WELL….

Sheila was a very strange 9 yr old who was immediately drawn to the rigor of learning sheet music and spending long weekend hours with the Wisconsin Children’s Choir. At 16, she was invited to pursue her full time boarding arts high school education at Interlochen Arts Academy in Northern Michigan. She graduated as recipient of the Young Artist Award in Theatre, as well a Presidential Scholar in the Arts Semi-Finalist for Music Theatre.

Then invited to attend Carnegie Mellon’s Drama School, Sheila was ultimately pulled by her drive to further pursue classical voice at an independent conservatory in Greece. There, at the Aegean Center for the Fine Arts, she was able to immerse herself in daily operatic training. Upon returning to the states, she buoyed back to her acting training once again, which would take her west to The California Institute of the Arts.

Sheila was recognized on her quick transition from academic to the professional world in a Backstage West Magazine Article- (sufficiently noting this addiction to bouncing back and forth between music and acting.)

“I was addicted to training instead of doing.” Karls says.

She finally ventured and made a name for herself within the Southern California arts community. She worked with several regional theatre companies and contributed to various original workshop premiers across Los Angeles. She also regularly performed with Upright Cabaret and the ‘For The Record’ Series in Hollywood.

She then hit the road…joining Actors Equity with the 1st National Tour of WICKED. She performed her nightly ‘Shen Shen’ track and understudied Madame Morrible. (performed)

Now based in Chicago, in a post Covid world she enjoys the freedom of working from a fully equipped home VoiceOver studio. She is often cast as 70 yr old women from the east coast in audiobooks. She embraces this.