Co-Founder & Artistic Director

Philip Lehl co-founded 4th Wall Theatre Company in 2011 with his wife Kim Tobin-Lehl and is an actor, director, and teacher. He has acted on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in a National Tour, and in many regional theaters. Since arriving in Texas in 2001, Philip has appeared at every Equity theater in Houston, including 4th Wall, the Alley, Stages, Main Street Theatre, A.D. Players, Houston Shakespeare Festival, and TUTS. He has also appeared as a guest artist at Classical Theatre Company, Generations, Horse Head, andBCCM. Philip holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Drake University and studied at NTI and Moscow Arts Theatre School. His directing credits include plays at 4th Wall, Classical Theatre Company, A.D. Players, Stages, BCCM, Generations, and Brave Dog Theatre. He is a founder, board member, and executive of the Houston Theatre Alliance and is a proud member of Actor's Equity Association.

Jennifer Dean has been part of the Houston theatre community for over 20 years. After graduating from Baylor University with a BFA in theater performance, Jennifer moved to Houston in the summer of 2000 to be an intern with A.D. Players National Touring Unit. Only planning to stay in Houston for a year, Jennifer met her now husband, Kevin, and happily she is still here. Over the next 20 years Jennifer appeared in shows at A.D. Players, Stages Repertory Theatre, Main Street Theater, Classical Theater Company and 4th Wall Theatre Company. In the last years, directing has become more of a passion. Among some of her favorites are 12 Angry Men, Leaving Iowa and Tuesdays with Morrie at A.D. Players and The God Game, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and The Realistic Joneses at 4th Wall Theatre, for which she won the Houston Press Best Director award in 2019. Over the years she had also served as marketing director, box office manager, development assistant, intern director and spent thirteen years on staff at her church working as communications director, worship service producer and executive assistant. Her absolute favorite roles are as wife to Kevin Dean and mother to their daughter, Livey. She is thrilled to join 4th Wall as managing director.

Co-Founder & Resident Artist

Kim Tobin-Lehl co-founded 4th Wall Theatre Company with her husband Philip Lehl and served as the company’s Co-Artistic Director from 2011-2021. A Houston native, Kim has a BA in acting and directing from the University of Houston (including training with Jose Quintero, Edward Albee, and Sidney Berger). After relocating to New York, she trained with several elite teachers. These include Stella Adler & The Stella Adler Conservatory, Gene Frankel, Circle In The Square, The Shakespeare Lab at The Public Theatre, and Seth Barrish & Lee Brock at The Barrow Group. In New York Kim became an officer with the New Mercury Theatre Company, where (among other roles) she produced and starred in the 1995 revival of Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind. Kim later became the Artistic Director of the Blue Sphere East Theatre company (the New York sister company to the acclaimed Blue Sphere Alliance Theatre Company based in Los Angeles). Her favorite Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway credits include: Talk to Me Like the Rain…, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Fifth of July, Fool for Love, Savage in Limbo, The Smell of the Crowd, Bed, Bawd & Beyond, Impassioned Embraces (Emotional Recall), Ctrl, Alt, Delete and Trust, and the Barrow Group's production of her original one-woman show, Inside Out. Kim spent over three years in Los Angeles studying with Sandy Marshall and Larry Moss, and highlights of her LA theatre productions include: The Interrogation, Masseur, Baby with the Bathwater, Check to Check, The Foreigner, andthe world premiere of Children of Shame. Kim's film and television credits include roles in The Big Lebowski, The Alarmist, Ash, Sex Maniac, and Sunset Beach. In addition to her extensive body of acting and directing work, Kim is a highly sought-after acting teacher, and her studio (based on the teaching principles of Meisner, Adler, and The Barrow Group) offers an array of courses in acting technique, improvisation, script analysis, and scene study. More details about Kim's background and her current class offerings can be found at her studio website: https://www.kim-tobin.com.

Catherine Dunaway joined 4th Wall Theatre Company in 2019 as the Marketing and Development Manager. Her responsibilities include researching and identifying grant funding opportunities, maintaining and developing the theatre’s brand identity, and promoting theatre programming and events. She holds a BA in Biochemistry from Rice University where she also acted in, stage managed, and produced numerous student-run theatre productions.

Recent credits include: 4th Wall Theatre Company: Pride and Prejudice, Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train (Stage Manager), Shakespeare in Vegas, Reckless(Stage Crew); Rogue Productions: I Love You Because (ASM); San Jacinto College South: Hurricane Jacinto, A Confusion of Human Beings (Stage Manager), Such Stuff (ASM); Other credits: Fiddler on the Roof (Properties Master), Beauty and the Beast (Sound Design), The Boys Next Door(Lighting Design), Alice in Wonderland, Hello, Dolly!, South Pacific, and Charlie’s Aunt (Crew Head). Kalin is a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association. www.kalinmenzel.com, @kalinmenzel

Gabe is super jazzed to join 4th Wall as the new marketing manager. A Houston native, Gabe recently graduated with his M.F.A in Theatre Arts from Virginia Tech. He has spent time in both community and professional theatre as an administrator, actor, director, and crew member. He is a co-founder of Three Spirits Theatre in Fincastle, VA and enjoys both Shakespeare and raunchy comedies. In his new role, he hopes to open doors for new audiences to come experience extraordinary performances.