Shala Poling Jedi Master Savage

Shala Poling first fell in love with Star Wars with the release of the first movie. It is the first movie she remembers seeing in theaters. When The Empire Strikes Back was released, she spent time with her older brother watching the movies over and over again throughout the weekends in her hometown of Oxford, Ohio. By the time Return of the Jedi emerged in cinemas, she could recite the first two movies from beginning to end.

Shala graduated from Miami University of Oxford, Ohio in 1993with a degree in Child Psychology, and spent some time living in Northern Kentucky, where she and her husband David had their first child, Drake. Before too long the lure of Ohio (and a new job) called them back to the northeast side of Greater Cincinnati. Shala transferred from the field of Child Psychology into the field of Information Technology, though she says her child psychology skills are still used at work!

It didn’t occur to Shala to seek out other Star Wars fan(atic)s until the release of the prequels, shortly before the birth of her daughter Adele. Shala searched the internet and found a wonderful group of like-minded Star Wars fans – the 501st Legion – and began costuming as Star Wars Characters. One quick internet search would change Shala’s life and introduce her into a whole other aspect of science fiction fandom.

First there were Stormtrooper costumes and a bounty hunter for her son. Her daughter was a natural little Princess Leia all in white. Other costumes followed quickly, and though the Darkside was always in her mind, Shala’s friend Brady talked her into costuming as a “good guy” Jedi for a single-day event for kids. Shala swallowed her Imperial pride and borrowed a Jedi costume from another 501st member just long enough to spend a couple hours teaching kids how to duel at the “Jedi Academy”. In the process of learning to do the Academy, Shala found out pretty quickly how much fun (and work!) learning to battle to choreographed steppes could be.

The “single day” turned into learning to use a lightsaber through constant practice and eventually lightsaber dueling onstage during a concert performance with the Cincinnati Pops. It wasn’t long before other shows started popping up. Shala was hooked.

Founding Masters of the Force was the next step into a larger world. When Masters of the Force was invited to perform with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Shala’s two biggest fans – her Mom and Dad – traveled from Ohio to DC to take their front row center seats.

Shala still lives north of Cincinnati, in Maineville, Ohio with her husband David and two children – Drake and Adele. She spends her normal days working with computer systems, but her off-time is reserved for Star Wars costume events and of course, lightsaber dueling.