Karen Cole(I)

Karen Cole was born in Columbus, OH, USA, where her father worked in the Air Force. Two years later, he accepted a job as a plumber in Milwaukee, WI, and the family moved. After high school, she worked a few various jobs before heading to Florida to study zookeeping at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, but dropped out after 3 months. She worked at the Wild Animal Retirement Home in Waldo, Florida for about a year before coming back to Wisconsin to work at a health food store, but remained restless whilst also thirsty for knowledge on all things about nutrition. A good customer who got to know her, suggested she study improvisation at The Second City in Chicago, so she packed up everything that would fit in her car and went to Chicago. While training there for a year, she also performed with various improv groups and in addition met David Shepherd of David Shepherd: A Lifetime of Improvisational Theatre (2010), (co-founder of the Compass Players), who was seeking students for internships. Cole was accepted and studied with Shepherd--helping with some improv concepts he was forming for the film industry. In 1996, she gave college a second try, and attended Northwestern University. While there, Karen wrote the screenplay Silent Bark (2026) , of which she entered into and made quarter-finalist in the Chicago CineStory screenplay writing competition (1997). Also while in college, she was cast as a science teacher for the children's play 'See The Light' at the Museum of Science and Industry, directed by David Cromer and Bernard Sahlins (co-founder of The Second City). Karen graduated from NU in 2000 with a Bachelors Degree--Philosophy in Communication, and went on to work at a TV station in Chicago, where she helped different departments with various tasks, and also appeared in a few comedy sketches on the morning news show. In 2007 her screenplay Silent Bark (2026) was entered into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition, and made the top 15%. From 2007 to 2011, Cole took time off her artistic pursuits and devoted her time to fostering a child. In 2012, she was cast as an actor in her first opera at the Civic Opera House in Chicago, playing one of Klytamnestra's retinue in Richard Strauss's 'Elektra', directed by Sir David McVicar. Cole moved to New York City in 2013.