"Brassy and sassy" — Jessica Vosk | "Golden-voiced" — WTTW | "Aggressively twee" — The Chicago Sun Times
Mikaela is a Chicago-based performing artist, songwriter, and creative hailing from Normal, Illinois.
Past roles include Helen in Fun Home (Madison Street Theater), Lilli Vanessi/Kate in Kiss Me, Kate (Big Noise Theatre), Atropos in String (Towle Theater), Female Ghost in Whisper House and Madeleine in Amour (Black Button Eyes Productions), Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute (West Virginia University), Belinda in Dido and Aeneas (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville), Munkustrap in CATS! (Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts), The May Queen in Merrie England and Lady Psyche in Princess Ida (Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company).
In addition to writing her own music and performing her "sad little songs" at open mics on the north side of Chicago, she frequently collaborates with electronic composer Cody Kauhl. She premiered Kauhl's Excursus – Three Art Songs for Soprano and Flexible Media in 2014, and they released their first indie/electronic EP under the name Catherinette in 2017.
Mikaela is a proud Mortified Chicago alum and can be heard playing original songs from her angsty teenage years in her cabaret, "They'll Be Sorry When I'm Famous."