Shawna Michaels is a native of Cleveland, Ohio.  Even as a little girl at the age of two, she loved to perform, She fell in love with Theater watching her mother perform in local productions. The acting bug bit Shawna, after appearing in her first production in elementary school. Shawna received her BA in Theater from Fayetteville State University; while at FSU, she performed in several stage productions honing her acting skills. Shawna went on to receive a MFA in acting from Tisch School of the Arts in New York. It was then, while she was in New York training to be quote a “serious dramatic actor”, that Shawna discovered her funny side while performing Comedia Del’Arte and writing her one woman show piece. Shawna went on to perform with New York’s Gotham City Players Improv Comedy Troupe. “I love the feeling I get from making folks laugh. I love to entertain people; it’s my drug.”

Shawna is a jack-of-all-trades; she’s also a former model and Ms. Black North Carolina. She has appeared in several independent films. Don’t put this actress in one box; she’s definitely a multi-talent; she can still deliver a great classical piece, flex her chops in a drama, put it down with improv, and perform and write sketch comedy. Shawna credits her slew of characters to her family and her many experiences in the dysfunction that she calls her life.

 I owe all of who I am as a performer and actor to God, who always keeps me in his grace, my mother, who always encouraged and still encourages me to forge forward with my dreams, and my mentor, Edward J. Fisher, who believed in me, trained me, and rode my back hard when I became complacent with my skills. He always told me, “to be the epitome of excellence.”