About

With a “vibrant energy” and a passion for knowledge, Milwaukee-based actor Leah Gawel navigates the fields of performance, arts instruction, and academia with enthusiasm and spunk, helping others find their physical and metaphorical voice.

Receiving her M.M. in Music Theatre Vocal Pedagogy from Carthage College, her thesis titled “Fundamentalism and Artistry: A Look at religious trauma and the vocalist” begins to uncover a unique and unexplored thread between religious trauma, psychology, and vocal pedagogy. Winner of the KCACTF/ATHE Innovation Award (2021), she has presented her work in conference settings and continues to expand upon it through her own independent studies. This fall, she will continue this research at Harvard Divinity School in their Master of Divinity Program.

Wearing many professional hats, she has been seen locally in shows such as NOISES OFF (Singer) at Skylight Music Theatre, MIRACLE ON 34TH ST: A LIVE RADIO PLAY (Doris) at Forte Theatre Company, and has done understudy work at First Stage Theatre Company in THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS. She is a part of the Voice Faculty at The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music (Milwaukee, WI) and Kindermusik with Emilie(Kenosha, WI), with an emphasis on evidenced-based voice instruction, cross-training, and functional voice training within Musical Theatre and Contemporary Commercial Music. She also teaches general music at many schools in the Milwaukee Area.

Leah received her B.A. in Music Theatre with a minor in Dance from Carthage College. Throughout her collegiate career, she has performed internationally, such as touring with a production of Seussical in China. She was also a member of Carthage Choir, winners of the 2019 Spittal International Choral Festival in Spittal, Austria. She has also worked as a dance instructor both locally and internationally, teaching classes at The Boys and Girls Club (Kenosha, WI), leading music theatre camps at Kindermusik with Emilie (Kenosha, WI) and choreographing at Kwan Kwan Theatre School (Jinan, China).