BIO

Charise Sowells is a graduate of Orange County School of the Arts and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where she won awards for her scripts and received academic honors. She has written multiple musical scripts for CoComelon on Netflix and Vida the Vet on Netflix, BBC’s CBeebies, Corus’ Treehouse, YouTube, and more. Her thesis play, (562), won the 2nd place Goldberg Play Award, was accepted into the DC Black Theater Festival, adapted into a feature film, and has had many readings. 

A one act she wrote called An Ocean In My Soul had a sold out world premiere at the Santa Monica Playhouse in the fall of 2019 and was granted an encore run. In 2020, that same play was added to a curated collection of social justice plays, featured on the radio, and has had multiple virtual readings. The play was a Semifinalist in ScreenCraft’s Stage Play Contest 2020. On top of writing the script, Sowells composed its score and produced the show through her multimedia company, Unabashed Productions. 

A musical feature screenplay she wrote called Barbie Darlin', was a Quarterfinalist in the Your Script Produced 2019 contest, the WeScreenplay Feature Writing contest 2021, and the Female Driven Stage 32 contest 2022. Her half-hour pilot, Welcome to the Dungeon, was a Semifinalist in Stage 32’s TV Writing contest 2021 and a Quarterfinalist in Final Draft’s Big Break contest 2020 and Stage 32’s Diversity Springboard competition 2020.

When it comes to music, under the artist name of Lake Lady, she was once called an "amazing unsigned act" by NPR. Her songs have been featured in SF Weekly, Ukulele Magazine and on an array of blogs and radio stations in several countries. Sowells has toured around the USA and performed at festivals stateside and abroad. One of her singles won "Song of the Year" on a Berlin based radio show. Multiple releases have made it onto the FYC ballots for Grammy nomination consideration.

In addition to her writing endeavors, Sowells directs and produces films such as SUN TEA which won awards across the globe, she develops concepts for themed experiences and live entertainment including for companies like Walt Disney Imagineering, and she proudly serves on the board of the Michael's Daughter Foundation as a founding member. Her fine art photography has been exhibited and she has been hired as a photographer/videographer for branded content as well as behind-the-scenes shots. She has also run a theater and a music blog, curated events, acted, modeled, managed social media, and composed music for various projects.

Sowells has worked in the arts, education, marketing, sales, advertising, and nonprofits for over two decades. She loves to travel and is a lifelong believer in the importance of diversity, representation, equity, and inclusion in all facets of society, which is very much reflected in her body of work. Passionate about self-care, painting, long walks, aimless drives, and sound baths are how she unplugs.