About

It's the classic American showbiz story:

Gal moves to the big city, has humble beginnings in burlesque, works her way up through vaudeville, then theater, then commercial acting, and lands where everyone in these Hollywood stories ultimately does – narrative non-fiction.

I created the podcast Chicago Humanities Tapes from pitch to production for Chicago Humanities, running all aspects of production in addition to serving as host. I'm also a live event emcee, storyteller, and musician – work that has taken me around the country to sold-out ballrooms as well as dive bars with 6 people in them. I was an educator at Chicago's historic Old Town School of Folk Music for nearly a decade, focusing on teaching global folk music, songwriting, physical theater, and ukulele in the Chicago Public Schools. I taught with Lookingglass Theatre Company, specializing in devising plays and literary adaptations for young learners, and hosted a closed circuit game show at Lurie Children's Hospital as Professor Alisa T. Humerus (bone, muscle, and vital organ expert). When I'm not bouldering, crossword puzzling, or trying to track down the best cinnamon roll in the city, I also like making videos and photo projects. 

​I've performed with The Neo-Futurists, iO Theater, The Annoyance Theatre, The Green Mill, and The Hideout among others, and have understudied with Manual Cinema and Chicago Children's Theatre. National festivals include: the Minnesota Fringe Festival, Gotham Storytelling Festival NY, Elgin Fringe, IndyFringe, Artscape Baltimore, the Twin Cities Jewish Humor Festival, the Chicago Women's Funny Festival, and the Windy City Burlesque Fest.

A semi-finalist for the Andy Kaufman Award, I studied English and Theater at the University of Iowa and have a certificate in Eccentric Performing from that time I went to clown school.

My mission is to bring joy, curiosity, and community through performance and creative media.

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