Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Education: Circle in the Square Theater School, NYC
Select Credits: Tartuffe! with Three Day Hangover, Othello and King Lear with Titan Theatre Company.
Why theater?: Because a bunch of humans get in a room together, some of them talk, some listen, some move around, some sit and watch, and then something gets created and we experience it together in the moment and it never happens exactly that way ever again. Freakin cool.
Who do you play in The Good Girl?: I play Anjali, the madam to a sex-robot.
Tell us about The Good Girl: It's a dark, funny sci-fi play that will make you think it is one thing, then become something completely different. It's quite a rollercoaster ride for Giacomo and I to perform, and I hope it will feel that way for the audience too. Emilie Collyer has written a very complex and brilliant play.
What is it like being a part of The Good Girl?: Thrilling! We have an incredible team of artists who are all doing amazing work. I'm so pleased this play is getting its US Premiere and that NYC audiences will get to see it.
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love Shakespeare and Sondheim (among many others!). I'm interested in the most heightened moments of our existence and the choices we are capable of making in extreme circumstances. I admire these two writers especially who can express, in perhaps a single line of text, those moments when an entire world shifts and is never the same again.
Any roles you’re dying to play?: I hope one day to have a crack at Hedda Gabler, Lady Macbeth, the Bakers Wife and Masha in Three Sisters. Wait, I need a fun one too...Ruth in The Norman Conquests.
What’s your favorite showtune?: That's a whole other bottle of wine! How can I possibly choose just one? Ok...I'm going to be a nerd and say, "Now/Later/Soon" from A Little Night Music.
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Mark Rylance!!!
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I think it would be called 'UNCO!' That was my nickname in high school. It's short for 'uncoordinated'. Someone who is a big dork should play me.
If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: A View From The Bridge with Anthony LaPaglia and Allison Janney.
What show have you recommended to your friends?: PUFFS at the Pit! It's so much fun! Go see it!
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: DONUTS.
What’s up next?: A beach vacation please.
For more on Leah, visit www.leahgabrielactor.com. For more on The Good Girl, visit www.joyseekerstheatre.com