Karla Payne

Karla C. Payne is a US actor, voice-over talent, singer and poet. She has appeared in countless productions for several theater companies, including New Horizon Theater, Shona Sharif Drum and Dance Ensemble and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater Company, where she most notably appeared as Berniece in their 2015 production of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson, and Tonya in their 2017 production of August Wilson's King Henry II. As a professional Voice Over artist, Karla has performed in corporate and commercial spots and is a narrator for ACX audiobooks. As an accomplished vocalist, her musical genres of expertise include gospel, jazz and music theater. She began her formal studies as a voice major at Duquesne University, under the tutelage of the late jazz great, Maureen Budway, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Merchandising from Mansfield University in Pennsylvania. Karla has performed and recorded with Anaiah, an a cappella trio she founded. Under the pen name "Spirit-Lead (lehd)", Karla is also an accomplished spoken word artist. She has released two spoken word CDs, the award-winning Words Unspoken and Relatively Speaking, which was nominated for an Independent Music Award (both available on all major digital platforms). She also released a poetry chapbook entitled From My Indigo Pen. Karla continues to broaden her performance experiences and hone her craft.