Drama teacher, podcaster thrives in South Carolina

What can you do with a theatre major and journalism minor? How about being a teacher? Podcast host? An author? Leah Stuhler ’02 does all three.

Stuhler is the middle school drama teacher at Dent Middle School in Columbia, South Carolina, teaching sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. In addition to teaching students about theatre, she is in charge of every aspect of the school’s productions—directing, production, rehearsal schedules, lights, sound, designing the programs, making the cast T-shirts, marketing and more.

For this school year, she is directing “Peter Pan: The Musical,” which opens in the spring.

Podcasting and parenting

She also is the creator and host of “YA Book Chat,” a podcast she began three years ago about young adult books. In each episode, she chats with a guest—sometimes an author—about a different book.

“I started the podcast just for fun. I love reading, and I love talking about the books I’ve read with other people who’ve also read them,” she said.

She also has written and published two books of her own: “Mystery Trip,” that celebrates grandparents, and “The Cupcake Bullies,” a tale inspired by her son, who has a life-threatening food allergy.

“Food allergies are greatly misunderstood and not taken seriously enough. So, I wanted to write this book for him and other children like him who deal with food allergies on a daily basis, especially those who are bullied due to their allergies,” she said.

Reflecting on Messiah

Stuhler says her time at Messiah fueled her love for theatre and allowed her to use her craft in many ways, not just as an actor.

“My theatre professors at Messiah were very encouraging and, one of them in particular, made such an impact on me that I aspire to be the kind of teacher to my students that she was for me. My journalism minor has helped me as well in so many ways. I am an editor for the Columbia Mom Blog and use my journalism skills for my podcast, especially when I am interviewing authors,” she said.

— Molly McKim ’23

So you want to start a podcast?

Leah Stuhler ’02, creator and host of the podcast “YA Book Chat,” has some advice if you want to start a podcast

1. Choose a topic. Most podcasts focus on a particular niche. Find a topic you can discuss for 100+ episodes but not one so broad that you’ll lose your audience.

2. Buy a microphone. There are many options, but a basic one will do.

3. Find audio recording and editing software, such as Audacity, Adobe Audition or Garageband.

4. Record your first episode. Find a template and write an outline that works for you. Remember to keep the rambling to a minimum.

5. Find a podcast hosting service. Companies such as Buzzsprout, Captivate, Podbean and Transistor charge a small fee, depending on monthly episode output and your podcast needs.

6. Promote. Create social media accounts to market your podcast.

— Molly McKim ’23