Cole Escola (born November 25, 1986) is an American comedian, actor,
and singer. He is best known for his cabaret work and his appearances
on the television series Jeffery & Cole Casserole (2009â€"2010),
Difficult People (2015â€"2017), and At Home with Amy Sedaris
(2017â€"present).Escola was born and raised in Clatskanie, Oregon. He
is of Finnish and Norwegian descent. When he was six, his father
chased the entire family out of their mobile home with a gun. Escola,
his mother, and his brother subsequently lived in government housing.
His sister was not living with them at this time; she was elsewhere.
He participated in community theater and starred in high school
productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Les Misérables, and Little Shop
of Horrors. After graduating from R. A. Long High School in 2005,
Escola moved to New York City to study humanities at Marymount
Manhattan College, dropping out after one year. He subsequently
performed at children's birthday parties and worked at the Scholastic
bookstore.From 2008 to 2012, Escola was a perennial guest performer in
the Our Hit Parade cabaret series, and later began performing monthly
solo shows at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre. He appeared in Scott
Wittman's 2012 cabaret show Jukebox Jackie at La MaMa and played an
unborn fetus in Bridget Everett's 2014 cabaret show Rock Bottom at
Joe's Pub. On June 14, 2017, Escola's hourlong solo show Help! I'm
Stuck premiered at Joe's Pub, where it has since played numerous
sold-out engagements.Escola has a collection of 38 wigs, which he
stores under his bed in 7-Eleven doughnut boxes. His wigs often shape
and inform his recurring stage characters, which include Broadway
legend Bernadette Peters, suicidal homemaker Joyce Conner, scheming
furniture heiress Jennifer Convertibles, and The Goblin Commuter of
Hoboken. When asked about his penchant for playing female characters,
Escola responded, "Nobody asks Annette Bening why she's drawn to
female characters. Why the double standard? I'm a character actress
trapped in the body of a teenage boy."
and singer. He is best known for his cabaret work and his appearances
on the television series Jeffery & Cole Casserole (2009â€"2010),
Difficult People (2015â€"2017), and At Home with Amy Sedaris
(2017â€"present).Escola was born and raised in Clatskanie, Oregon. He
is of Finnish and Norwegian descent. When he was six, his father
chased the entire family out of their mobile home with a gun. Escola,
his mother, and his brother subsequently lived in government housing.
His sister was not living with them at this time; she was elsewhere.
He participated in community theater and starred in high school
productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Les Misérables, and Little Shop
of Horrors. After graduating from R. A. Long High School in 2005,
Escola moved to New York City to study humanities at Marymount
Manhattan College, dropping out after one year. He subsequently
performed at children's birthday parties and worked at the Scholastic
bookstore.From 2008 to 2012, Escola was a perennial guest performer in
the Our Hit Parade cabaret series, and later began performing monthly
solo shows at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre. He appeared in Scott
Wittman's 2012 cabaret show Jukebox Jackie at La MaMa and played an
unborn fetus in Bridget Everett's 2014 cabaret show Rock Bottom at
Joe's Pub. On June 14, 2017, Escola's hourlong solo show Help! I'm
Stuck premiered at Joe's Pub, where it has since played numerous
sold-out engagements.Escola has a collection of 38 wigs, which he
stores under his bed in 7-Eleven doughnut boxes. His wigs often shape
and inform his recurring stage characters, which include Broadway
legend Bernadette Peters, suicidal homemaker Joyce Conner, scheming
furniture heiress Jennifer Convertibles, and The Goblin Commuter of
Hoboken. When asked about his penchant for playing female characters,
Escola responded, "Nobody asks Annette Bening why she's drawn to
female characters. Why the double standard? I'm a character actress
trapped in the body of a teenage boy."
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