Karen Cole was born in Columbus,OH, USA, where her father worked in the Air Force. Two years later, he took a job as a plumber in Milwaukee, WI, so the family moved. After high school, she briefly worked as an emergency veterinary medical technician (in training), then went to Florida to study zookeeping at Santa Fe College, but dropped out of school after 3 months. She came back to Wisconsin and worked at a health food store, but quickly became bored. A good customer who got to know her personality, suggested she study improvisation at The Second City in Chicago, so she packed up everything that would fit in her car and left for Chicago. It is whilst in training for a year at the school of The Second City that she met David Shepherd, (founder of the Compass Players), and also simultaneously studied with him, by doing an internship--helping with some concepts he was forming at the time. In 1996, she decided to give college a second try, so she went to Northwestern University, and while there wrote the screenplay "Silent Bark", of which she 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 Bernie Sahlins (co-founder of The Second City). She 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 appeared in various comedy sketches on the morning news show. 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. She moved to New York City in 2013. Show less «