creative energies on performing musical theatre. This is now my favorite thing! I love musicals! I love the story-telling, I love the music, I love how each production combines so many art forms at once, and I love the community that is built with every show. I frequently act with regional companies in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex, sing in concert settings, and lend my voice to studio projects -- commercial and personal. I am truly grateful to be able to pursue something I love at a high level in Dallas while also being close to my family and to the community in which I grew up.

As I get older, I am also increasingly passionate about mental health and how making art can be a valuable tool for healing. I see artistic work as an essential way we stay in touch with our creative spirits (and our sense of play!) as humans. I’m currently working on my master's degree in Mental Health Counseling at The University of North Texas. Through this work, I hope to continue to find ways to combine my interests in art, mental health, self-expression, spirituality, and community!

Enough about me. Tell me about you.... I would love to connect!!