Born in Valparaiso (...that's really her only connection to Valpo...) and raised in the cornfields of Indiana, Leeann escaped to pursue theatre. She attended The Culver Academies where she discovered her love of Shakespeare. Her first Shakespearian role (in a catsuit...) was Lancelet Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice. Leeann received an English Speaking Union scholarship to attend school in the United Kingdom and skipped off across the pond to pursue her passion for theatre.

Leeann attended the University of Exeter, where she received her undergraduate degree in Drama. There, she studied physical theatre, mask-making, devised theatre and ensemble work among many other facets of performance. Having proven her worth, Leeann won a scholarship to continue her studies at Exeter and followed up with an MFA in Staging Shakespeare. This led her to the New Globe in London, where she spent two AMAZING weeks treading the boards and discovering exactly what to do with those giant pillars on stage. Leeann's studies looked at many different aspects of performing Shakespeare from period dress to the commedia dell'arte to modern dress, ultimately culminating in playing the role of Iago in a highly physicalized adaptation of Othello.

Eventually, Leeann returned to the origin of her birth...discovered the corn was still there...and moved to Chicago. She has had the pleasure of performing with many theatre companies off-loop, favorite roles include: Celia at The Artistic Home's "Cut To The Chase" festival and Sasha in Stockyard Theatre Project's production of Blindside at The Raven. Her Piccolo roles include: a motley crew member of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, the better half of Sugarlumps the horse in Dastardly Doin's at the Depot and Abu Merengue in Sinbad! Leeann is extremely thrilled to be blessed with such opportunities at Piccolo and has jumped (...and fallen...) into the company headlong.

Leeann is also a founding member of Point of Contention, which is helping her to fulfill a lifelong goal of running her own theatre company. Still in its infancy, POC is off and running with Leeann behind the till as Managing Director. Please visit www.pointofcontention.org!

Leeann embraces the ethic of "work hard, play harder" and can be heard to say of her full (and fulfilling) theatre schedule:

"I have slept not a wink." - Cymbeline