STEPHEN C BUCKWALD

FOUNDER OF SB ACTING STUDIO

Stephen has been a highly successful and creative teacher of acting for over 40 years teaching in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe. He holds an MFA degree in Directing from the University of Connecticut and a BA degree in Acting from Temple University. His training and experience in both America and Britain give Stephen a unique perspective on the acting process. 


Before starting SB Acting Studio, Stephen taught acting for 20 years at Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts, 3 years at Guildford School of Acting, and 3 years at Penn State University in the United States.




Stephen has extensive expertise in a variety of key acting techniques such as Stanislavski (including The Method of Physical Actions & Active Analysis); Sanford Meisner; Michael Chekhov; Stella Adler; Uta Hagen; Augusto Boal; Anne Bogart & Tina Landau (Viewpoints); and Rudolf von Laban (Laban Efforts). Drawing from this wealth of knowledge, Stephen has synthesised many of these rehearsal and performance techniques into one overriding technique, Immediate Acting.


Many of the actors Stephen has trained have gone on to great achievements in film, television, and stage. These include: the West End, Broadway, the RSC, the National Theatre, various major regional theatres in the US, UK, and Europe, as well as various feature films and television series world-wide. Five of Stephen’s former students have won Olivier awards. They include: Mike Jibson for Best Supporting Actor in a musical (Hamilton - 2018); Kobna Holdbrook-Smith for Best Supporting Actor in a musical (Tina Turner: The Tina Turner Musical - 2019); Jaime Lloyd for Best Director of a Musical (Sunset Boulevard - 2024); Jak Malone for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical (Operation Mincemeat - 2024); and Charles Venn for Ensemble cast (BBC1's Casualty 2024).


After twenty years serving as both Head of Acting and Senior Lecturer at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Stephen has decided to focus his current energies on continuing to develop this London-based actor’s studio, devoted to offering high-quality training for professional actors.